52: Microsoft Executive MURDERED & Shocking Arrests: Full Story of Jared Bridegan and the INSANE Plot to Kill Him
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Today's episode of Serialistly is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Now, most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yes, I know you are. While you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you are not in some kind of moving vehicle, there is something else you can be doing right now, getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

It's easy and you could save money by doing it right from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner, and more. So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what.

Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customers surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations. Hey, True Crime Besties. Welcome back to an all-new episode of Serialistly.

Hey everybody, welcome back to an all new episode of Serialistly. It's me, Annie, your true crime bestie, here to break down another case for you. Now before we jump in, today's case might sound a little bit more spookier, a little bit more, I don't know, dangerous, dark, because it's

If you can tell, my normal annoying vocal fry is even worse because I am sick and I have been trying to not record for the last few days to give my voice some rest, but...

my voice just isn't coming back and crime never sleeps so you know i had to still jump on here and record this for you guys and share this update with you guys because this case is absolutely insane in today's episode we're going to talk about a case that i covered earlier this year now when i first heard of this case and began to dig into it more it became apparent that while it was locally a high profile case

Jared's voice and his story needed to be heard on a more national level. Jared's widow Kirsten's strength throughout her tragedy truly touched my heart, and I wanted to do right by Jared, his family, and his story, and I wanted to tell it all.

everything we know in one video start to finish so that his full story can reach an even wider audience and so that his voice and the voices of his loved ones can continue to be heard all in one place while we raise awareness and justice for Jared's case. Since January of 2023, details of a conspiracy to murder Jared Bright again, a father and husband in Florida, have been slowly unraveling.

It's also been dubbed as the Microsoft murder because Jared was a Microsoft executive. Now, the latest developments in the case will shock you and leave you wondering how much more is still to be revealed.

Though the case is tragic, it's good to see justice finally unfolding and perhaps, just perhaps, karma being served. And being served on a golden platter. It's time for everything to come full circle and for Jared's family to finally find some closure or at least the very beginning of it.

So buckle up and get ready as we dive into the full story of the murder of Jared Brightigan. This case is ongoing, so everything in this episode is alleged and everything else is 100% in my opinion, if it is not cited from sources. I mean, this is undoubtedly a horrific murder and the person who pulled the trigger has already confessed, but authorities have stressed from the beginning that this gunman did not act alone.

This morning, a shocking twist in the brutal murder of 33 year old Microsoft executive and father of four Jared Bride again. Shanna Gardner's indictment acknowledges her central and key role in the cold, calculated and premeditated murder of Jared Bright again. She called the implications that she was involved sensationalistic and inaccurate and she felt threatened by the scrutiny. I hope it brings

I hope that those who were involved in his murder are caught. I hope that we can get to a trial quickly. I just hope that there's a resolution and that I can answer Bexley when she asks me why.

Jared Breidegen was from Jacksonville, Florida. He was a husband, a father, and from what I have read, he was a very respectable, genuinely kind guy. He had been married once before and had two twins, a boy and a girl with his ex-wife Shanna. After his divorce in 2015, he met a woman named Kirsten.

They were both working at Microsoft at the time. They hit it off and they got married in 2017. And shortly after that, they settled in St. Augustine, Florida, and they welcomed their first daughter together and then quickly welcomed a second daughter. Kirsten ended up leaving her job to be a stay-at-home mom, but Jared continued his career at Microsoft. He provided a very nice and stable life for his family.

By all accounts, not only was Jared a nice guy, he was a family man. He was a hands-on father and spent a lot of time with his blended family. And Kirsten and Jared seemed to have a great relationship and love story between the two of them.

Kirsten said, She goes on to say that he is honestly just the best dad and that whenever she needed a break, he will come scoop up the kids, take them out, take them outside, and give her a minute to catch her breath.

However, not everything was perfect. Even though Jared had gotten the divorce back in 2015 and custody with his twins was set in stone, there were still court filings constantly coming in from his ex-wife. Many people around him said that it was very difficult to watch Jared go through constant court battles when all he wanted to do was focus on being the best husband and father that he could be.

Then on the evening of February 16th, 2022, the unexpected happened. Police investigating a deadly shooting tonight. This is a live look at the scene. Police still out there right now. The shooting happened in the Sanctuary neighborhood, which is right off Butler Boulevard. News for Jax reporter Anne Maxwell joins us live. At least a dozen police cars were at the scene earlier. How is it looking now, Anne?

Well, Stacey, we're at the intersection of Sanctuary Boulevard and Jacksonville Drive. Still an active police presence here. That section of Sanctuary Boulevard totally blocked off. A neighbor tells me he heard three gunshots. He says it was one gunshot followed by a pause and then two more. He says this area is wooded. There aren't any houses on that street right there. He says it goes right on to JTB. So if anything like this happened, it'd be really easy for somebody to just get off.

uh right there jared had just dropped off his 10 year old twin son and daughter to his ex-wife's home in jacksonville beach and he was headed back home with his two-year-old daughter bexley bexley was in the back seat of the car and jared stopped because of a tire that was on the road near the exit of the sanctuary neighborhood where shanna his ex-wife lived when he got out of the car to move this tire that was in the road jared was shot multiple times as he attempted to move that tire

His vehicle hazard lights were still blinking, with his daughter still in the car seat, unharmed. Bexley remained in the car for three full minutes near her dad's lifeless body before a passerby stumbled onto this gruesome scene, pulled her from the car seat, and called 911. Police believed that this was a planned targeted ambush, murder, and attack because the tire was

was placed on the road that Jared regularly traveled to drop off and pick up his twins, and because he was specifically shot when he stopped to get the tire out of the road. Jared was only 33 years old when he was brutally and premeditatedly gunned down. Police asked the public if they knew anything or were in the area and saw something and said if they did to contact the police immediately.

