JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – New court documents filed in the murder case against Shanna Gardner, Mario Fernandez and Henry Tenon in the death of Gardner’s ex-husband, Jared Bridegan, reveal that Fernandez allegedly called Gardner the “mastermind” behind the killing — and tried to orchestrate a scheme from behind bars to frame Bridegan’s widow, Kirsten Bridegan, for the crime.
A new discovery document details statements Fernandez allegedly made to fellow inmate Emmanuel Alexander at the Duval County Jail between May 2025 and March 2026.
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Fernandez, Gardner and Tenon have all been indicted on first-degree murder and other charges in the alleged conspiracy to kill Jared Bridegan, who was gunned down on his way home from Jacksonville Beach in an ambush shooting in February 2022.
Investigators say Fernandez hired Tenon, a tenant at one of his properties, to carry out the killing. Tenon initially pleaded guilty and admitted to being the gunman who killed Bridegan, but he has since backtracked, and a judge granted his motion to withdraw his guilty plea.
Gardner and Fernandez have both pleaded not guilty, and their trials are set to begin in a couple of months.
Alleged plot to frame Bridegan’s widow
According to the new filing, Fernandez approached Emmanuel Alexander, a fellow inmate, with a plan to help “frame the widow” — a reference to Kirsten Bridegan, who is being deposed as a witness in the case.
News4JAX reached out to Kirsten Bridegan for comment, but we have not heard back.
Fernandez allegedly asked Alexander to contact Fernandez’s brother and attorney upon his release from jail and mail letters to media outlets and law enforcement agencies.
The letters, prosecutors allege, were designed to make Tenon appear to be a liar and to suggest that Kirsten Bridegan killed her husband because she suspected “him being gay.”
Fernandez also allegedly directed Alexander to fabricate a story claiming Jared Bridegan “was going to the gym to look at guys.”
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‘My wife was the mastermind’
In what may be among the most damaging disclosures in the document, Fernandez allegedly told Alexander that “my wife [Gardner] was the mm [mastermind] and he [Fernandez] was supposed to be the executioner” — a statement Alexander says was accompanied by a nonverbal acknowledgment, described in the filing as a gesture confirming it was true.
But during Alexander’s first sworn statement, the audio recording was lost due to technical issues with the court reporter’s electronic service.
A second, recorded sworn statement was taken on April 1, 2026, and Alexander repeated that claim.
In that account, Alexander said Fernandez told him “she [Gardner] was supposed to be the MM, which is mastermind, and he was supposed to be the executioner, which he executed the plan,” again with a nonverbal acknowledgment.
The document also alleges Fernandez asked Alexander to help “set Judge London Kite up” — the judge presiding over the murder-for-hire case. The document does indicate what that entailed.
Additionally, Fernandez allegedly said he was attempting to get Tenon to recant his statements, an effort that takes on added significance given that Tenon has withdrawn his guilty plea and has said he will not testify against Gardner or Fernandez.
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About the informant
Alexander, who faces charges of attempted second-degree murder, possession of a firearm by a felon, tampering with evidence and child neglect in a separate Duval County case, has two prior felony convictions.
Prosecutors note in the filing that Alexander has never previously cooperated in any case, and the State has made no offers or promises related to his pending charges.
How Jared Bridegan was killed
On the night of Feb. 16, 2022, Bridegan, 33, dropped his then-9-year-old twin children off at Gardner’s Jacksonville Beach home after a “date night” with their dad. He left with his 2-year-old daughter, Bexley, strapped into her car seat in the back of his SUV, headed back to St. Augustine.
The Microsoft employee never made it home.
Following his normal route through the Sanctuary neighborhood, Bridegan was forced to stop near Jacksonville Drive, America Avenue and Sanctuary Boulevard — a tire had been placed in the road. When he stepped out of his SUV, he was ambushed by gunfire. At least one bullet missed Bexley by mere inches in her car seat. None of the 911 callers that night reported seeing a shooter or a vehicle leaving the scene.
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Investigators say the ambush was part of a murder-for-hire plot set in motion by Gardner and her then-husband, Fernandez — a conspiracy that allegedly began in November 2021. According to detectives, Gardner was tired of sharing custody of her twin children with Bridegan and told a friend that Fernandez, because of his military background, could “take care of him.”
State prosecutors initially said they would seek the death penalty against both Gardner and Fernandez if convicted, but have since taken that option off the table — with the support of Kirsten Bridegan and Jared Bridegan’s family.