September 12, 2023 • 38 mins
On Wednesday, February 16, 2022, Jared Bridegan, a 33-year-old father of four, was murdered in a targeted, ambush-style attack. He was gunned down by multiple shots at close range in a residential area of Jacksonville Beach, Florida. His two-year-old daughter, Bexley, was the only witness to his murder besides his cold-blooded killer.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Tell me a true crime story.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
It's a murder mystery that shook up the Jacksonville
Beach community and gainednational attention.
Jared Bridegain, the father offour, was gunned down one year
ago today in Jacksonville Beachin front of his two-year-old
daughter.
A murder police said wastargeted.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
These are the last images of Microsoft Executive
Jared Bridegain doting on hisyoung children before he was
viciously shot to death in anambush.
Now mystery surrounds who wasbehind the assassination on the
father of four in this upscaleneighborhood in Jacksonville
Beach, florida.
Jared Bridegain was drivinghome with his two-year-old
(00:59):
daughter strapped in her carseat when police say he stopped
his vehicle to remove a tireleft in the road.
That's when he was gunned downat close range, right in front
of his daughter.
Police believe the tire wasleft in the middle of the street
to lure him out of his car.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
Whoever did this is just vile and cowardly.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
I spoke to Jared's heartbroken widow, Kirsten.
Investigators say it appearsthis was a hit or an ambush.
Yeah, that is how it appears.
Kirsten says her husband hadjust dropped off his twins from
a previous marriage at theirmother's house.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
He was driving the usual route home that he always
drove I actually talked to himon the phone right after he
dropped his twins off and hejust told me that they had had a
good day.
They bought ice cream.
My daughter in the back told meI got an ice cream, mommy, and
then it said okay, see you soon.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Minutes later he was slain.
The sound of gunfire wascaptured on a neighbor's camera.
Now, bexley, your two-year-olddaughter was in the car when
your husband was killed.
What has she told you?
Speaker 3 (02:07):
Mostly it's the sound that she refers to.
The boom is how she describesthe gunshots.
So she'll say boom, boom, boomand then she'll say, daddy, on
the ground it's excruciating.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
The shocking ambush happened two months ago.
Kirsten is now speaking out infrustration that the killer is
still on the loose.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
I want people to know that the murder is out there.
The murder is probably watchingthis and they're living their
life and that's not okay.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Hey there, welcome to episode 25 of Tell Me a True
Crime Story.
I'm your host, holly.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
I hope that you and your familyare happy, healthy and together
forever.
Today we'll cover a tragic,heartbreaking story that's
recently been in nationalheadlines and all over social
(02:57):
media.
But before we get started, Ihave to mention two important
things really quickly.
First off, I wanted to say thatI'm working really hard on
getting episodes outconsistently.
I haven't always been able toget them out on a fixed schedule
, but I'm trying to get there,guys.
I know you guys get it that Ihave to prioritize and do the
(03:19):
thing that pays the bills first,and after that work.
Then I work on podcasting, ontop of being a mom and a
daughter and a significant otherto my fiance and taking care of
the pets and the house and thelaundry.
You know how it is, guys.
Life just never stops, and I'min my mid-40s and I've been
(03:40):
going through this perimenopausething for years now, and not to
mention all of the crazyphysical things it does to your
body, like thinning hair andeyebrows, making your boobs itch
, hot flashes, sleep problems,stuff like that that comes along
with it.
But many days I have zeroenergy and on top of all that
(04:03):
it's really really affected mycognitive functioning big time.
It makes me have a foggy brainand I can't find the words I
want to say.
They just won't come to me.
I can't concentrate, I'mindecisive.
I find it really difficult tofocus and stay focused.
You could not imagine therabbit holes that I end up in
(04:24):
when conducting research andwriting my script for the
podcast, because my mind is allover the place and I feel like
the research and writing takesme way longer than it should.
I know that I've told you guysthat before, but it's true, and
I think there are a couple ofreasons for that, one reason
being the stuff that I mentioned, with the declining estrogen
(04:46):
being in perimenopause, givingme all the foggy brain stuff.
And the other reason is becauseI love details and so I like to
bring you guys all of thedetails that I can to each story
.
Sometimes I think I gooverboard with wanting to
include every single morsel of astory that it just becomes mind
numbing.
Then the indecisiveness comesin and I don't know what the
(05:09):
heck to include and what not toinclude.
So at least I'm self-aware.
At least I'm self-aware thatI'm crazy, because sometimes I
have to rein myself in and say,okay, that's enough about that
and just move on to anotherpoint.
So just being detail-orientedin itself is really
(05:29):
time-consuming, but then youreally have to fact-check
everything and make sure to thevery, very best of your ability
that what you're bringing is thetruth.