Unfortunately, though, nothing came up. And everyone that knew Jared was completely shocked by this. Jared didn't have any enemies. He wasn't involved in anything shady, no drug involvement, nothing at all that made any sense to where they could come up with why someone would want to do this. They wondered if maybe the tire setup was for someone else.

and Jared just happened to drive up to the tire in the road first, and he got out, and he was the one that gunned down by mistake, but then the whole thing didn't make sense because it would have been obvious that it was him when he got out of the car. Police didn't have any leads for weeks.

despite multiple statements begging the public to come forward. Given the circumstances of Jared's tragic death and the targeted ambush happened to be near his ex-wife Shanna's house on the road that he always took to leave, people started wondering about who Shanna was. Well, Shanna got remarried as well. She got remarried in 2018 to a man named Mario Fernandez. At the time, she was running a baking company called Beach Baked 904.

and she was living in her home near Jacksonville Beach. I'm Jean Pickett, and we are Around Town today with Shanna Gardner-Fernandez from Beach Baked 904. Hey, Shanna. Hey, Jean. How are you doing this morning?

I'm here, wide awake. Awesome. Now, Shanna never spoke out after Jared's death or made a public plea for somebody to come forward, even on behalf of her children. Shanna was also not invited to Jared's funeral. But what struck Jared's family and friends as odd was

was that she didn't let her two twins go to the funeral either. And it appeared that although they were still having some court filings, court disputes, custody disputes, they both were remarried. They both seemingly had moved on. Without any answers for who was responsible for Jared's death, people with immediate knowledge about Shanna and Jared's marriage started talking.

Ultimately, this led to instantaneous scrutiny for Shanna after details of their vicious divorce became community gossip, along with her behavior following Jared's murder. But that would soon change when a few weeks later, police released surveillance video of a vehicle that they believed could be involved in Jared's death.

death and this video would break the whole case open. They said that on February 16th between 5 30 p.m and 8 30 p.m a truck was seen circling in the nearby surveillance videos of the crime scene.

The police said that the truck is dark colored, likely blue, a 2004 to 2008 Ford F-150 with four doors and running boards. That it had brown trim and a silver toolbox. Which, that is a very solid lead and very good description of a truck. But who did this truck belong to and was this truck connected? Nobody that knew Jared recognized this truck at all. Yet the police still believed he was targeted.

Today's episode of Serialistly is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Now, most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yes, I know you are. While you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you are not in some kind of moving vehicle, there is something else you can be doing right now, getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

It's easy and you could save money by doing it right from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner, and more. So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what.

Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customers surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations. An official message from Medicare.

A new law is helping me save more money on prescription drug costs. Maybe you can save too. With Medicare's Extra Help program, my premium is zero and my out-of-pocket costs are low. Who should apply? Single people making less than $23,000 a year or married couples who make less than $31,000 a year. Even if you don't think you qualify, it pays to find out. Go to ssa.gov slash extra help. Paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

At this point, there was a $55,000 reward for anyone with information on Jared's murder. And at this point, a lot of people were still talking about Jared's ex-wife. So let's get into what all of the fuss was about with Shanna. Why was Shanna getting so much heat in all of this?

To paint the full picture, we have to go back to the beginning. Shanna Gardner Fernandez grew up in a Mormon community in upscale Alpine, Utah. Her parents, Sterling and Shelly Gardner, co-founded the company Stampin' Up, which sells paper craft products. Now, Stampin' Up is based out of Utah. And get this, it has an estimated revenue of about $100 million a year.

No big deal, right? Chump change, right? Just some pocket change. Shanna first met Jared while visiting a friend in Florida in 2009. Jared was also a devout Mormon and a member of the LDS church. According to some friends, apparently, Jared wasn't really that interested in Shanna at first, but that didn't stop her from pursuing him. Instead, she whined and dined him in an attempt to flaunt her family's wealth.

all in hopes that this would make him attracted to her. Specifically, this friend said to news outlets, and I quote, And apparently...

It ended up working. Jared and Shanna fell in love, and they got married at a temple in Salt Lake City in 2010. Shanna's parents bought them a $800,000 house nearby, and allegedly, Shanna and Jared both drove a Mercedes, even though neither of them had a job. Instead, Shanna's parents gave the couple at least $8,500 a month as dowry.

some sort of allowance or stipend in addition to access to the parents' credit cards. Shanna's parents also gave Jared $100,000 to start his own business. About a year into the marriage, Shanna became pregnant with twins, a boy and a girl.

When the twins were born, their daughter was healthy, but their son was born with a serious congenital heart condition. Doctors told Jared and Shanna that their new baby boy needed to live at sea level for his heart to function properly. So they did what any parent would do, and they moved to Connecticut because it was close to Jared's brother and his wife, which was also close to their son's doctor in New York.

Even though Shanna and Jared had only been married for around two years, after that move to Connecticut, their marriage took a major turn of the worst. Shanna stopped going to church and instead started a very intense workout schedule and routine. Shanna was also frustrated that Jared was gaining weight and was focused on trying to start a business.

Jared could feel the frustration in their marriage creeping up more and more, so he convinced Shanna to move to Jacksonville, his hometown, where they could have a fresh start together. So Shanna agreed, and soon after that, the family of four moved.

