Ex-Wife's Husband on Trial for Murdering Microsoft Manager
Mario Fernandez Saldana is on trial in Duval County court for first-degree murder and solicitation of murder, accused of arranging the death of Jared Bridegan, a 33-year-old Microsoft design manager.
The prosecutor, Christina Simak Stifler, told jurors that Bridegan was killed in Jacksonville Beach in 2022 after stopping his vehicle to remove a tire placed in the road. His 2-year-old daughter from a second marriage was strapped in her car seat at the time of the shooting.
Stifler described the killing as a 'targeted ambush' hatched by Bridegan's ex-wife, Shanna Gardner, and her husband Fernandez Saldana, who had years of post-marriage strife over religion and child-rearing.
Fernandez Saldana allegedly hired a gunman to carry out the crime. The defense claims he didn't act like a mastermind and had no motive to get rid of Bridegan, pointing out that he took a road trip to Pennsylvania and back shortly after the killing.