So my point in telling you allof this is that I want you all
to know that I'm dedicated toyou as my audience and I'm so
appreciative of you guys beinghere listening.
(05:49):
So, even though this isn't myfull-time gig, I'm trying super
hard to get out an episode ontime every week.
Maybe, instead of shooting fora one episode per week, I'll
just plan on doing one episodeevery two weeks to give myself
more time.
I hate to do that, but I mighthave to.
For now We'll see.
(06:10):
Now, on a different note, I haveto share an exciting tidbit
with you.
Last week, me, my mom, who is79 and lives with us, and my son
, who is 15, were in the truckgoing to meet my daughter she's
20 and her boyfriend at arestaurant like 30 minutes away.
Well, I'm always listening topodcasts while I'm on the road,
(06:32):
just never my own podcast.
That would be kind of weird,but anyway, my mom wanted to
hear it so I was going to put onmy latest episode for her.
Now I don't check very often tosee if I have new reviews for
the podcast, because I hardlyever get any and it gets
discouraging.
So I just check it, like everyonce in a while.
Well, I can't see a thingwithout my reading glasses on,
(06:55):
so I accidentally scrolled downtoo far on the page and I caught
just a glimpse like a veryblurry glimpse of where it shows
the ratings, and I thought itsaid 13 ratings.
Well, I couldn't believe myeyes because I had been stuck at
12 ratings for like two months.
So I passed my phone to my sonand I was like oh my God, does
that say 13 ratings?
(07:16):
Oh my gosh, read it out loud tous.
So I want to take this time topersonally thank Paula6693 for
leaving me a five star reviewwith such kind words on Apple.
This is what Paula said in herreview.
The title of it says Excellent.
Then she goes on to say I havebeen looking for a new podcast
(07:38):
that holds my attention and youhave done that 100%.
I'm so excited to listen tomore.
I literally wanted to cry.
So, paula, wherever you are,thank you for listening and for
taking your valuable time out ofyour day to write that review
for me.
I wish I could give you a bighug.
So yeah, and my son alsopointed out that I have seven
(08:02):
five star ratings on Spotify.
You guys are probably probablylaughing at me for being excited
about seven, but I had zero forso long.
So, whoever is rating me onSpotify, I want to thank you so
much and give you a big hug too.
So please help me out.
If you like the podcast, youcan do that by leaving me a five
(08:26):
star review on Apple podcast ora five star rating on Spotify.
To leave me a rating and reviewon Apple, just go to my show
page and scroll down till yousee ratings and reviews.
Select a star rating.
Then, below that, click onwrite a review.
Thank you for helping me outwith that, and big, big hugs to
(08:47):
all of you.
Now let me tell you a true crimestory.
I'm going to take you back tothe evening of February 16th
2022.
We're going to JacksonvilleBeach.
That's on Florida's Upper EastCoast, near the Georgia State
Line.
The temperature that night wasabout 63 degrees Fahrenheit.
(09:11):
Then, 30 year old KirstenBridegine I think it's Kirsten,
actually, sorry, kirsten Then,30 year old Kirsten Bridegine,
33 year old.
Jared Bridegine's wife stayedhome that fateful Wednesday
evening with their six month olddaughter, london, while Jared
(09:31):
and Bexley, their other daughter, who was two years old, went on
a daddy date night with Jared'snine year old twins.
The twins are named Liam andAbigail.
Abigail goes by Abby.
Liam and Abby are Jared'schildren from his first marriage
to Shana Gardner Fernandez.
Kirsten couldn't have knownwhen Jared walked out the door
(09:54):
that evening that she'd neversee her husband alive again.
Jared and his ex-wife, shanaGardner Fernandez, shared
custody of Liam and Abby.
Jared and his wife Kirstenwould get the twins every other
week During their off weeks.
When the twins weren't withthem, they would still see them
(10:14):
midweek on Wednesdays, and theycalled it date night.
Jared Galen Bridegine was bornon June 29, 1988 in Warrensburg,
missouri, to Gaylord and JoanneBridegine.
Jared's the youngest of theirfour kids.
His sister is Ashley and hisbrothers are Justin and Adam.
When Jared was still young, thefamily moved to Jacksonville,
(10:38):
florida, where Jared grew up.
He graduated in 2007 from theDouglas Anderson School of the
Arts.
Jared met his ex-wife, shanaGardner Fernandez in 2009
through his brother, adam's wife, carly, who had been close
friends with her since they werein their quote-unquote younger
years.
According to Adam Bridegine,shana lived in Utah but had been
(11:02):
in Florida visiting a friendwhen she met Jared my friend
that she was visiting may havebeen Carly Adam Bridegine's wife
, but I'm not really sure.
So a little bit about Shana andher family.
