(HorizonPost.com) – Shanna Lee Gardner, who along with her current husband is accused of hiring a hitman to murder her ex-husband in 2022, appeared in court on Wednesday for a bond hearing, where the prosecution laid out evidence establishing that she was directly involved in arranging her husband’s death.
Gardner was indicted last August on charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in connection to the ambush-style execution of her ex-husband, Microsoft executive Jared Bridegan in Jacksonville, Florida on February 16, 2022.
Her current husband Mario Fernandez Saldana is also charged with first-degree murder for his role in the murder-for-hire plot.
Henry Arthur Tenon, who shot and killed Bridegan, pleaded guilty in March 2023 to second-degree murder and is expected to testify against both Gardner and Fernandez.
In Wednesday’s bond hearing, the prosecution called Jacksonville Beach Police Detective Christopher Johns who led the investigation into Bridegan’s murder.
Detective Johns presented text messages between Gardner and her friend Kim Jensen that dated back to 2015. Investigators and prosecutors believe that the two women were speaking in code about killing Bridegan.
Johns said Jensen was asked about the texts when interviewed by the police and admitted that the text conversations were about finding someone to kill Gardner’s ex-husband or having her husband Mario kill him.
The detective also presented a check made out to Henry Tenon on April 4, 2022, for $5,000 from First Choice Home Rentals, a business run by Gardner and her husband. The check memo includes, “Kickstarter” and “Good luck!”
The defense argued that the checks paid to Tenon were all signed by Fernandez who was responsible for the couple’s finances.
Bridegan was fatally shot after he stopped to move a tire that had been left in the middle of the road while driving home with his daughter. As Bridegan was clearing the tire, Tenon approached and shot him multiple times, leaving him dead on the street with his daughter watching from the car.
Gardner was arrested in Washington state where she and Fernandez were living.
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