JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Prosecutors showed text messages in court on Wednesday that they say showed that Shanna Gardner, the woman accused of plotting to kill her ex-husband Jared Bridegan, was looking for a hitman years before his murder.
Testimony during a bond hearing also revealed that Gardner repeatedly wished Bridegan would disappear, or someone would make him disappear.
The attorneys for Gardner on Tuesday were trying to convince Judge London Kite to set a bond and release her as she awaits trial for her alleged role in the murder of Bridegan.
Bridegan, a 33-year-old father of four, was ambushed and killed in Jacksonville Beach two years ago in what’s been described by investigators as a murder-for-hire plot.
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Gardner, along with her estranged husband Mario Fernandez, is under indictment and facing a possible death sentence if convicted, and being held without bond.
Prosecutors introduced text messages between Gardner and a close friend dating back to 2015, in which they said Gardner repeatedly wished Jared would “disappear,” but the two also used code words, prosecutors said.
They used “stupid” as a nickname for Bridegan and said “casserole” or “funeral potatoes” in reference to his death. They also referenced wanting someone “who could shut people up,” and who does “permanent disappearing acts,” referring to them as a “magician.”
The defense called the texts irrelevant and stale because it was six years before the murder. They went through other messages where the detective acknowledged one of them came off as a joke, and brought up that one of the people who allegedly knew how to get a hitman was never brought in for questioning by the detective.
Defense attorney Jose Baez pointed out there were no messages in 2021 about hiring a hitman.
They also played a recording of Gardner’s children being interviewed by DCF, in which one of them said they saw Fernandez in the house playing video games the night of the murder.
That was contested because the detective said the child wasn’t sure if Fernandez was there or not.
The prosecution also showed how Gardner comes from a wealthy family. They showed bank statements and even explained how Gardner’s parents were putting money into a trust for Shanna and her kids.
But it turns out Fernandez was in control of the money as a trustee.
The Gardners made sure the money was not for Shanna’s personal income, that way Bridegan wouldn’t have access.
There was even a clause in the trust document that said once Gardner had no more legal entanglements with Bridegan, she could have the money.
One could argue this speaks to the possibility of Gardner being able to make a bond if it’s posted.
As of 6 p.m. on Wednesday, a judge had yet to make a decision on her bond.
Another case status conference is set for later this month.
What led to Gardner’s arrest
A report released earlier this year revealed that investigators targeted Fernandez and Gardner from the start.
Police talked to Gardner the night of the murder and she admitted “the divorce was not amicable,” and the ex-couple only communicated by text. Gardner said she “did not know if the victim had any issues with anyone which would lead to his death.”
Police also talked to Kirsten Bridegan, Jared’s wife, that night.
“Shanna and Mario lie to the kids and try to make Jared look bad to them. The only person who had ill will toward him is Shanna and Mario,” she told investigators.
Two days after the murder, police had subpoenaed the cellphones of Fernandez and Gardner.
Police also spoke to Gardner’s father, who said that Bridegan was “set on making Shanna’s life miserable” after the divorce and that he was preoccupied with money.
The documents also said Gardner’s father was willing to pay off Bridegan to get rid of him.
Bridegan was gunned down outside his SUV on Feb. 16, 2022, after he stopped to move a tire that was blocking the road. His then-2-year-old daughter was in the car and wasn’t hurt.
The report said the shooter fired four shots, two hit Bridegan and two hit the SUV.
When police arrived, good Samaritans were already there and were taking care of the little girl.
She later told police, “Daddy opened my car door and I heard a boom.” Then, after she saw Bridegan lying on the ground, the daughter said, “Daddy was sick.”
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Police not only had surveillance audio from neighbors, but they also obtained surveillance video of the ambush murder. The video showed the muzzle flashes and the shooter running off, the reports state.
Friend’s damning statement, Tenon becomes focus
On June 28, investigators interviewed a friend of both Fernandez and Gardner. She recounted a conversation in which Gardner told her, “Mario offered to get four guys and break into Bridegan’s residence…to take care of him, and nobody would ever know.”
The friend also told investigators that Fernandez once told her, “You know I’ve killed people before.” She took that as a threat.
She said Gardner told her she only married Fernandez for child custody reasons, so that it would look good in court, and her parents would give her more money.
Investigators also interviewed a college friend of Fernandez, who dated him. She said Fernandez called her the night after the murder and said he knew who did it, and characterized it as a “hit and run.” She acknowledged that Mario had never made threats toward Bridegan.
On July 18, 2022, police went to a rental house in Jacksonville on Potomac Avenue owned by Fernandez, and there they talked to the current occupant and saw a spare tire leaning against the house. The renter said he’d found it on the curb and told police they could have it if they wanted.
As the detective was loading the tire into his truck, Henry Tenon drove up. There was a brief conversation about unrelated things.
Police later tested the tire and it matched the tire found at the murder scene, so they went back to Potomac Avenue. The current renter told police Tenon went to Georgia to get his father’s blue Ford pickup truck after his father died.
The investigators’ focus then narrowed onto Tenon, especially after police got hits on the truck all over Jacksonville.
On Oct. 14, police obtained Tenon’s bank records, and found three checks totaling $10,000 from First Choice Home Rentals LLC, which is owned by Fernandez and Gardner. There were checks for $2,000 and $3,000 that cleared on March 28 and a check for $5,000 that cleared on April 4. The State Attorney’s Office said the checks were signed by Fernandez.
Tenon later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the Bridegan case and agreed to testify against others involved in the purported murder-for-hire case, including Gardner and Fernandez.
Fernandez was arrested in March 2023 and is accused of orchestrating the murder conspiracy that ended with Bridegan’s death.