Shana Lee Gardner was born onMarch 18, 1987 into a wealthy
Mormon family in Utah and shehas four sisters.
(11:24):
Her parents are Shelly andSterling Gardner.
Shelly and Sterling own a verylucrative multi-level marketing
company called Stampin' Up.
Shana's mom, shelly Gardner, isa co-founder of Stampin' Up and
started the company with hersister, levon Crosby, in 1988.
Back then the sisters wereneighbors living in Las Vegas.
(11:44):
They were both stay-at-homemoms and their husbands worked
in construction.
The sisters were interested inbecoming demonstrators for a
rubber stamp company, butcouldn't find one that met all
of their expectations.
Shelly Gardner had planned onusing savings to build their
first home, but instead used themoney to start Stampin' Up.
They quickly outgrew the livingroom where they first started
(12:06):
the business, then outgrew awarehouse, then another, and
soon purchased their ownproperty in the state Knaab,
utah, and I hope I'm saying thatright.
I looked it up and couldn'treally find the pronunciation,
but it's K-A-N-A-B.
Knaab, kanab, utah.
(12:27):
Sometime around the year 2000,levan who Shelley refers to her
as Vana Sold her ownership inthe business to focus on her
kids and family, and Shelleybecame the sole owner of
Stampin' Up.
I'm not sure how many kids hersister Levan had at the time
that she sold her part in thebusiness, but she now has nine
(12:49):
children and lives in Knaab,utah.
She and her husband, sean, havea 3.4 million dollar home there
.
Shelley Gardner is the formerCEO of Stampin' Up and now
serves actively as the chair ofthe board of directors of the
company.
In 2016, she appointed herdaughter, sarah Douglas, to be
(13:09):
CEO.
The company is headquartered inRiverton, utah.
It operates in 11 countries,has nearly 350 full-time
employees and has an estimatedannual revenue of over $100
million per year.
So that's a little about Shanna,jared's ex-wife, her family and
(13:31):
her background.
So now we're going to get backto Jared and Shanna.
They met in 2009 and marriedthe next year.
In April of 2010 at theMagnificent Salt Lake City
Temple.
They bought a house in Utahnear Shanna's parents worth
about $800,000.
I'm not sure when it was duringtheir marriage or whether it
(13:52):
was supposedly during theirwhole marriage, but reportedly,
shanna's parents gave the couplea monthly stipend of about
$8,500 and access to creditcards, and it's also been widely
reported that her parents gaveJared $100,000 to start a
business.
Jared and Shanna's twins, liamand Abby, were born on April
(14:16):
20th 2012.
Liam was born with a congenitalheart condition.
The couple were told by doctorsthat for their son's heart to
function properly, he needed tolive at sea level.
Jared's brother and wife livedin Connecticut at the time,
which was close to Liam's doctorin New York.
So Jared, shanna and the twinsmoved to Connecticut.
(14:38):
There, it seems, the marriagestarted to break down.
Reportedly, shanna stoppedgoing to church, while Jared
remained a devout Mormon.
Shanna started to work outfervently and got upset with
Jared for gaining weight.
However, it was said that atthe time, he was trying to focus
on start.
He was focused on trying tostart businesses.
(14:59):
So you know how that is.
You're you know if you'retrying to really start a
business, you ain't worriedabout what you're eating.
You're probably stressed outand you're eating more, whatever
.
He wasn't thinking about that.
It's been reported that at thispoint, jared wanted a fresh
start for he and Shanna'smarriage.
He was originally fromJacksonville, so he talked
Shanna into moving there.
(15:20):
They bought a home on PiazadaCircle in Ponte Vider Beach,
which is south of Jacksonville,for around eight hundred
thousand dollars.
In 2014, jared graduated fromUtah Valley University with a
bachelor's degree in digitalmedia.
Then he started working on amaster's degree online.
For Christmas in 2014, jaredgave Shanna personal training
(15:43):
sessions.
Reportedly, just weeks later,shanna and the personal trainer
began having an affair with oneanother.
Shanna has denied having theaffair, but the personal trainer
has confirmed that he andShanna did have a romantic
relationship.
He said that Shanna had toldhim that she and Jared had been
separated for months.
She said they weren't reallyspeaking to one another and were
(16:05):
living on opposite ends of thehouse.
The trainer said that he andShanna dated for a few months
before breaking it off.
Shanna and Jared separated whenJared found sexually explicit
messages between Shanna and herpersonal trainer lover, but
reportedly Jared was willing toforgive Shanna her indiscretions
(16:26):
.
For the sake of their children,however, she wanted a divorce.
Sources told Fox News Digitalthat when Jared confronted
Shanna about the affair, shetold him she didn't love him
anymore.
Shanna filed for a divorce inFebruary of 2015, yet they
continued to live under the sameroof.