Shanna's parents bought them another $800,000 house in Ponte Vedra Beach. Jared continued to be a devout LDS member, but not so much Shanna. Despite growing up LDS, Shanna was kind of over it. But she still loved working out and her newfound love for fitness. So for Christmas in 2014, Jared bought Shanna a set of personal training sessions.

Shanna started her personal training sessions soon after Christmas, and it wasn't long before Shanna started to have a relationship with her personal trainer, which isn't cliche at all. Soon after, Jared found some sexual emails between Shanna and the trainer, and he confronted her about it.

Shanna denied that there was any sort of affair going on or any romantic connection or any sexual connection and instead just told Jared that she didn't love him anymore. However, that didn't push Jared away. Since they had two young children together, Jared told Shanna that he wanted to still fight for their marriage and he wanted to get back to a place of loving each other, at least for the kids' sake.

But Shanna said no, and she filed for divorce on February 23, 2015. In the court filings, she said that their marriage was completely broken and that they didn't love each other anymore. After she filed for divorce, they were still living together at their house in Ponte Vedra and continued to do so for a while before Shanna demanded that she be granted the house, also primary custody of the kids,

and then accused Jared of threatening to withdraw cash from the kids' trust funds.

Jared said that wasn't true at all and actually countered that he wanted primary custody, that he wanted alimony, child support, the house, and said that Shanna had the resources to live somewhere else and he didn't. He also accused her, and I'm just putting a quote on this, spying on him by hiding baby monitors in the children's bedroom and attaching a tracking device to his car.

with pictures of the monitors that he found, and he told his lawyer, Despite all of this, Shanna wasn't giving up. So she took it upon herself to install a lock on the master bedroom so that Jared couldn't get in, and allegedly, she placed a voice-activated recorder in the house.

On top of all of this, Jared told his lawyer that Shanna was lying about all of her finances when she claimed that she had no income and that she actually earned thousands of dollars working under the table for her mom. Now, we have no idea what's true or not with any of this, but it is all in their court records.

And everything about their divorce seemed really nasty, always escalating, and just kind of the divorce that you hear about in horror stories, like horror divorce stories, which I

Kind of surprised me because Shanna was the one who wanted this divorce. She said she wasn't in love with Jared anymore, even though he wanted to fight for the marriage. So why was she so hell-bent on recording him, spying on him, and making this just so toxic between them? If she had the money, had the means, wasn't in love with him anymore, could just be out, what was all of the toxicity about? So in all of the horrible vitriol and mess,

One thing they did come to an agreement on was custody, a shared parenting agreement of 50-50, and they came to that agreement in July of 2015. But that still never stopped the fighting. They continued to drag each other back into court for six years. As the years passed, Shanna's filings grew more hostile and her accusations even more extreme.

In 2019, Shanna accused Jared of coaching and interrogating the minor children and recording their statements and threatening to use these coached recorded statements against their mother, her.

calling this conduct abusive and outrageous and demanding a social investigation. In June of 2021, Shanna filed another motion for not letting her borrow a breathing machine for their son since that specific machine was better in high altitudes and she was going to visit her family in Utah.

The court filing said, the father apparently considers his vindictiveness towards the mother more important than protecting their son's health and life. Jared is more concerned with humiliating the mother than making sure his own child does not die. So going back to the months after Jared's death,

when Shanna was in the line of fire of public speculation. Two people came out of the woodworks to talk to the media. One person who remained anonymous worked at a Florida tattoo parlor, and he told media outlets that when he heard about Jared's murder and Shanna's name being brought up, he realized that he knew her, and he had knew her because he had become somewhat of friends or acquaintances with her years back after the divorce.

Apparently, Shanna went to that tattoo shop to get her vagina pierced. When the employee went back and looked at the date that she came in, he realized she came in to get her vagina pierced the day after she filed for divorce.

Today's episode of Serialistly is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Now, most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yes, I know you are. While you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you are not in some kind of moving vehicle, there is something else you can be doing right now, getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

It's easy and you could save money by doing it right from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner, and more. So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what.

Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customers surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations.

An official message from Medicare. A new law is helping me save more money on prescription drug costs. You may be able to save too. With Medicare's Extra Help program, my premium is zero and my out-of-pocket costs are low. Who should apply? Single people making less than $23,000 a year or married couples who make less than $31,000 a year. Even if you don't think you qualify, it pays to find out. Go to ssa.gov slash extra help.

paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Just in conversation, the employee said that he used to live in Utah and also had Mormon roommates and that Shanna had lived in Utah, so they formed a friendly bond just over that. But Shanna kept coming back to the parlor shop just to hang out and to vent about her soon-to-be ex-husband. And apparently while venting, she casually brought up that he was trying to take all of her money.

During the course of the next few weeks when Shanna came to the tattoo shop to visit, the employee said, The employee also told the media about a dinner one night where he met up with Shanna and a few friends at the Flying Iguana.

According to the employee, and I quote, A few weeks later, yet another person came forward.

This time, it was Shanna's former personal trainer who confirmed they were having an affair, despite Shanna always denying it, which she actually still does to this day, and we will get to that in a second. But the personal trainer said that Shanna told him that she and Jared had been separated for months when their secret affair started.

But that was a lie. Remember, Jared bought the personal training sessions as a Christmas gift for Shanna. And then in February, Jared confronted Shanna about the sexual text messages and emails, and then she filed for divorce on February 23rd.

