Killing of Jared Bridegan

Last updated
Killing of Jared Bridegan
Jared Bridegan American Murder Victim in 2022.jpg
Jared Bridegan, when he was a senior design manager at Microsoft.
LocationJacksonville Drive—Sanctuary Boulevard, Jacksonville Beach, Florida, United States
Coordinates 30°15′29″N81°24′00″W / 30.2580°N 81.4000°W / 30.2580; -81.4000
DateFebruary 16, 2022 (2022-02-16)
Approximately 7:45 p.m. [1] (EDT)
Attack type
 Homicide, shooting
Accused2
Convicted1
VerdictHenry Tenon:
Charges Suspects:

Henry Tenon:

SentenceHenry Tenon:
  • 15 years in prison

The killing of Jared Bridegan occurred on February 16, 2022, in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. [2] Jared Bridegan, a 33-year-old Microsoft senior design manager, was shot and killed after he dropped off his older twins at his ex-wife's house. [3] [4]

Contents

In January 2023, Henry Tenon [5] was arrested for Bridegan's murder. [5] [6] In March 2023, a second suspect, Mario Fernandez Saldana, was arrested in Orange County, Florida. [7] The grand jury indicted the suspect with charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation to commit a capital felony, and child abuse. [7] [8] In August 2023, a third suspect, Shanna Gardner, ex-wife of the victim and wife of the second suspect, was arrested and indicted on the same charges. [9] [10] [11]

Tenon accepted a plea deal, and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. [12] [13] The other two suspects pleaded not guilty. [9] [14] Prosecutors are seeking the capital penalty against the suspects. [10] The trial is expected to take place in late 2025. [15]

Jared Bridegan

Jared Galen Bridegan [16] was born on June 29, 1988, in Warrensburg, Missouri, to Gaylord and JoAnn Bridegan. He was raised in Jacksonville, Florida, and attended Douglas Anderson School of the Arts. In 2014, he graduated from Utah Valley University, with a B.S. degree in Digital Media. [17] He worked in various technology and design roles, including at Clean Simple Eats, Web.com, and Microsoft. [17]

In April 2010, Bridegan married his first wife in Salt Lake City, Utah. [18] Bridegan and his first wife had two children together. [19] In 2015, they divorced. [19] Bridegan married his second wife, Kirsten, a woman from Charlotte, North Carolina, with whom he had two children. [18] At that time, Bridegan was a 33-year-old man and lived in St. Augustine, Florida.

Killing

On February 16, 2022, Bridegan drove from St. Augustine to Jacksonville Beach to drop off his 9-year-old twin children at his ex-wife's home, with his 2-year-old daughter in the backseat of his Volkswagen Atlas. [2] [20] Bridegan was driving home when he stopped between Jacksonville Drive and Sanctuary Boulevard because a tire was in the middle of the road. [3] When he got out of the car to move the tire, he was shot and killed. [4] [21] Some bullets passed through the car, inches away from Bridegan's daughter. [22]

Around 8 p.m., Jacksonville Beach police officers responded to reports of shots fired in the area. [2] The police found Bridegan's body with multiple gunshot wounds, next to his car. [2]

Investigation

The State Attorney's Office and the Jacksonville Beach Police Department were certain that the killing was premeditated and even rehearsed. [4] [23]

The details from the investigation of Bridegan's killing were not made public, but it was mentioned that Bridegan was involved in a custody battle with his ex-wife. [24] His ex-wife was living in West Richland, Washington, with her children after the killing. [25] According to the police, a blue Ford F-150 was seen on a security video at the time of the murder. [3]

Henry Tenon, a then 61-year-old man, was considered a person of interest because he drove a blue Ford F-150 and was a former tenant at one of the suspect's homes. [6] Tenon's cellphone records indicated he was in Jacksonville Beach the night of the killing. Tenon also had a criminal history. [26] Tenon said a friend borrowed the truck that night. Tenon requested an attorney after police questioned him. On October 14, police found three checks totaling $10,000 in Tenon's bank accounts. [27] There were checks for $2,000 and $3,000 that were cashed on March 28 and a check for $5,000 that was cashed on April 4. [27] All of the checks were signed by one of the suspects. [27]

Arrests

In January 2023, Tenon was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit murder, second-degree murder with a weapon and accessory after the fact to a capital felony. [5] After the arrest warrant, phone records revealed that Tenon and one of the suspects had 35 calls in February, 30 calls in March, and additional calls between May and June. [28] Tenon accepted a plea deal, pleading guilty to second-degree murder, with the other charges dropped and agreed to testify in the trial. [21] [29] Tenon confessed and accepted that he was the triggerman. [30] [31] He was sentenced to 15 years in prison. [10]

In March 2023, Mario Fernandez-Saldana - the husband of the victim's ex-wife, Shanna Gardner-Fernandez - was arrested in Orange County, Florida. [10] [11] A grand jury indicted him on charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation to commit a capital felony, and child abuse. [8] In August 2023, Bridegan's ex-wife, Shanna Gardner-Fernandez, was indicted by the grand jury on the same charges. [9] [10] Both pleaded not guilty. [9] Prosecutors are seeking the capital penalty against the suspects. [10]

Legacy

After Jared's murder, his widow Kirsten Bridegan started the Bridegan foundation in his honor [32] . The foundation has created the "Bexley Box" to donate to police departments and sheriff's offices, first in Florida and then around the country. These boxes contain basic necessities and comfort items for a children, such as toys, sippy cups, diapers in assorted sizes, and blankets. Their goal is to "make children's experiences at police stations a little less traumatic and scary" [33] .