The next day after filing fordivorce, shanna went to a tattoo
(16:47):
shop to get a Clitoris piercing.
According to a waiver shesigned at the tattoo shop,
obtained by Fox News Digital,shanna listed her trainer
boyfriend as her emergencycontact.
By this point they'd probablybeen dating for about a month or
so since sometime in January.
In the span of a few months,shanna went to the tattoo shop
(17:11):
three times all together forpiercings.
The other two times were for apiercing in her ear and for a
navel piercing.
She started talking to thepeople who worked there about
her divorce from Jared.
She told them her life could bebetter if he could just quote
unquote, shut up.
Then she asked them if theyknew anyone who could quote
(17:31):
unquote shut him up.
Shanna ended up admitting thatshe made the statement, but said
she didn't intend on doingJared any harm.
She stopped by the tattoo shopoften too, just to hang out with
a guy that worked there thatshe'd struck up a friendship
with.
He said she often complainedabout Jared and said that he was
(17:54):
Quote unquote, trying to takeall of her money.
Shanna said in court documentsthat she and Jared didn't love
any love each other anymore.
The Florida Times Union hasreported that in the divorce
filing, shanna accused Jared ofquote unquote disturbing and
abusive behavior toward theirkids.
Jared accused Shanna oftreating him in a disparaging
(18:17):
manner in front of the kids andalso of spying on him.
As, as proof of the spying,jared emailed his divorce
divorce lawyer photos of hiddenbaby monitors, one under Abby's
dresser and one under Liam's bed.
Also, he said that Shanna put avoice activated recorder in the
(18:38):
home, put a tracking device onhis car and she put a lock on
the master bedroom door.
Furthermore, jared said Shannalied when she said she had no
income.
Reportedly, shanna's parentsfinancially Supported her and
Jared claimed that Shanna madethousands of dollars working
under the table for her mom'sbusiness.
(18:59):
An article written by ScottButler for the Florida Times
Union stated that in Jared andShanna's extensive divorce court
file.
It says about a motion forrelief.
Quote the husband is astay-at-home father while being
a full-time student throughoutthe marriage, completing his
Bachelor of Arts degree, and ispresently engaged in an online
(19:21):
master of arts program.
The wife has provided the solesupport to the family through
regular and recurring gifts fromher family to the parties, as
Well as from trust and or otherfamily related funds.
The parties have regularlyreceived a stipend from the
wife's family exceeding 8,500per month, which has enabled the
(19:42):
husband to further his degreeprograms, and quote Jared also
said that Shanna canceled aheart surgery that
three-year-old Liam was supposedto have in June of 2015 in New
York and they'd waited formonths for that appointment.
She allegedly canceled it on herown, without consulting Jared.
(20:04):
Shanna wanted the home andprimary custody.
She accused Jared ofthreatening to withdraw cash
from their twins trust fund forhis own use.
Jared wanted the home too.
He contended that Shanna hadthe means to live somewhere else
.
He was also asking for primarycustody, alimony and child
support.
(20:24):
Their contentious divorce wasnot finalized until months later
, but reportedly they stillended up back in court for many
years for custody and childsupport issues and concerns
about where the twins wouldattend school.
The Florida Times Unionreported that a document in the
court file states quote theparenting plan is clearly an
issue and the parents are unableto agree.
(20:46):
The disagreement of the parentsat this point now extends well
beyond mere time sharing andgoes to issues of the mental
health and well-being of thechildren and, reportedly, the
bulk of the court actions wereinitiated by Shanna, kirsten
told Fox News.
Quote it was difficult to watchJared go through constant court
battles when all he wanted wasto focus on being the best
(21:09):
husband and father he could be.
End.
Quote.
Reportedly, shanna met hercurrent husband, maria
Fernandez-Saldana, at a CrossFitgym in 2018 where she worked
out and he worked there as amaintenance man.
They married that same year.
Despite trying, I couldn't findmuch on Mario Fernandez-Saldana
(21:30):
.
The only thing I could reallyfind was an incident he was
involved in where he was accusedof intimidating his female
neighbor with his pit bull.
The neighbor would feed straycats and he didn't like the cats
.
I guess the police were calledin an officer-advised Mario
Fernandez-Saldana about the lawsconcerning dangerous dogs and
suggested that if he had aproblem with the feral cats, he
(21:53):
could contact animal control.
Reportedly, this was not theonly incident involving him over
the cats.
The Duval County Florida TaxCollector's website shows a home
in the names of Shanna Gardnerand Mario Enrique Fernandez,
located at 1511 Marsh InletCourt in Jacksonville Beach.
(22:14):
They paid over $8,200 for theirproperty taxes in 2021 and in
2022.