We also know that they were never separated at all until after the divorce was filed. And even then, according to court documents, they were still living under the same roof for quite some time. So now going back to the story. It was now June, almost four months after the murder. The police were at a complete standstill with no leads and the accusations and scrutiny of Shanna's involvement were not going away. Not at all.

It was actually getting a lot worse now that this tattoo shop worker and ex-lover came out and were both speaking out. So Shanna decided to hire a prominent criminal defense attorney in Jacksonville. His name is Hank Cox.

She hired him to help protect her family from the publicity, the implications that she was involved in the shooting, and because some media outlets were taking pictures of her and the kids whenever they were out in public. She said that the intense media coverage had become very loud and it made her children feel unsafe. I do want people to understand that.

know where I'm coming fro after Jared Bright again w street in front of his tw we spoke with his ex wife publicly so far. Our fir you stayed silent? I was a media or give a public st level of speculation, I f to the public and I felt

to speak out. Shanna Gard by Jared Bridegans, widd to know how the relatio have gotten to that point.

happy moments. I mean we beautiful children in the and shanna divorced their we obtained from the ST Jo revealed a long complica five years. Anytime divorci

It just is. I will say that I think that we both love our kids. Jared and Shanna both wanted full custody. The court file details allegations of spying, deceit and more. In the end, Shanna and Jared reached an agreement. They shared custody and whenever the children were at one parents house, the other would come over Wednesday and have a date night. That's exactly what Jared and his twins did the night he was killed. It was actually one of the one of the things. Sorry, um.

I remember my son tucking him in and him saying that it was a good date night. But that happiness would end just minutes after leaving Shanna's house just over two miles from her home in a quiet neighborhood with few security cameras. A tire was rolled out into the street. Jared got out of his car to move it and was shot dead. His two year old daughter sat in the car strapped into her car seat alone for three minutes before someone came to help. I was shocked.

I fell to the floor becau for what I was going to Jared died in that street four Children and a heart

I think in shock later in mother said she was not i asked shanna about the s did not invite me or want day before a vigil hosted at Celebration Park. Shanna the park with her kids b mail. Talk about a viola my kids know that they w

they were worried. The t the facts in a way that le about shanna having a ro citing their rocky divorc absence from the funeral always get along, he was kids. So I asked shanna t you have anything to do No, I did not have anyth

with his murder. Shanna says she has no idea if the murder was targeted or what Jared was involved in, saying they ran in different circles. But Action News Jax reported in June Shanna had hired criminal defense attorney Hank Cox. He was referred to me by several friends and

Ultimately, my kids' images and videos were being used in the media without consent. Shanna said Cox was hired to protect her kids. I asked her if she thinks she will face criminal charges. She says no, that she's cooperated with detectives. Do you have any idea who might have done this? I do not have any idea. I, as I said, we've been divorced. We don't run in the same social circles.

All I know is that I would never want anybody to go through this. She told me if she could speak to Jared again, she'd say one thing. Honestly, that I wish it weren't like this. I wish things could have been and could be different.

And Shanna told me despite this happening in her neighborhood, despite many people around her discussing the case, she has no intention of leaving Jack's Beach or Jacksonville. Meanwhile, police continue their search for the killer and they ask the community for any help it can provide. Shanna also decided to give an interview for an article with the Florida Times Union in another attempt to set the record straight. But this interview was not on video.

In the interview, she denied the reports of an affair and chose not to comment about the details of her divorce that were wildly circulating. Because if you remember, all of this was in public court documents. Shanna said, and I quote,

Shanna also insisted that she had nothing to do with the execution of her ex-husband. Shanna also addressed the shut-him-up comment made to the tattoo parlor guy and the friends, saying that people usually say such things during bitter divorces, and now that her friends and family are all being harassed, it's becoming necessary to respond, saying that she wants people to know where she's coming from.

Shanna also said that her current husband, Mario, was now a huge supporter for her and the kids throughout all of this. So let's really quickly talk about who Mario Fernandez is. He and Shanna got married in 2018, and Mario manages rental properties in the area. Some people were also suspicious of Mario because of an incident that took place with a neighbor.

According to a police report, the neighbor felt that he was intimidating her because she feeds stray cats and he didn't like that.

So she said that he intentionally walked his pit bull right up to where she was feeding them one time. Then the neighbor called the police. Mario said he was just out walking his dog and that it was nothing malicious. Now at the time when all of this information came out about the incident, it was also revealed that this wasn't the first time that someone had claimed that Mario made threats over cats.

but other details of other incidents are a bit unclear. Almost a year after Jared's sudden and senseless murder, Shanna pulled both twins out of their private schools and she moved across the country to Washington, seemingly out of nowhere. So let's go back to this for a second. And Shanna told me despite this happening in her neighbor

despite many people around her discussing the case, she has no intention of leaving Jack's Beach or Jacksonville. Records showed that Shanna's parents bought her a house in September for $1 million through an LLC. Interestingly, Mario didn't make the move with Shanna and the kids to Washington.

Property records show that Shanna and Mario still own their home in Jacksonville Beach, despite it briefly being for sale and then taken off the market. So we have no idea why Shanna decided to move, why it occurred during the middle of the school year, or what exactly was going on here. It just seemed like literally out of nowhere.

But then the first major revelation in this case broke out. Coincidentally or not so coincidentally, just a few weeks after Shanna moved, the police announced that they were going to have a very big press conference for the Jared Breidigan case. Now this whole time police had been silent for literally 11 months. So this was a huge shock to the public.