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Jeffries, Katie (February 15, 2024). "Murder, money & malice: Two years since the death of Jared Bridegan". First Coast News.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Kirsten Bridegan speaks out following arrest in her husband Jared's 2022 Jacksonville Beach homicide". NBC News . January 25, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 Scanlan, Dan (March 11, 2022). "Truck sought in February shooting death of Jacksonville Beach father". The Florida Times-Union .
  4. 1 2 3 Cohen, Miles; Deliso, Meredith (August 17, 2023). "Ex-wife of slain Microsoft exec Jared Bridegan charged with his murder". ABC News .
  5. 1 2 3 Deliso, Meredith; Cohen, Miles. "Arrest made after Microsoft executive, father of 4 gunned down in 'targeted ambush'". ABC News .
  6. 1 2 Neammanee, Pocharapon (March 16, 2023). "A Man Is Accused Of Hiring Someone To Kill His Wife's Ex-Husband". BuzzFeed News .
  7. 1 2 Butler, Scott (May 23, 2023). "If convicted, Mario Fernandez Saldana faces possible death penalty in Jared Bridegan case". The Florida Times-Union .
  8. 1 2 Deliso, Meredith; Cohen, Miles; McDuffie, Will (March 16, 2023). "Husband of ex-wife arrested in murder of former Microsoft executive in Florida, father of 4". ABC News .
  9. 1 2 3 4 Cohen, Miles; Deliso, Meredith (November 3, 2023). "Ex-wife of slain Microsoft exec Jared Bridegan pleads not guilty to his murder". ABC News .
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Riess, Rebekah (August 18, 2023). "The ex-wife of a Florida man killed in an 'ambush' shooting has been indicted for murder, prosecutors say". CNN .
  11. 1 2 Quinn, Liam (August 17, 2023). "Ex-Wife of Microsoft Executive Indicted on Murder Charge, Accused of Plotting Killing Amid Custody Dispute". People .
  12. ↑ "Ex-wife charged with murder in ambush-style killing of Microsoft executive Jared Bridegan, may face death penalty". CBS News . August 21, 2023.
  13. ↑ Butler, Scott (March 20, 2023). "What can triggerman be sentenced to after pleading guilty in Jared Bridegan killing?". The Florida Times-Union .
  14. ↑ "Husband of Jared Bridegan's ex-wife pleads not guilty to murder, conspiracy charges". News 4 Jax. April 4, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Trial of estranged couple accused in Jared Bridegan murder-for-hire plot set for Oct. 2025". News 4 Jax. October 2, 2024.
  16. ↑ "Who Is Henry Tenon? Man Arrested in Connection with Jared Bridegan Murder". Newsweek . January 26, 2023.
  17. 1 2 "Jared Galen Bridegan". St. John's Family Funeral Home & Crematory.
  18. 1 2 Melendez, Pilar (July 30, 2022). "The Mystery Behind the Brazen Execution of a Microsoft Boss". The Daily Beast .
  19. 1 2 Tavss, Jeff (August 17, 2023). "Ex-wife of UVU grad, Microsoft exec charged with his murder". Fox 13.
  20. ↑ Butler, Scott (January 24, 2023). "Jared Bridegan's death: Here's what we know about the fatal shooting in Jacksonville Beach". The Florida Times-Union .
  21. 1 2 Pelisek, Christine (May 16, 2024). "Wife Texted Friend She Wanted Ex-Husband 'Gone,' Say Police. Then He Was Killed in Front of His Daughter". People .
  22. ↑ Massie, Graeme (August 17, 2023). "Ex-wife charged with murder of Microsoft executive Jared Bridegan". The Independent .
  23. ↑ Micolucci, Vic (February 16, 2024). "Murder-for-hire plot included practice run along Jared Bridegan's normal route home: prosecutors". News 4 Jax.
  24. ↑ Graziosi, Graig (May 5, 2023). "An ambush on a quiet road, a fatal shooting and a year-long mystery: A breakthrough in Jared Bridegan's murder case". The Independent .
  25. ↑ Probert, Cameron (October 19, 2023). "WA woman to return to Florida to face charge of murdering Microsoft exec". The Seattle Times .
  26. ↑ Melendez, Pilar (January 25, 2023). "Cops Finally Nab Suspect in Brazen Execution of Microsoft Exec". The Daily Beast .
  27. 1 2 3 Croft, Jay (March 17, 2023). "A Florida man was killed in an 'ambush' with his toddler in the car. Now, police have arrested his ex-wife's husband". CNN .
  28. ↑ Butler, Scott (March 16, 2023). "Husband of Jared Bridegan's ex-wife arrested, charged in Jacksonville Beach shooting". The Florida Times-Union .
  29. ↑ Butler, Scott (August 25, 2023). "A plot to kill Jared Bridegan: Here's everything to know about the Jacksonville Beach murder". The Florida Times-Union .
  30. ↑ Micolucci, Vic (October 17, 2023). "'It ain't looking good': New evidence shows arrest, calls, interview of triggerman in Jared Bridegan murder". News 4 Jax.
  31. ↑ "Ex-wife charged in ambush-style killing of Microsoft executive Jared Bridegan". Omaha World-Herald . August 18, 2023.
  32. ↑ "Bridegan Foundation". Bridegan Foundation. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
  33. ↑ "About". Bridegan Foundation. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
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