Zillow says that the home wasbuilt in 2014.
A document on the Duval County,florida Property Appraisers
Office shows that Shanna andMario bought the home in 2018
for $575,000.
(22:34):
Another document on the siteshows that they sold the home
for $899,900 in May of 2023.
So that's this year, may of 23.
Shanna ran a baking business outof that home called Beach Baked
904, which she started in 2020.
(22:55):
In a video on YouTube, shannais interviewed by a woman named
Jean Pickett about her bakingbusiness.
Shanna explained that thebusiness allows her more time
with her children because of theflexible hours.
She said she does custom bakingjobs.
In the video, shanna said thatit's a home-based bakery covered
under Florida's Cottage Law.
(23:16):
This means that the foods madein the home-based kitchen are
not subject to state food safetyregulations.
Only certain foods are allowedto be made and gross sales
cannot exceed $250,000 in a year.
Shanna said that she baked whenshe was young with her grandma
and that the font in her logowas modeled after her
grandmother's handwriting.
(23:37):
Jared and Kirsten met each otheron a dating app.
They married in 2017.
Kirsten Bridegain was bornKirsten Elizabeth Fock in 1991
and grew up in Maple Valley,washington.
Kirsten and Jared had theirdaughter Bexley in August of
2019.
Two years later, in August of2021, london came.
(23:59):
At the time of Jared's murder,he was working as a manager of
user experience at Microsoft.
Kirsten had also worked forMicrosoft as an account manager
and had worked there since 2016.
She stopped working atMicrosoft in January of 2022 to
become a full-time mom.
Now we're back to Wednesday,february 16th 2022.
(24:21):
A little before 8 pm, kirstengot a call from Jared saying
he'd just dropped off Liam andAbby at Shanna's house.
He told Kirsten he loved herand that he and Bexley would be
home shortly.
There was nothing unusual abouttheir conversation.
The drive from JacksonvilleBeach, where Shanna lived, to St
(24:41):
Augustine, where he and Kirstenlived, should have taken Jared
and Bexley about 30 minutes.
When they didn't get home whenthey should have, kirsten began
to get worried and immediatelyshe felt that something was not
right.
She went out looking for them.
She called Jared's cell phone,but Jared didn't answer it.
A police officer did.
(25:02):
The officer told Kirsten thather daughter, bexley was okay,
but that she needed to come bythe police station to hear about
her husband.
What the police told Kirstenthat night forever changed her
life.
A ruthless killer had ambushedher husband, jared, and
cold-bloodily murdered him,making her a widow and his four
(25:24):
children.
As you know, jared dropped offLiam and Abby at Shanna's house
just before 8 pm, probablyaround 7 45 or so.
At about 8.03 pm, jacksonvilleBeach police officers were
dispatched in response to ashooting in the area of
Jacksonville Drive and SanctuaryBoulevard.
The male victim was pronounceddead at the scene from multiple
(25:47):
gunshot wounds.
He'd been shot at close rangeand his body was lying on the
ground outside of his blackVolkswagen Atlas SUV.
He was identified as 33 yearold Jared Bridegain.
There was a two-year-old littlegirl there too, being comforted
by witnesses.
Those brave Good Samaritansthat were holding the baby girl
(26:09):
had happened upon the scene justafter Jared was shot.
Police learned that thewitnesses found her crying and
still strapped into her car seatin the back on the passenger
side of the vehicle.
They'd pulled her out of thecar, gave her a blanket and held
her until help arrived.
Jacksonville Beach policeimmediately secured the scene
(26:29):
and began a homicideinvestigation.
They canvassed the area seekingwitnesses and surveillance
video.
Handgun shell casings werefound at the scene.
Also at the scene was a wheelwith a damaged tire on it.
It was identified as belongingto a 2004 Ford F-150 Lariat.
The shell casings and wheel andtire were tested for DNA
(26:54):
evidence.
Investigators deduced thatimmediately after dropping off
his nine-year-old twins at homewith their mom, his ex-wife
Shanna Jared started for home,taking his usual route From
Shanna's house, he would havedriven for about two and a half
miles through a residential areabefore getting back out onto
the main road, j Turner ButlerBoulevard, on the last little
(27:18):
stretch of road to exit thesanctuary neighborhood.
It's called Sanctuary Boulevardand it's a little over a tenth
of a mile.
It's dark at night, with woodson either side.
The wheel with the damaged tireon it had been deliberately
placed in the road.
When Jared came upon it in theroad and saw that it blocked his
path because it was too big todrive over, he stopped his car,
(27:43):
turned on his hazard lights andopened his door.
Upon exiting his vehicle, hewas shot almost immediately
multiple times.
His two-year-old daughter,bexley, strapped into her car
seat just feet away, was theonly witness to her father's
brutal murder.
