Microsoft Manager Killed in 'Perfect Crime' Ambush on Florida Road
A former Microsoft design manager was targeted in a 'perfect crime' by his ex-wife and her husband after years of post-marriage strife over religion and child-rearing, according to prosecutors.
Jared Bridegan, 33, was killed on a dark Florida road in 2022 when he got out of his vehicle to remove a tire that had been placed in the road while his 2-year-old daughter from a second marriage sat strapped in her car seat.
Mario Fernandez Saldana, 38, is on trial for first-degree murder and solicitation of murder after being accused of arranging the death by hiring a gunman. His ex-wife, Shanna Gardner, 39, faces trial in September, while the alleged gunman, Henry Tenon, will go to trial next year.
Prosecutor Christina Simak Stifler told jurors that Fernandez Saldana had 'hatched' the plan with Gardner and that Bridegan was chosen because he would be alone on a dark road. She said the pair's motives were personal, driven by years of bitter disputes over how to raise their twins.