ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – Less than a year after recognizing the widow and daughter of Jared Bridegan with a Back the Blue award, Florida’s attorney general will be back in St. Johns County on Monday, alongside Kirsten Bridegan.
Attorney General James Uthmeier will be joined for an announcement by Kirsten Bridegan, St. Johns County Sheriff Rob Hardwick, Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma and Walmart Regional Vice President Abby Belobraydic at the Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa in Ponte Vedra Beach.
The topic of the news conference has not been released, but last March, Uthmeier traveled to St. Johns County to honor the Bridegan Foundation for its Bexley Box initiative
Since Jared Bridegan was ambushed and murdered in Jacksonville Beach in February 2022, his widow and daughter have been turning their tragic experience into a beautiful act of kindness aimed at helping children who are in the middle of crime scenes or investigations.
Following Jared’s murder, Kirsten Bridegan started a nonprofit called the Bridegan Foundation to provide “Bexley Boxes” – a kit, named after their 4-year-old daughter, Bexley, that contains essentials and comforting items to calm children in times of crisis or traumatic events.
Bexley was in the back seat of her father’s SUV when he was shot several times. She was 2 at the time and luckily wasn’t hurt. Officers rushed her to the police station after the murder.
The Bridegan family has delivered dozens of boxes to police departments in several states.
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If you would like to learn more about the Bexley Box and the Bridegan Foundation, click here.
Bridegan’s ex-wife, Shanna Gardner, and her estranged husband, Mario Fernandez, are both charged with murder in Bridegan’s death. They’re accused of hiring a former tenant of Fernandez, Henry Tenon, to carry out the murder. Tenon has already pleaded guilty in Bridegan’s killing.