Bexley had not been physicallyharmed, but trajectory rods and
(28:04):
ballistics evidence showed thatprojectiles struck the interior
of the vehicle, including metaland glass, within mere feet of
where Bexley was strapped intoher car seat.
Investigators further concludedthat the placement of the wheel
must have been planned andorchestrated with precision
timing, because motion-activatedsurveillance videos around the
(28:25):
homicide scene suggest that thewheel was not in the roadway
shortly before the shooting,because no vehicles driving on
Sanctuary Boulevard were seenswerving to avoid the wheel.
Jared Bridegain was not armedand there was no evidence of a
struggle at the scene.
He was not robbed of any of hispersonal items, such as his
(28:48):
watch, wedding ring, cell phone,money or wallet.
His car was not stolen.
After looking into JaredBridegain's background,
investigators learned of thehighly acrimonious divorce from
his ex-wife, shanna GardnerFernandez, and of the existence
of a contentious relationshipbetween the Bridegains and
Shanna and her husband, mariaFernandez-Saldana.
(29:09):
The day after Jared wasmurdered, police issued a press
release asking for anyone in thearea with home security footage
between the hours of 6 pm and8.30 pm involving a black SUV to
come forward.
Jared had been driving a blackSUV.
On February 22, 2022, firstCoast Crime Stoppers announced a
(29:32):
$3,000 reward for informationleading to the arrest of the
person who murdered Jared.
The reward amount quickly grewto $8,000.
On February 23, 2022, around 9am, officers conducted a search
in a wooded area west ofSanctuary Boulevard between
Sanctuary Parkway andJacksonville Drive.
I'm not sure what, or ifanything, was found during that
(29:55):
search.
Atf began assisting theJacksonville Beach Police
Department and Jared's murderbecame a joint investigation
between Jacksonville Beach PDand ATF.
On February 24, 2022, the ATFoffered a separate $5,000 reward
for information leading to thearrest and conviction of the
(30:16):
suspect or suspects responsiblefor Jared's murder.
The next day, via theirFacebook page, the Jacksonville
Beach Police Departmentclarified that the rewards being
offered by the two separateagencies First Coast Crime
Stoppers and ATF were notstackable.
Both agencies were simplyoffering different avenues for
people to report tips aboutJared's murder.
(30:40):
On the evening of February 24,kirsten got an alert on her
watch from her Nest camera aboutsomeone being in her driveway.
She was scared.
Her husband had just beenmurdered the week before and his
killer or killers were stillout there.
Kirsten called her neighbor,who was ex-military.
Together they looked in theyard but found nothing.
Kirsten also notified the localpolice of the incident.
Twelve days after Jared'smurder, on February 28, kirsten
(31:10):
received a CURT request viaemail from Shanna asking for a
copy of Jared's deathcertificate.
It read, quote my attorney hasrequested a copy of Jared's
death certificate for the familycourt.
You can send it to me or to himand his paralegal directly,
whichever you prefer, end quote.
Then, sometime after that email, shanna asked Kirsten to return
(31:32):
library books the twins hadtaken out Reportedly.
This request was made beforethey'd even had Jared's funeral.
On March 7, 2022, the FirstCoast Crime Stoppers reward
increased to $13,000 forinformation leading to the
arrest of the person responsiblefor Jared's murder.
The investigation revealed thata pickup truck was picked up on
(31:55):
three security cameras thenight Jared was killed on
Shedder Avenue, which is nearthe murder scene.
On March 9, 2022, theJacksonville Beach Police
Department issued a pressrelease seeking information from
the public about a vehicle ofinterest related to the homicide
investigation of JaredBridegain.
The press release containspictures of the truck police
(32:19):
were trying to locate and readsthe truck is believed to be a
dark colored, likely blue,2004-2008 Ford F-150, four doors
with running boards possiblysilver, brown trim and a silver
toolbox.
If you saw this vehicle thenight of 2, 1622 between the
(32:40):
hours of 5.30pm and 8.30pm, orknow of its current whereabouts,
we ask that you call theJacksonville Beach Police
Department immediately at904-270-1667.
Shelley Shanna's mom wrote in ablog post in March of 2022 about
(33:01):
a memorial that Shanna and herfamily held for Liam and Abby in
honor of their father, jaredQuote.
It was so sweet to see Liam andAbby surrounded by family and
friends as they recalled happymemories of their dad.
Just before sunset, everyonecut flowers from beautiful
arrangements, walked over thedune together and tossed them
(33:22):
into the ocean.
As a farewell, the guestsreceived heart-shaped cookies
made by Liam and Abby, withtheir mom's help, of course, to
thank them for their support.
The event was filled with goodfood, lots of visiting and
enormous amounts of love.