Today's episode of Serialistly is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Now, most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yes, I know you are. While you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you are not in some kind of moving vehicle, there is something else you can be doing right now, getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

It's easy and you could save money by doing it right from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner, and more. So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year so you're protected no matter what.

Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customers surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations. An official message from Medicare.

A new law is helping me save more money on prescription drug costs. Maybe you can save too. With Medicare's Extra Help program, my premium is zero and my out-of-pocket costs are low. Who should apply? Single people making less than $23,000 a year or married couples who make less than $31,000 a year. Even if you don't think you qualify, it pays to find out. Go to ssa.gov slash extra help. Paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Nearly a year after Bridegan's murder, police announced 61-year-old Henry Tennant is now charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and child abuse. Investigators called the attack on Bridegan targeted. News for Jackson I-team's Vic Miccolucci has been on this case since the night it happened and joins us live with the concerning connection, Vic, between the suspect and someone in Bridegan's past.

And since very early on, detectives have told me this is not a random murder. This case has gotten national attention, and today people are asking, what is the connection with the man arrested by Jacksonville Beach Police and Jared Breidegen? We did some digging and found some disturbing details linking him to Jared Breidegen's ex-wife's new husband.

Nearly a year after the mysterious shooting of Jared Bridegan, investigators have arrested a suspect. He was gunned down in cold blood. Nothing was stolen from him. His two-year-old daughter remained strapped in the car seat in the back. This was a planned

and targeted ambush and murder. As Bridegan's widow and siblings stood by, Jacksonville Beach Police Chief Jean Paul Smith and State Attorney Melissa Nelson revealing murder and other charges against 61-year-old Henry Tennant. He'd been in custody on unrelated charges since an August arrest in Jacksonville. In order to protect the integrity of this ongoing and act

investigation, the state has obtained a court order sealing Tennant's arrest warrant and affidavit for the next 30 days. Jail records show that Henry Tennant was already in jail awaiting trial for charges of possession of a weapon by a felon and driving with a suspended or revoked license on a third or subsequent conviction. In a press conference announcing the arrest,

State Attorney Melissa Nelson nor Jacksonville Beach Police Chief Jean Paul Smith offered any hint as to motive or who else might be involved. Jared's relatives join me now, his widow Kirsten and his brother Adam.

We've been following this story and we thank you for coming on the show today. This is not an easy thing for you to talk about, but it's important for us to understand what you've been going through. Kirsten, when you got the news yesterday that there was an arrest of Henry Teena, but there's they're not it's not finished. Do you believe that there will be more to come soon? What's a timeline that they've given you?

They haven't given us a timeline, but they promise that they are working incredibly hard and that they are committed to bringing more answers to our family.

Adam, I know that obviously you care about the children very much, your niece and nephew. And also there are other children involved from the first marriage, right? So we have the ex-wife. We know there was some estrangement there, some difficulties. What's it been like to not be able to see those twins that were from the first marriage? I think for us as a family, it has been devastating.

As soon as we heard of the news of Jared's passing and how he was passed when he was ambushed and murdered, it broke our heart. And not being able to be together as a family really rips us apart. It's truly gut-wrenching. And just hearing the news

recently, this week of the arrest, has been really bittersweet for us, right? We feel a sense of hope and peace that there is answers coming, but we also know that there's a long road ahead, and there's a long road ahead for all of us as a family and for Jared's four children that we absolutely love and want them to have answers as well. Yes. Let's listen to State Attorney Melissa Nelson on this suspect, Henry Tainan, here. Conspiracy to commit murder.

We know Henry Tennant did not act alone. Excuse me, I've been saying Teenan. It is apparently Tennant. Both Adam, Jared's brother, and Kirsten told Dateline in an interview that they don't know of any connection to Henry and Jared.

They said he lives in a part of town that we never frequented. I know for a fact Jared did not know this man and this man did not know Jared. So who is this individual? No idea who he is. We're all just concerned about how many people were truly involved in this.

Jared's twins he shares with Shanna don't get to see Jared's family or their sisters very often at all, and now probably never since they moved to Washington. So Henry was charged with conspiracy to commit murder, second-degree murder with a weapon, accessory after the fact to a capital felony, and child abuse since little two-year-old Bexley was in the car when Jared was killed, and she could have been harmed as well.

State Attorney Melissa Nelson has publicly stated that he did not act alone, suggesting that there may be other individuals under investigation.

so henry has a lengthy criminal record dating back to 1998 which includes charges of domestic battery leaving the scene of an accident fraudulent activity and multiple driving under the influence or reckless driving charges kirsten jared's widow spoke out after the charges were announced and she said that she had no idea who henry was and was adamant that jared didn't know him either

She also said that the news of a conspiracy had only confirmed her suspicions, saying, and I quote, But that's when things got even weirder. While Henry's most recent court documents list his address in the 8700 block of Old Kings Road,

Some online people finder research tools suggest that he may have lived in the 5200 block of Potomac Avenue. And property records for that address on Potomac Avenue indicate that Mario Fernandez owned the home from 2017 to October 2022. So what are the chances of that?

what are the chances that Mario owns the exact place that this random 61-year-old man lived and has now happens to be the person who shot and killed his wife's ex-husband? Not long after Henry's arrest, on March 16th, 2023, State Attorney Melissa Nelson and Jacksonville Beach Police Chief announced the arrest of Mario Fernandez Saldana in the murder case of Jared Breidegen.

