Jared Bridegan murder case

Developing StoryLast updated MAR 10
SUMMARY

Shanna Gardner and her estranged husband, Mario Fernandez, accused of plotting the 2022 murder of Jared Bridegan, appeared in court for a pre-trial hearing on March 5, 2026, in Duval County, Florida. As of March 5, 2026: Both Gardner and Fernandez have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and other charges, and the accused gunman, Henry Tenon, has withdrawn his guilty plea and will proceed to trial. Prosecutors have withdrawn their intent to seek the death penalty for Gardner and Fernandez, whose trial is slated for summer 2026, with jury selection on August 10, 2026. New evidence, including text messages with code words like “funeral potatoes,” has been released in the prosecution's case against Gardner. Fernandez has filed a motion seeking bond, which was addressed during the March 5 hearing.

Timeline

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2026

8 updates

Shanna Gardner and her estranged husband, Mario Fernandez, accused of plotting the 2022 murder of Jared Bridegan, appeared in court for a pre-trial hearing on March 5, 2026. Both have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and other charges. The hearing also addressed a motion for bond release for Fernandez, and noted that the accused gunman, Henry Tenon, has withdrawn his guilty plea and will proceed to trial.

via courtney.com

New evidence, including text messages allegedly exchanged with friends using code words like “funeral potatoes” and “doing magic,” has been released in the prosecution's case against Shanna Gardner. Gardner and her husband, Mario Fernandez Saldana, are charged with hiring Henry Tenon to murder Bridegan, who was shot to death on February 16, 2022. Tenon, who initially pleaded guilty, withdrew his plea and will now go to trial.

via news4jax.com

Mario Fernandez-Saldana, accused of helping orchestrate the 2022 murder of Jared Bridegan, has filed a motion seeking bond. Fernandez-Saldana faces charges including first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Prosecutors describe Bridegan's killing as a "murder-for-hire plot" orchestrated by Gardner and Fernandez-Saldana.

via News4JAX·actionnewsjax.com·firstcoastnews.com

Henry Tenon, who confessed to killing Jared Bridegan, has been indicted by a Duval County grand jury on first-degree murder and child abuse charges. His second-degree murder charge has been upgraded to first-degree, and he will now go to trial after his request to withdraw his guilty plea was approved. Police and prosecutors consider Bridegan's killing a "murder-for-hire plot" orchestrated by his ex-wife, Shanna Gardner, and her husband.

via First Coast News·actionnewsjax.com·news4jax.com

Henry Tenon, who previously confessed to his role as the gunman in the murder-for-hire plot of Jared Bridegan, has had his motion to withdraw his guilty plea approved and will now proceed to trial. Tenon is charged alongside Shanna Gardner and Mario Fernandez-Saldana, who have pleaded not guilty. The murder occurred on February 16, 2022.

via First Coast News·courttv.com·sao4th.com

Henry Tenon, who had pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Jared Bridegan and agreed to testify against Shanna Gardner and Mario Fernandez Saldana, is now seeking to withdraw his plea. Tenon claims his testimony against Gardner and Saldana was false and he no longer intends to testify.

via courttv.com

In a pre-trial hearing on September 20, 2025, a judge granted a motion restricting the disclosure of some discovery materials related to Mario Fernandez and allowed out-of-state witnesses to appear via Zoom. Separately, on January 22, 2026, a judge granted Shanna Gardner's motion to block the release of certain evidence before her trial.

via youtube.com·news4jax.com

A judge denied a motion from Mario Fernandez-Saldana's defense team that sought clarity from confessed hitman Henry Tenon. Separately, a civil wrongful death case filed by Jared Bridegan's widow will not proceed until after the criminal murder trial concludes.

via firstcoastnews.com·youtube.com

2025

10 updates

Shanna Gardner and Mario Fernandez are on track for their murder-for-hire trial in summer 2026, with jury selection specifically slated for August 10, 2026.

via news4jax.com

Prosecutors have withdrawn their intent to seek the death penalty for Shanna Gardner and her husband, Mario Fernandez, in the murder-for-hire case of Jared Bridegan.

via firstcoastnews.com

The trial for Shanna Gardner and Mario Fernandez, accused in the 2022 murder-for-hire of Jared Bridegan, has been delayed until August 2026. Bridegan's widow is seeking $100,000 from Gardner, Fernandez, and Henry Tenon for wrongful death. Henry Tenon, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, is also involved in the case.

via Action News Jax·news4jax.com·firstcoastnews.com

The trial for Shanna Gardner and Mario Fernandez was postponed until August 3, 2026, with jury selection expected to last a week and involve up to 500 potential jurors.

via firstcoastnews.com

Shanna Gardner's attorneys filed a motion in July 2025 to obtain communications from jailhouse informants, which Judge London Kite granted, allowing the defense team to access these communications.

via youtube.com

New documents reveal that Shanna Gardner, awaiting trial for the murder of Jared Bridegan, had multiple jailhouse violations in April and June 2024. These violations include possession of contraband and drugs. Gardner faces charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

via firstcoastnews.com

Discipline reports reveal that murder suspect Shanna Gardner committed drug and theft violations while incarcerated, including possession of narcotics in April 2024 and theft in August 2024.

via youtube.com

2024

2 updates

Attorneys for Shanna Gardner have filed a motion to dismiss her indictment in the murder-for-hire plot of her ex-husband, Jared Bridegan.

via firstcoastnews.com·news4jax.com

2023

5 updates

2022

2 updates

Story began · 4 years, 1 mo ago