There were lots of picturesattached to this blog post
(33:43):
showing the twins, shanna Mario,shanna's sisters, her parents
and other guests.
The thing that struck me themost about the pictures was that
everyone seemed very smiley andhappy Way too happy considering
that they were at a memorialfor the twins' father, who had
just been brutally murdered,like weeks prior, the joy
(34:05):
reflected in the pictures isvery inappropriate, to say the
least.
According to my research, thatmemorial was held at a home that
had just been purchased byShelley and Sterling Gardner in
Jacksonville Beach.
The home was purchased in Marchof 2022 for about $3.6 million
in the name of Arabian MeadowsLLC.
(34:27):
It was built in 1990 and hasfour bedrooms, four bathrooms
and is 3,127 square feet.
It is just steps literallysteps from the Atlantic Ocean
Probably 200-something feet,which is about 100 or so foot
(34:49):
steps for a human to walk, soit's like the Atlantic Ocean is
right in their backyard.
Just weeks after Jared's funeralin March of 2022, shanna
Gardner Fernandez, marioFernandez Saldana, the twins,
and Shannon's parents, shelleyand Sterling Gardner, went on
vacation together during springbreak.
(35:10):
They went to an all-inclusiveresort called Club Med Sandpiper
Bay in Port St Lucie, florida.
Shelley posted pictures on herblog showing them jet skiing,
paddle boarding, kayaking andbuilding sand castles together.
Kirsten said that seeing Shannaand Mario making those memories
with the twins so soon afterJared's murder and feeling so
(35:32):
strongly that Shanna and Mariowere involved in his murder was
like quote-unquote salt in thewound.
In early April of 2022,shanna's sister posted on social
media a picture of herself withShanna and their other three
sisters for National SiblingsDay.
Shanna is in the middle of herfour sisters with a huge,
(35:55):
gleeful smile on her face.
Now, this picture that hersister chose to use in her post
was taken during the memorialthat Shanna and her family held
for the twins to honor theirmurdered father.
Shanna's sister verydistastefully captioned the
picture quote happy moments likethese are my favorite Red Heart
(36:17):
Emoji hashtag.
National Siblings Day end quote.
On April 11, 2022, the rewardthrough First Coast Crime
Stoppers increased to $25,000for information leading to the
arrest of the person whomurdered Jared, and another
month later, on May 9, 2022, thereward increased to $50,000.
(36:41):
So a month later, it doubledfrom $25,000 to $50,000 within a
month.
Most of the reward money camefrom private donations.
According to Adam Bridegain,jared Bridegain's brother, who
has been with Kirsten Jared'swidow at the forefront of
finding justice for Jared, saidthat Shanna's family did not
(37:01):
contribute to the reward fund.
About four months after Jared'smurder in June of 2022, shanna
and Mario Fernandez Saldanahired criminal defense attorney
Henry Cox III.
He is the former president ofboth the Florida Bar Association
and the Jacksonville BarAssociation, although his bio on
bedelfirmcom states that hespecializes in serious federal
(37:26):
and state criminal matters.
Henry Cox III said that he wasretained by Shanna and Mario
quote for the purpose of seeingif steps could be taken to
protect her young twins from anypublicity surrounding this
tragic event.
And quote During Jared'shomicide investigation, many
witnesses were interviewed, morethan 77 subpoenas were served
(37:50):
and more than 30 search warrantswere obtained.
Eventually, investigators wereled to the identification of a
suspect, and that's where we'regoing to stop for part one of
this case.
Part two will be releasedtomorrow.
Now that I've been doing thisfor a year, I'm going to slowly
(38:11):
roll out different ways for fansof the podcast to support the
show if they'd like to.
So if you would like to supportmy podcast, I have two ways for
you to do so.
The first way is you can buy mea coffee by going to buy me a
coffeecom slash true crime storypod.
I'll have a patron eventuallytoo, but that will be a little
(38:32):
bit down the road.
The other way you can supportthis show for free is by writing
a short but sweet review forthe podcast on Apple podcast or
give it a five star rating onSpotify.
I have not made any money frompodcasting in the year that I've
been doing this so far.
That's not been my goal nor myfocus.
What I have been focused on isalways improving something about
(38:53):
my show, whether it be thestory writing, the sound quality
, how I deliver it all of that.
I want to become a betterpodcaster with each episode and
continue to grow my audience.
Thank you, guys a ton for beinghere.
I truly, truly appreciate you.
Please join me in episode 26when I'll tell you another true
(39:14):
crime story.
Big hugs to all of you, bye,bye.
Tell me a true crime story.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
It's a murder mystery that shook up the Jacksonville
Beach community and gainednational attention.
Jared Bridegain, the father offour, was gunned down one year
ago today in Jacksonville Beachin front of his two-year-old
daughter.
