Microsoft Manager Killed in Murder-for-Hire Scheme Over Child Custody Dispute

Jared Bridegan, a Microsoft design manager, was shot and killed in 2022 while removing a tire from a road in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. The murder stumped police for months as they struggled to understand why someone with no apparent enemies would be targeted.

Prosecutors believe the killing was part of a murder-for-hire scheme orchestrated by Mario Fernandez Saldana, who is married to Bridegan's ex-wife, Shanna Gardner. Fernandez Saldana was convicted of first-degree murder and solicitation of murder and faces an automatic life sentence in prison.

The motive behind the killing allegedly stems from a bitter child custody dispute between Bridegan and Gardner over their twins. Prosecutors said Fernandez Saldana hired Henry Tenon to carry out the ambush, who had no personal connection to Bridegan but was a former tenant at Fernandez Saldana's rental property.