He was arrested in Kissimmee and is now in the Orange County Jail. During a press conference, it was announced that he has agreed to cooperate fully with the authorities in exchange for a plea agreement. Henry pled guilty to second-degree murder, and he also agreed to testify against the individuals involved in Jared's murder, including Mario.

Investigators spoke to media outlets and said that Henry's cooperation provided cooperating evidence to what has already been collected during the investigation, as well as additional evidence against Mario for his role in planning and executing Jared's murder. However, it was also announced that their investigation remains active and ongoing and that it did not stop with Mario's arrest.

and it did not stop there at all, not by a long shot. And we're going to get there in a second. Our investigation remains active and ongoing, and it has not stopped today with the arrest of Mario Fernandez Saldana. We all remain committed to seeking the truth, and that is the entire truth, and holding accountable

Every single individual involved in the murder of Jared Bright again Henry Tennant was a tenant a former tenant of Mario rental property that Mario Fernandez Saldana owned So at this time Pursuant to what I told Vic the statements he has made are going to be redacted from the warrant but he's provided sworn testimony and

has confirmed both what we believe to be true based on other evidence in the case and provided us additional evidence in the case. And is this a death penalty case? So, Ann, should we file a notice of intent to seek the death penalty, we will do it within the 45-day requirement after Fernandez-Saldana is arraigned. State Attorney, are more arrests coming? At this time, I'm not going to answer that question.

State Attorney, do you have a picture of who was the shooter, who was the driver? Henry Tennant has admitted that he in fact was the shooter. And whose gun was it?

He, I'm not going to answer any more factual details. And thank you for understanding. I'll reiterate this one thing. This is an active and ongoing criminal investigation. That is in fact the exemption under the Florida Public Records law in which we've redacted certain information. And in due time, obviously all of the facts and the evidence as we know it will become available to all of you. Mario and Shanna have reportedly separated, which seemed obvious since he didn't make that move with her to Washington with her and the children.

Mario was charged with first-degree murder with a weapon, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, solicitation to commit a capital felony, and harming a child because, again, of the child abuse with Bexley in the car.

Much of his arrest warrant was heavily redacted because it was still an ongoing criminal investigation. However, it revealed some new information, like Shanna meeting Mario at CrossFit in 2018 when he was working there as a maintenance man, as well as some damning evidence and disturbing details.

First of all, while two-year-old Bexley was not physically harmed, there were bullets struck in the interior of the vehicle in close proximity to where the child was strapped into the car, an act that reasonably could have been expected to cause physical or mental injury to her. We already know that she was crying in the car when witnesses arrived, but this is just so enraging and just goes to show the level of scum these people are.

Not only was she crying because she didn't know what was going on and there were loud noises, but she was almost hit by a bullet from some low-level dirtbag who was busy murdering her dad without any care in the world that there was a child in the line of fire. Search warrants from Henry's bank account showed that there were three handwritten checks deposited from Mario.

phone records between Henry and Mario showed 35 points of contact between the two of them in February of 2022, 30 in March of 2022, and between 5 to 9 during May and June of 2022.

The police initially questioned Henry back in August of 2022 and found the connection between Henry and Mario with the bank statements back in October of 2022, which was right around that same time when Shanna was gearing up to move across the country.

According to law enforcement sources, Shanna was still a suspect. Online and locally, people wondered if it was possible that Mario did something without Shanna knowing. Did Mario take something she said off the cuff in a serious way and Mario acted on it? Or was she involved? Like she had mentioned years prior about asking those tattoo shop friends if they knew anybody who could shut him up.

Did Mario just think to himself, "Hey, I know a guy who has a long criminal record that would do this for money," and then approached Henry and did all of this on his own accord? Or who was the mastermind in all of this? Could Shanna have been involved? With Mario now in custody, it seemed that justice was finally being served for Jared Breidigan's murder.

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Paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. We are here today feeling many emotions. We have great relief knowing that two of the people behind my husband's murders are now behind bars and are no longer a threat to our family. We are also still angry. Angry that they were walking free while we were grappling with the reality that Jared wouldn't be here for any future memories, vacations, or tender moments with our kids.

Angry that our youngest who was six months at the time of his death will have no memories of her father. Angry there will be no new memories for Liam, Abby, Bexley, London, or anyone who knew and loved Jared. We have fought hard for the truth and the world now knows what we have known all along, that Jared truly was an innocent victim.

Since day one, those in charge of the investigation promised us that they would be relentless in their pursuit of accountability and justice, and they have been. We are grateful to the state attorney's office, Jacksonville Beach Police Department, the ATF, and any other agencies that have been involved in this investigation. Justice for Jared will not be stopped, and we will not be silenced. We know there's still a long way to go before all

All those responsible are truly held accountable, but today is a very significant day for our family. Thank you. But there was always one thing that was missing. One thing until now. And that person was Shanna. I asked Shanna the question. Did you have anything to do with Jared's murder? No, I did not have anything to do with

with his murder. Shanna s if the murder was target involved in saying they r Thank you for joining us last public update on th of the murder of Jared B 16th of 2022 in Jacksonville today by our law enforc Jean Paul Smith of the J police department and man

special agent Bob Bryson of ATF Jacksonville and Jacksonville Beach Mayor Hoffman. We are also joined by Jared's widow, Kirsten, Kirsten's parents and Jared's brother brothers, Adam and Justin and Adam's wife. Thank you for being here today. We promised at the outset of this investigation we would not relent until we uncovered the truth of Jared's murder, the whole and entire truth.

