“SOMETHING’S WRONG” — JARED BRIDEGAN’S WIDOW RECOUNTS THE FINAL HOURS BEFORE HIS MURDER
“SOMETHING’S WRONG” — JARED BRIDEGAN’S WIDOW RECOUNTS THE FINAL HOURS BEFORE HIS MURDER
The first trial connected to the 2022 murder of Jared Bridegan is now underway in Florida, and his widow, Kirsten Bridegan, has taken the stand with an emotional account of the final hours before her husband’s death.
THE LAST CALL
Kirsten told jurors that she spoke with Jared by phone after he dropped off his older children.
According to her testimony, nothing initially seemed unusual.
But when Jared suddenly stopped responding, Kirsten said she immediately became concerned and told her parents:
“Something’s wrong.”
Not long afterward, she learned that Jared had been shot.
WHAT PROSECUTORS SAY HAPPENED
Prosecutors allege Jared was deliberately lured out of his SUV after a tire was placed in the road.
He was then ambushed and shot while his two-year-old daughter, Bexley, remained inside the vehicle.
The state alleges that Henry Tenon was the gunman and that Mario Fernandez Saldana helped arrange the killing.
Fernandez has pleaded not guilty.
His defense does not dispute that Tenon was the shooter, but argues prosecutors have not established that Fernandez ordered or helped orchestrate the murder.
WHY KIRSTEN IMMEDIATELY THOUGHT OF GARDNER AND FERNANDEZ
Kirsten also described the difficult co-parenting relationship surrounding Jared’s older children.
She testified about disagreements with Jared’s ex-wife, Shanna Gardner, and Gardner’s then-husband, Mario Fernandez.
One dispute involved religion.
Kirsten said Jared had been taking his daughter to church and that they were discussing plans for her baptism, including choosing a baptism dress.
Prosecutors have pointed to the family’s conflicts over parenting and religion as part of the broader circumstances surrounding the alleged murder-for-hire plot.
After learning Jared had been killed, Kirsten told police that her immediate instinct was to investigate Gardner and Fernandez.
That testimony is significant — but it remains her account of what she suspected at the time, not independent proof that either person was responsible.
THE EVIDENCE JURORS ARE HEARING
The prosecution has also presented evidence from people who discovered Jared after the shooting, a Jacksonville police officer who attempted to save him and the medical examiner.
The medical examiner determined that Jared died from multiple gunshot wounds and classified the death as a homicide.
The case against Fernandez is expected to center on whether prosecutors can connect him to the alleged planning and payment behind the ambush.
According to prosecutors, Tenon was allegedly paid $10,000 and was connected to Fernandez through a rental property. The prosecution also points to a second tire found on Fernandez’s property that investigators say matched the tire used to lure Jared from his SUV.
THE DEFENSE HAS A DIFFERENT STORY
Fernandez’s attorneys are challenging the prosecution’s interpretation of the evidence.
Their position is essentially that being connected to people or circumstances surrounding the murder is not enough to prove that Fernandez participated in it.
That distinction will be central as the jury weighs the evidence.
Gardner is scheduled to face a separate trial later in September.
MORE THAN FOUR YEARS LATER
Jared Bridegan was 33 when he was killed.
His two-year-old daughter survived the ambush.
Now, more than four years later, his widow is sitting in court recounting the last conversation she ever had with him while prosecutors attempt to prove who planned the attack and why.
A NORMAL PHONE CALL.
THEN SILENCE.
“SOMETHING’S WRONG.”
AND A MURDER THAT PROSECUTORS SAY WAS CAREFULLY PLANNED.
The jury must now decide whether the evidence proves Fernandez’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Independent commentary based on current courtroom reporting. Allegations against Mario Fernandez Saldana remain allegations unless and until proven in court.
