Trial starting after Microsoft exec's alleged murder-for-hire involving ex-wife
August 17, 2026 / 6:55 AM EDT / CBS/AP A man charged with arranging the fatal ambush of a Microsoft design manager is headed to trial Monday in Florida, more than four years after the victim was repeatedly shot outside his vehicle while his 2-year-old child was strapped in a car seat. Investigators say a tire was placed in the road in a plot to distract and kill Jared Bridegan , 33, in Jacksonville Beach in 2022. They allege it was a murder-for-hire scheme involving his ex-wife and her current husband. The husband, Mario Fernandez Saldana, 38, is charged with first-degree murder in Duval County court. Bridegan's former wife, Shanna Gardner, 39, was arrested in August 2023 in Washington and is facing charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation to commit murder, and child abuse, CBS affiliate WJAX-TV reported .
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Authorities said Tenon, 65, was paid at least $10,000 by Gardner and Fernandez Saldana after Bridegan's death. Bridegan, hated having to share custody of the children with him and wanted him dead," Judge London Kite wrote, summarizing evidence after a bond hearing in 2024.