This morning, a Fourth Circuit grand jury indicted Shana Gardner for first degree murder, conspiracy to commit first degree murder, solicitation to commit first degree murder and child abuse. All related to the murder of Jared Bright again, Shana's ex husband Gardner was arrested shortly after and taken into custody by ATF Washington Field Division agents in West Richland, Washington. Gardner will be extradited to Duval County to face these charges.

We will be filing a notice of our intent to seek the death penalty, as we have also done in the case of Mario Fernandez. In the press conference, State Attorney Melissa Nelson stated this investigation has uncovered the truth in Jared's murder. Henry did not act alone. Mario didn't plan alone. And Shanna's indictment acknowledges her central and key role in the cold, calculated, and premeditated murder of Jared Breidegen.

She also stated that copies of the indictment and evidentiary details will be provided during the discovery process. After the announcement, Adam, Jared's brother, and Kirsten, Jared's widow, gave statements to the press. First and foremost, the family is so appreciative of all of you being here and this opportunity. I wanted to speak to Jared. Jared, we shouldn't be here today. You should be making us laugh and spending time with your family.

Your siblings miss you every day. There is a pain in our hearts that will never go away. Your parents miss you. Your wife misses you. Your children miss you. To every single law enforcement officer, agency, the district and state attorney, we can never express our gratitude adequately. We are eternally grateful for your sacrifices and your support. To every reporter, podcast show, producer,

Thank you. Thank you for writing about Jared's story. Thank you for caring. Thank you for helping us fight for justice. To every person who shared a story, liked, commented, posted flyers about the truck, those who shared a prayer or sent words of positive encouragement, thank you from the bottom of the Breidingen family heart. We love you all. Thank you.

For 547 days, we have hoped and prayed that this day would come. Our hearts will always be full of deep gratitude for the men and women who have worked tirelessly to bring justice forward in Jared's case. We are also deeply grateful for the prayers that have been offered on our behalf. Shanna's arrest ends one horrific chapter of our pursuit for justice for Jared, and now we open a new one. This next chapter will be excruciating.

But we are confident in the ability of the state's attorney's office and law enforcement to bring truth to light. We expect to see justice carried out to the fullest extent of the law. Our hearts and minds have been with Liam and Abby since the day of Jared's murder, but especially for the past year and a half, Liam and Abby have been isolated and kept away from us while they lived with their mother, their stepdad, and their maternal grandparents.

despite my constant requests to see or speak to them, I have been denied and continuously ignored. So I will take this opportunity to do it again. I plead with the gardeners to put the emotional and mental well-being of Liam Abbey above all else and allow them to reconnect with us. We are their family. We love them. We have prayed for them every single day for the last 547 days.

since they were ripped aw us. The kids deserve all possible as we work throug Please do not continue t let our Children be sib first and do what's righ asked by reporters if th would ultimately be arrest here is how Kirsten respond

From very, very early on, everything in my soul and body told me that she was behind it. The looks on Adam and other family members' faces when Kirsten said that they've always suspected that was very telling. Adam smiled and the others shook their head in a way that screamed, we've always known Shanna did this.

Jared's other brother spoke out and said that ever since February 16, 2022, their entire world has been broken, but that today's announcement makes it feel a little better. Shanna's parents, Shelly Gardner, co-founder and CEO of Stampin' Up!, along with her husband Sterling, released the following statement.

Words cannot accurately express the depth of our sadness. Family is our top priority. We love our daughter and are focused on supporting her and our entire family as we help our grandchildren navigate this difficult and very confusing time. For their sake and all involved, we caution against further speculation and request privacy as the legal process runs its course.

In the meantime, we are thankful for the continued support, thoughtfulness, and prayers being so generously shared by friends and loved ones.

According to some online reports, just one month after Jared's murder, Shanna, Mario, the twins, and her parents celebrated spring break at Club Med at Sandpiper Bay. Shelly Gardner posted photos of the vacation on her blog, showing them paddle boarding, kayaking, and building sandcastles. Then weeks later, Shanna cut off all contact between the twins and their half-siblings.

So I'm just going to say it. I'm not really buying Shanna's parents' statement in all of this because their actions do not match their words in any capacity. And it completely reeks of a corporate attempt to save face, in my opinion, which is weak and just eye-roll inducing at best.

Seriously, they need a new crisis PR person. If their family is truly their top priority and they want to help their grandchildren navigate this difficult and confusing time, then why are the twins being kept away from the other half of their family? Wouldn't this entire time since they last saw their dad and their other half of their family be difficult for them? Be difficult and confusing?

One day their dad is killed and then they never see their other siblings, grandparents, stepmom, aunts, uncles, etc. ever again, all while being taken out of school and moved across the country? Sure, blended families can of course be difficult, but I don't think anyone can deny Kirsten's heartbreak and pain listening to her plead to have the chance to see Abby and Liam and for them to be able to reconnect with their siblings.

Kirsten spoke exclusively to Brian Enten on News Nation. And here's what she said about that. Kirsten, thank you so much for being with us. Kirsten, you know, I was thinking when I saw you at the press conference yesterday when the arrest of the ex-wife was announced, just like how hard you've worked, how since I first talked to you when this case wasn't getting a ton of national attention that you were like so determined to see this through and get justice for Jared. And you've just you've pounded it and you've pounded it and you've

pounded it. I just, I mean, what did yesterday feel like after just, you know, all the tireless work that you've put into this? It was such a mix of emotions. You know, it was relief and like validation of all the hard work that went into this, that we got here.

