Man convicted in murder-for-hire killing of Microsoft manager on Florida
road
[August 27, 2026]
By ED WHITE
A man accused of arranging the fatal shooting of a Microsoft design
manager on a Florida road was convicted Wednesday in a murder-for-hire
scheme that followed years of a stormy child custody arrangement between
the victim and his wealthy ex-wife.
Jared Bridegan was shot in 2022 after he got out of his SUV to remove a
tire from a road in Jacksonville Beach. The attack stumped police for
months as they struggled to understand why someone with no apparent
enemies would be killed while his daughter sat nearby in her car seat.
Prosecutors believe he was killed because of ongoing strife with his
former wife, Shanna Gardner, over the parenting of their twins.
Mario Fernandez Saldana, 38, was convicted of first-degree murder and
solicitation of murder and faces an automatic sentence of life in
prison. He’s married to Gardner, 39, whose trial is set to start in
September.
“They wanted a majority of the decision making. They wanted more
custody, even 60-40," Assistant State Attorney Christina Stifler said
during closing arguments Tuesday in Duval County court.
“It doesn’t matter if they were completely right about the situation or
completely wrong. What matters is how they fixed it,” Stifler said.
“They fixed it by executing a man when they had other alternatives
available to them. That’s why we’re here.”
Prosecutors said Fernandez Saldana hired Henry Tenon to carry out the
fatal ambush. He had no personal connection to Bridegan, but was a
former tenant at Fernandez Saldana’s rental property in Jacksonville.
The prosecutor described him as “basically homeless, squatting on
people’s couches with overdrawn bank accounts.”
Jurors saw three checks totaling $10,000 written to Tenon after the
homicide, marked as payments by Fernandez Saldana for handyman work and
a business idea — “good luck!!”
[to top of second column]
|
Kirsten Bridegan, widow of Jared Bridegan, reacts to the guilty
verdict after the trial of Mario Fernandez Saldana at the Duval
County Courthouse in Jacksonville, Fla., on Wednesday, Aug. 26,
2026. (Corey Perrine/The Florida Times-Union via AP, Pool)
Tenon’s DNA was identified on the rim of the tire that was
intentionally placed in the road, police said.
He initially pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against Fernandez
Saldana but backed out and will stand trial in 2027.
Defense attorney Jesse Dreicer told jurors that Fernandez Saldana
had no motive to have Bridegan killed. Fernandez Saldana and Gardner
are estranged, and Gardner moved to Washington state after the
killing. She was arrested in 2023.
“He certainly gained no benefit from the death of Jared Bridegan,”
Dreicer said, noting there was no testimony that Fernandez Saldana
told anyone that Bridegan “deserves to die.”
Gardner is the daughter of the co-founder of Stampin’ Up!, an
arts-and-crafts company based in Utah.
Bridegan was shot twice when he stopped his Volkswagen Atlas to move
the tire out of the way. He had just returned two children to
Gardner's home after a meal with the twins. At the time of his
death, he was married to Kirsten Bridegan and they had two children.
Kirsten Bridegan told the jury that the post-divorce relationship
between her husband and Gardner was “pretty terrible,” adding there
was “absolutely no trust.” She said it interfered with the kids'
medical appointments and even routine meetings at school.
Bridegan was chief technology officer at Utah-based Clean Simple
Eats before working at Microsoft for less than a year before his
death, his wife said.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
