Shanna Gardner-Fernandez, 35, is accused of planning the murder of her former spouse, a Microsoft executive.
She is scheduled to be extradited from Washington state to Florida to face murder charges.
DeSantis Swiftly Acts in High-Profile Murder Case, Closure Achieved
Florida’s Governor, Ron DeSantis, has taken this crucial action, bringing closure to a case that garnered widespread attention.
In February 2022, Jared Bridegan, 33, was fatally shot on a road in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, in front of his minor daughter from his second marriage.
Gardner-Fernandez, formerly of Jacksonville, is suspected of having conceived the plan.
Gardner-Fernandez, the daughter of multimillionaire papercraft company owners, relocated to the Pacific Northwest, where the death penalty is not enforced, following the murder.
Law enforcement officials eventually apprehended Gardner-Fernandez’s alleged accomplices, including a 63-year-old hitman who confessed to the shooting and her new spouse.
Gardner-Fernandez was apprehended in August and now confronts the possibility of the death penalty on charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.
Governor DeSantis’ signature on the extradition order certifies that Gardner-Fernandez will be conveyed to Florida to face trial.
According to the Jacksonville State Attorney’s Office, Bridegan will not attend the previously scheduled extradition hearing, which has been postponed to October 5 to allow Washington to receive the warrant.
Although Governor DeSantis has not commented on the issuance of the extradition order, Gardner-Fernandez’s legal team has previously stated their intention to contest it.
During Gardner-Fernandez’s initial hearing following her August arrest, prominent criminal defense attorney Hank Coxe made this assertion.
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High-Profile Murder Case Unveils Tale of Ambush and Transformation
In the case of Gardner-Fernandez, Florida law enforcement officials had previously declared their intention to pursue the death penalty.
The murder took place 547 days before her arrest.
It was characterized as an ‘ambush’ and ‘targeted’ attack, with the alleged assassin cooperating with authorities as part of a plea agreement.
After their 2015 separation, Jared Bridegan, a senior UX designer at Microsoft and father of four, and Gardner-Fernandez engaged in a contentious custody battle over their twins, Liam and Abby.
Bridegan was executed on February 16, mere minutes from his ex-wife’s residence.
The community was horrified by the homicide committed on a road devoid of surveillance cameras.
Danny Tenon, the putative assassin, claimed that Mario Fernandez Saldana, Gardner-Fernandez’s new spouse, had hired him to carry out the murder.
Tenon’s capture resulted from his confession and willingness to testify against Saldana-Fernandez.
Those who knew Gardner-Fernandez before her arrest observed her transformation from a presumably ‘normal mother’ to a person associated with a startling crime.
With the support of her parents, she escaped death.
Kirsten Bridegan, Jared’s widow, expressed her gratification with Gardner-Fernandez’s arrest, emphasizing that the case was orchestrated and planned.
The precise details of the evidence that led to Gardner-Fernandez’s charges remain obscure.
The trial of Gardner-Fernandez is scheduled to continue on October 5 in Florida, which has already executed five individuals this year.
The court proceedings will cast additional light on this tragic and intricate case.
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