But at the same time, it was heartbreak. You know, you live through that again and again as it's back in the news and it's a fresh wound opened. And especially thinking about Liam and Abby and what that means for them.

with their mother's arrest. Yeah, you bring them up. I read the statement from their mother's family. And, you know, they were part of your family. I mean, when you and Jared were together, this was one family. I mean, you were very close to his kids from the previous marriage. It just, I feel for them, I mean, they've had that torn away from them now. And it's my understanding you're not even allowed to see them.

No, I have not been allowed to see or speak to them since April of 2022, just a couple months after Jared was murdered. I mean, it just doesn't seem fair. I don't understand why they would not allow them to see you. I think a lot of people have the same question. I definitely think if someone is guilty of a crime, they probably wouldn't want their children talking to many others about it.

Yeah. That would be my assumption for why that is happening, but I don't know for sure. I just wish it wasn't this way and that there was better cooperation, especially now that they are

with their grandparents. Yeah, I mean even if they're standing by their daughter, you're you're not the one who made the arrest, you're not the police. I mean it it seems like just for the sake of of the kids they would want to allow them to see to see you. But I guess we'll see how that plays out. I'm curious what you think about the death penalty. That was something that I guess I wasn't necessarily expecting. What do you make of that?

Prior to being in this situation, I hadn't put a lot of thought into my own personal feelings about the death penalty. In this case, I am trusting that the state's attorney's office will make the best decision as far as what penalty to seek for all involved. And if that is the death penalty, then I will support that. If it's life in prison, I will support that. But I do think the harshest punishment is

needs to be applied to th in Jared's murder. Yeah. new details from the indi saying that she was uh, is pretty alarming. Yes. A Brian and 10 said, accord shanna has been planning

News for Jack's reporter Vic Michelucci also had an exclusive interview with Kirsten and Jared's brother Adam. When did you begin suspecting Shanna was going to be arrested and charged for this?

Jared was a very kind person. He did not have enemies. He wasn't involved in any shady things. You know, in Shanna's interview last year, she mentioned we ran in different circles, her and Jared. Yeah, you did. And he was in good company. I would just say that I feel right now a sense of relief, a small bit of peace that we're

The pain has transferred. The pain of not knowing and wondering if everyone would be, you know, put behind bars, that pain will now transition to, are we going to fully get justice? Is everything going to play out right? But we can't control that. Justice in the legal system, for me, looks like the harshest punishment available. You know, they took a life of a father, of a loving husband,

They took a father away from four children, a son away from parents, a brother away from siblings, an uncle. They took a lot. And so for them, the least that I expect to happen is that their life is now spent behind bars where they can think about everything that they've done to survive.

our family, our friends, and the children. And on the Jacks for News site, it also states that Shanna had been plotting this since May of 2015. That would mean that she had been planning this since she first filed from divorce from Jared and long before she even married Mario. Are investigators pointing to the comment that she made to that tattoo shop employee? Or is it something more sinister altogether?

I'm not sure, but then I also can't stop thinking about the timing of Jared's murder. Jared and Chana's divorce was contentious, well beyond 2015, and in the most recent court filings leading up to Jared's murder, she was accusing Jared of recording and coaching their children for the things that they said.

While we obviously don't know the extent of that or any details, and this is just 100% speculation, guys, I do wonder if Shanna thought that she could legitimately have her children taken away from her, or if they were getting old enough to be able to say which parents' home they would like to be at primarily.

But again, could that have been the motive in this? But again, that's just a thought that came across my mind. I'm curious to know what you guys think. So if you guys are watching on YouTube, definitely let me know in the comments. I just can't understand what else could be her motive in all of this. If she's the one that was having the affair, she's the one that said she fell out of love with Jared, she's the one that didn't want to continue to work on their marriage and repair it, and she's the one who filed for divorce. If you're the one out of love, over it, the breadwinner, have all the money from the

your parents all of these things why do you want to execute your husband

What is the motive there if you're the one emotionally detached and emotionally removed? It's not like he left you for another woman. It's not like he cheated on you. The only thing I can think of logically would be custody of the children because that was such a contentious point in their divorce after that agreed split 50-50. So I don't know. I'm confident that we are going to learn a lot, lot more in the discovery process. Shanna has another court appearance on September 14th in Benton County, Washington.

Once the Florida governor signs over her extradition papers, she will be transferred to Duval County. Now, once the discovery process begins and more details are revealed, I will 100% keep you guys updated because I think we are just scratching the surface in this case. Yes, we now have three people who were involved in this.

How far back did the plotting truly go? What is the evidence in that plotting? What was the motive and the reasoning for that plotting? We are just now learning how deep this truly goes. So I will for sure be following it closely and I will be keeping you guys updated.

Don't forget to also hit up those discount codes in the show notes from today's sponsors. Get those killer deals. And please don't forget to take an extra 30 seconds on your way out to rate and review this podcast. All right, guys, I will be talking with you guys again very soon, not only for headline highlights this week, but for another true crime case. Hopefully my voice is back to normal by then, but you never know. So thanks again for tuning in, guys. And until the next one, stay safe. I am signing off today.

All right. Have a good one, guys. Bye. An official message from Medicare.

A new law is helping me save more money on prescription drug costs. Maybe you can save too. With Medicare's Extra Help program, my premium is zero and my out-of-pocket costs are low. Who should apply? Single people making less than $23,000 a year or married couples who make less than $31,000 a year. Even if you don't think you qualify, it pays to find out. Go to ssa.gov slash extra help. Paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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