JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Shanna Gardner and her estranged husband, Mario Fernandez, who are accused of plotting to have her ex-husband, Jared Bridegan, killed in 2022, were back in court Wednesday morning.
Their trial is currently set to begin with jury selection on Oct. 20.
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Ahead of that, the state said Wednesday that it had provided both defense teams with its complete discovery inventory. Both sides have a meeting planned next week to go over the list once the defense has had time to review it.
Prosecutors also said the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office computer forensic unit was able to recover data from some damaged hardware that was seized in a raid. They did not elaborate on what that data included.
Gardner and Fernandez are under indictment for first-degree murder in what prosecutors say was a murder-for-hire plot in the death of Gardner’s ex-husband, 33-year-old Jared Bridegan.
Judge London Kite ordered Gardner and Fernandez to return to court at 10:30 a.m. June 6 for another pretrial hearing.
Related: Gardner’s attorneys seek sanctions for SAO, say it ‘abused its authority’ in murder-for-hire case | Jared Bridegan’s wife files wrongful death lawsuit against 3 accused in his murder
Bridegan, a father of four, was gunned down outside his SUV on Feb. 16, 2022, after he stopped to move a tire that was blocking the road. He was taking his normal route home after dropping off the twins he shared with Gardner at her Jacksonville Beach home.
According to police reports, the admitted gunman, Henry Tenon, fired four shots, two hit Bridegan and two hit the SUV. Tenon, a former tenant of Fernandez, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the Bridegan case and had agreed to testify against the estranged couple.
However, earlier this year, Tenon claimed his testimony was false, according to court documents related to the case. This revelation could impact the case against Fernandez and Gardner, according to a legal analyst.
After Bridegan’s death, courts settled a custody dispute between Gardner’s parents and Bridegan’s parents over the care of the couple’s twins. Full guardianship was granted to Gardner’s parents, who live in Washington state, with visitation rights for the Bridegans, according to sources for the Florida Times-Union.
Bridegan’s widow, Kirsten, and members of the Bridegan Foundation were presented with a Back the Blue award for their Bexley Box initiative. Bexley, who was a toddler at the time of the murder, was in the SUV when her father was shot.
Kirsten Bridegan has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the three people facing charges in his murder.
