Shanna Gardner faces the death penalty and is charged with murder. Prosecutors say she played a role in a plot to kill her ex-husband, Jared Bridegan, in 2022.
Renata Di Gregorio, Malcolm Harvey, First Coast News (On Your Side)
8:33 AM EDT November 3, 2023
9:03 AM EDT November 3, 2023
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Nearly two years after a Jacksonville Beach father of four was shot and killed in front of his child, his family will see his ex-wife in court for the first time Friday.
Shanna Gardner faces the death penalty and is charged with murder. Prosecutors say she played a role in a plot to kill her ex-husband, Jared Bridegan.
The case is receiving even more national attention now because of Gardner’s attorney, who is expected to be in court with her for the first time Friday. Jose Baez is best known for winning acquittals for Casey Anthony in the death of her toddler and for late NFL player Aaron Hernandez in his 2017 double-murder trial. Baez was also part of Harvey Weinstein’s so-called “dream team” of attorneys for five months before withdrawing from the case.
Gardner was brought from Washington state and was booked into the Duval County Jail less than two weeks ago, where she’s being held currently with no bond. She was arrested in August.
Prosecutors say Gardner, along with her second husband Mario Fernandez-Saldana and a man named Henry Tenon, who once rented a home from Fernandez-Saldana, plotted to kill Bridegan.
The father of four who lived in St. Augustine, was shot and killed in Jacksonville Beach after dropping off his kids at Gardner’s home in February 2022. Police say Bridegan was shot when he got out of his car to move a tire that was blocking the road. Police now believe the tire was put there intentionally to lure him out of his car. Bridegan’s two-year-old daughter was sitting in the back seat when he was killed.
Watch the livestream of Gardner’s arraignment in the above video player or from the YouTube video below.
