Jared Bridegan murder: Investigators had identified ‘five people likely involved’ in the conspiracy

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Newly released documents in the investigation into the murder-for-hire plot of St. Johns County father Jared Bridegan indicate that authorities believed that a total of five people were involved.

Action News Jax has previously told you that three people have been arrested in Bridegan’s 2022 murder -- his ex-wife Shanna Gardner, Gardner’s estranged husband Mario Fernandez Saldana, and Saldana’s tenant Henry Tenon.

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The documents redact the names of the two other subjects, but state that “the investigation has identified five people likely involved in a conspiracy to murder Jared Bridegan.”

Those two people are only identified as Fernandez Saldana’s associates. Action News Jax asked the State Attorney’s Office Friday why those other two people have not been charged; they declined to comment.

We also learned two weeks before the murder, Bridegan sent Gardner an email telling her he was planning to have one of their twins baptized in the Mormon church.

RELATED: ‘Short tempered’ and ‘aggressive’ used to describe suspect in Jared Bridegan murder case

He said it was because his daughter like being with Bridegan’s new family and she wished to be more involved in the Mormon faith.

The documents also reveal one of Bridegan’s relatives told police that Gardner had talked about hiring a “hitman to take him out.”

Action News Jax’s Annette Gutierrez is going through the more than 200 pages of documents that were released Thursday and will have updates on CBS47 and FOX30 Action News Jax at 5.

Read the newly released documents below:

‘Jared felt entitled to their money’

Last week, Action News Jax spent days digging through hundreds of pages of case documents that were released on Feb. 5, which detail police interviews with both Gardner and Fernandez before they were arrested.

In those documents, Gardner described negative feelings her parents had regarding her ex-husband. Gardner was asked if there was any animosity between Bridegan and her parents over the money he received. She stated, “they hated it. They hated the idea that Jared felt entitled to their money.”

Another section reveals Gardner shared thoughts about Kirsten Bridegan, the second wife of Jared Bridegan.

RELATED: ‘Know anyone who shuts people up:’ Docs reveal threatening comments before Jared Bridegan’s murder

Gardner stated, according to the documents, she felt as though Kirsten Bridegan attacked her on social media.

The next court hearing for both Gardner and Fernandez Saldana is set for Friday.

RELATED: New documents released describe failed marriages at center of Bridegan murder-for-hire plot

The crime

Jared Bridegan was gunned down Feb. 16, 2022, in Jacksonville Beach. He had just taken his twins he shared with Gardner, and his then-2-year-old Bexley, his daughter with wife Kirsten Bridegan, to dinner.

The software engineer had just dropped off the twins at Gardner’s house when he encountered a tire on Sanctuary Boulevard, a one-way road. He was headed home to his second wife, Kirsten Bridegan, with whom he shared children Bexley and London.

Jacksonville Beach Police Chief Gene Paul Smith said during the announcement of the first arrest in January, that “the tire was purposely placed there to make him stop, which he did.”

JUNE 2022 INTERVIEW: ‘Wish it weren’t like this’: Ex-wife of Jared Bridegan, father killed in Jacksonville Beach, speaks

“Tragically he began to exit his vehicle to move the tire and he was gunned down in cold blood,” Smith said.

Bridegan was shot several times while Bexley was still strapped into a car seat in the back seat of Bridegan’s car.

The arrests

Fernandez Saldana was arrested in March on charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, child abuse, and solicitation to commit a capital felony.

The arrest of Henry Tenon in connection to Bridegan’s murder was announced in January 2023. He was arrested on charges of conspiracy to commit murder, accessory after the fact to a capital felony, child abuse, and second-degree murder

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Tenon, who rented a home from Fernandez Saldana, agreed to plead guilty to second-degree murder. That means Tenon faces 15 years to life in prison, but not the death penalty.

Gardner was arrested in August in Washington and is facing charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation to commit murder, and child abuse.

PHOTOS: The people connected to the Jared Bridegan murder investigation

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Jared Galen Bridegan Jared Bridegan was gunned down Feb. 16, 2022, in Jacksonville Beach after taking his twins he shared with ex-wife Shanna Gardner Fernandez and his 2-year-old Bexley, his daughter with wife Kirsten Bridegan, to dinner. The software engineer had just dropped off the twins at Gardner-Fernandez’s house when he encountered a tire in the one-way road. (Jacksonville Beach Police Department)

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