The parents of Shanna Gardner, who is charged with orchestrating the shooting death of her ex-husband more than two years ago, have been granted guardianship of the twins the former couple shared.
According to a report from The Florida Times-Union, a court decided the twins, who are now 12 years old, will continue living in Washington state with Gardner’s parents, where they have been since before their mother’s arrest in August 2023. The children’s paternal grandparents had been seeking full custody.
Gardner moved with her children to live with her parents, Sterling and Shelli Gardner, shortly after the twins’ father, 33-year-old Jared Bridegan, was murdered in an ambush shooting in Jacksonville Beach on Feb. 16, 2022.
When Shanna Gardner was arrested 18 months later, her parents took full custody of the twins, but Bridegan’s parents, Gaylord and JoAnne Bridegan, have been seeking visitation for nearly a year. In June, they petitioned the court to grant them full guardianship of the twins.
Sterling and Shelli Gardner are the owners of multi-level marketing company Stampin’ Up!, which is headquartered in Riverton, Utah. They are also prominent in the Mormon community in Utah.
According to court records, Shanna Gardner consented to grant her parents full guardianship after she was arrested in Washington. She was later extradited to Duval County in October 2023.
The Bridegans’ initial petition for visitation argued that the twins’ maternal grandparents had been preventing them from having a relationship with their father’s family.
When News4JAX spoke with Bridegan’s sister in February of this year, she said her parents only had one supervised visit with the twins and weekly video calls.
According to the Times-Union, the Bridegans’ custody lawsuit later argued that the Gardners helped Shanna flee from Florida after the murder and that the Gardners were not allowing the twins any contact with Bridegan’s widow, Kirsten, or their half-siblings.
Earlier this week, the court said “it was in the best interest of the children” to remain in Washington with their maternal grandparents, the Times-Union reported. A Times-Union source close to the case said part of the confidential agreement signed by both parties includes visitation rights for the Bridegans.
The Gardners and Bridegans released a statement Friday through the Gardners' trial counsel:
“As the grandparents of Liam and Abigail Bridegan, we, the Bridegans and Gardners, have used a cooperative approach to foster an environment that prioritizes the children’s needs, even in the face of challenging circumstances. That spirit of cooperation and collaboration led the parties to resolve the guardianship matter without the need for a trial. For both sets of grandparents, the proceedings were never about “winning” or “losing” but about ensuring that the children’s well-being remains paramount. Both parties are happy with what was settled on.
We urge all parties to approach this matter with sensitivity and responsibility. We are hopeful that all parties can continue to move forward constructively, prioritizing the love and care that the children deserve.
We will not be making any further comments publicly regarding this matter, and kindly request that all respect the privacy that a matter involving minor children justifies."
Kirsten Bridegan shared a reaction to the court’s decision on the JusticeForJaredB Instagram page, saying, “This isn’t what Jared would have wanted and this isn’t what I want, but some things are out of my control/ability to influence or correct.”
Jared Bridegan’s murder
The ambush killing received national attention in 2022 when Jared Bridegan was gunned down while trying to move a tire blocking the road on his way home after dropping the twins off with Shanna.
The shooting took place 2 miles from her home.
The gunman, Henry Tenon, has since confessed to pulling the trigger, but investigators said was hired by Shanna and her husband, Mario Fernandez, to kill Jared. Tenon was a former tenant of Fernandez.
Both Shanna and Fernandez, who was arrested in March 2023, are under indictment for first-degree murder in Jared’s killing, and both face the possibility of the death penalty.
Their trial is tentatively set for October 2025.