ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — The back and forth between Shanna Gardner and the late Jared Bridegan has been playing out in St. Johns County courts since 2015.
The 800-plus-page divorce and custody file showed the parties used the court system for the majority of their communications.
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Inside, it said the parties “clearly have extensive litigation history with each one filing multiple motions and petitions.” Gardner’s attorney recommended a “parenting coordinator” to help resolve disputes without having to resort to litigation.
Action News Jax law and safety expert Dale Carson said this can intensify a relationship.
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“Their only resolution comes from a judge’s order,” Carson said. “It seems to magnify the situation and make for more hostility for the warring parties.”
Some other disagreements include traveling with the kids. Documents showed Gardner requested Bridegan “provide minimal and reasonable information regarding his travel with the children out of state.” Gardner wanted to know the location and approximate time of leaving and returning. Documents said, “the father is refusing.”
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Bridegan was gunned down Feb. 16, 2022, in Jacksonville Beach after taking his twins he shared with Gardner, who also goes by Gardner-Fernandez, 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 in 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 Bridegan’s murder in January, that “the tire was purposely placed there to make him stop which he did.”
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Gardner, her estranged husband Mario Fernandez Saldana, and Henry Tenon, a tenant of Fernandez Saldana, are all facing charges in Bridegan’s murder.
Carson said while the custody documents will likely be used in Gardner’s murder trial, as well as the case against Fernandez Saldana, it is not the main argument for the state in court.
“Depending on who is willing to testify for government, for the state attorney’s office, to suggest that there was criminal conduct between these 3 individuals, that’s the key to this case,” Carson said.
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