The trial of Mario Fernandez, accused in the murder-for-hire plot of Microsoft executive Jared Bridegan, opened with prosecutors detailing the final, desperate moments of Bridegan's life and the horrific scene witnessed by his young daughter.
Assistant State Attorney Christina Stifler told the jury that Bridegan was gunned down on February 16, 2022, in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, after stopping his car to move a tire placed as a trap in the road. Two bullets struck Bridegan, and two others struck his car, narrowly missing his two-year-old daughter, Bexley, who was in her car seat. Bridegan was on his way home to his wife, Kirsten, and their infant child. "He was a man executed in front of his child by a ghost in the darkness," Stifler said.
In the aftermath, Bexley, the toddler, was found by a Good Samaritan who reported she was "panting and shaking." Her desperate words, "I saw a boom," were played in court on a video recording, eliciting tears from her mother, Kirsten Bridegan, who testified.
Kirsten Bridegan recounted her last conversation with her husband minutes before his death. "It was strange," she said, recalling telling him "I love you see you soon" and receiving no response. She testified that she could not shake the feeling that something was wrong from that moment on.
Prosecutors allege that Fernandez, 38, acted as a conduit between Bridegan's ex-wife, Shanna Gardner, and the alleged shooter, Henry Tenon, 64. Gardner and Fernandez were married in 2018. Bridegan and Gardner divorced in 2015 but remained locked in acrimonious litigation over custody of their twins. Stifler asserted that Bridegan's murder served the interests of both Gardner and Fernandez, with Fernandez allegedly benefiting financially and being freed from "legal entanglements" with Bridegan to gain control of Gardner's substantial trust fund.
Fernandez's defense, however, contends that Tenon alone committed the murder. Tenon, who has pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate in exchange for a 15-year-to-life sentence, is scheduled to stand trial in March 2027. Three check stubs totaling $10,000 from Fernandez to Tenon were found in Tenon's truck following the murder. Tenon withdrew from his plea deal earlier this year, and his trial is now slated for early 2027.
Stifler presented evidence that Fernandez transferred $50,000 from Gardner's irrevocable trust into his personal account a week after Bridegan's death. The couple lived together for several months before separating and selling their home, splitting the proceeds. Six months after Bridegan's death, Gardner and the twins moved to Washington State.
The trial is expected to last two weeks.