JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The State Attorney’s Office on Monday publicly released text message exchanges between Shanna Gardner and people close to her.
Gardner and her estranged husband – Mario Fernandez Saldana – are accused of plotting the murder of Gardner’s ex-husband Jared Bridegan in February 2022.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
The release from the State Attorney’s Office comes less than two weeks after the state’s star witness, Henry Tenon, who initially admitted to shooting Bridegan, withdrew his guilty plea.
Here are some text messages between Gardner and her friend Kim Jensen from 2015:
Gardner: “S*&! I’m just not having a good day.”
Jensen: “Don’t write the day off as bad yet! I’m still trying to send stupid to prison.”
“If I can’t make a casserole, prison is the next best option.”
Another text message exchange shows a conversation between Jensen and someone named Susan Lee:
Jensen: “Shanna needs a guy.”
Lee: “What kind of guy?”
Jensen: “The kind that performs permanent disappearing acts on certain people.”
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
This message is from an exchange between Jensen and Gardner:
Gardner: “Just when I think doing this whole one week off/on thing is a good idea. It gives me such great pleasure imagining slitting his throat.”
We know this is Gardner because of the way the State Attorney’s Office labeled the messages. We also confirmed using LexisNexis that the number on the left belongs to Jensen.
Chris Carson is a Criminal Defense Attorney not affiliated with this case.
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Now that Tenon has withdrawn his guilty plea, Carson said these messages will serve to provide context to the circumstances leading up to Bridegan’s death.
“They don’t have a cooperating witness any longer as of the withdrawal of the plea a few weeks ago. So because of that, they have to use circumstantial evidence because they have to present some manner of evidence to show the connection, to show the plan and show how it all went,” Carson said.
You can read about our prior coverage on this case by clicking the links below:
‘I want a trial’: Man who once confessed to killing Jared Bridegan allowed to withdraw guilty plea
Accused gunman in murder-for-hire plot to kill Jared Bridegan wants to withdraw guilty plea
Jacksonville Beach Police identify father of 4 shot, killed in front of his 2-year-old
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