A murder police said wastargeted.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
These are the last images of Microsoft Executive
Jared Bridegain doting on hisyoung children before he was
viciously shot to death in anambush.
Now mystery surrounds who wasbehind the assassination on the
father of four in this upscaleneighborhood in Jacksonville
Beach, florida.
Jared Bridegain was drivinghome with his two-year-old
(00:59):
daughter strapped in her carseat when police say he stopped
his vehicle to remove a tireleft in the road.
That's when he was gunned downat close range, right in front
of his daughter.
Police believe the tire wasleft in the middle of the street
to lure him out of his car.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
Whoever did this is just vile and cowardly.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
I spoke to Jared's heartbroken widow, Kirsten.
Investigators say it appearsthis was a hit or an ambush.
Yeah, that is how it appears.
Kirsten says her husband hadjust dropped off his twins from
a previous marriage at theirmother's house.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
He was driving the usual route home that he always
drove I actually talked to himon the phone right after he
dropped his twins off and hejust told me that they had had a
good day.
They bought ice cream.
My daughter in the back told meI got an ice cream, mommy, and
then it said okay, see you soon.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Minutes later he was slain.
The sound of gunfire wascaptured on a neighbor's camera.
Now, bexley, your two-year-olddaughter was in the car when
your husband was killed.
What has she told you?
Speaker 3 (02:07):
Mostly it's the sound that she refers to.
The boom is how she describesthe gunshots.
So she'll say boom, boom, boomand then she'll say, daddy, on
the ground it's excruciating.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
The shocking ambush happened two months ago.
Kirsten is now speaking out infrustration that the killer is
still on the loose.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
I want people to know that the murder is out there.
The murder is probably watchingthis and they're living their
life and that's not okay.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Hey there, welcome to episode 25 of Tell Me a True
Crime Story.
I'm your host, holly.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
I hope that you and your familyare happy, healthy and together
forever.
Today we'll cover a tragic,heartbreaking story that's
recently been in nationalheadlines and all over social
(02:57):
media.
But before we get started, Ihave to mention two important
things really quickly.
First off, I wanted to say thatI'm working really hard on
getting episodes outconsistently.
I haven't always been able toget them out on a fixed schedule
, but I'm trying to get there,guys.
I know you guys get it that Ihave to prioritize and do the
(03:19):
thing that pays the bills first,and after that work.
Then I work on podcasting, ontop of being a mom and a
daughter and a significant otherto my fiance and taking care of
the pets and the house and thelaundry.
You know how it is, guys.
Life just never stops, and I'min my mid-40s and I've been
(03:40):
going through this perimenopausething for years now, and not to
mention all of the crazyphysical things it does to your
body, like thinning hair andeyebrows, making your boobs itch
, hot flashes, sleep problems,stuff like that that comes along
with it.
But many days I have zeroenergy and on top of all that
(04:03):
it's really really affected mycognitive functioning big time.
It makes me have a foggy brainand I can't find the words I
want to say.
They just won't come to me.
I can't concentrate, I'mindecisive.
I find it really difficult tofocus and stay focused.
You could not imagine therabbit holes that I end up in
(04:24):
when conducting research andwriting my script for the
podcast, because my mind is allover the place and I feel like
the research and writing takesme way longer than it should.
I know that I've told you guysthat before, but it's true, and
I think there are a couple ofreasons for that, one reason
being the stuff that I mentioned, with the declining estrogen
(04:46):
being in perimenopause, givingme all the foggy brain stuff.
And the other reason is becauseI love details and so I like to
bring you guys all of thedetails that I can to each story
.
Sometimes I think I gooverboard with wanting to
include every single morsel of astory that it just becomes mind
numbing.
Then the indecisiveness comesin and I don't know what the
(05:09):
heck to include and what not toinclude.
So at least I'm self-aware.
At least I'm self-aware thatI'm crazy, because sometimes I
have to rein myself in and say,okay, that's enough about that
and just move on to anotherpoint.
So just being detail-orientedin itself is really
(05:29):
time-consuming, but then youreally have to fact-check
everything and make sure to thevery, very best of your ability
that what you're bringing is thetruth.
So my point in telling you allof this is that I want you all
to know that I'm dedicated toyou as my audience and I'm so
appreciative of you guys beinghere listening.
(05:49):
So, even though this isn't myfull-time gig, I'm trying super
hard to get out an episode ontime every week.
Maybe, instead of shooting fora one episode per week, I'll
just plan on doing one episodeevery two weeks to give myself
more time.
I hate to do that, but I mighthave to.
For now We'll see.
(06:10):
Now, on a different note, I haveto share an exciting tidbit
with you.
Last week, me, my mom, who is79 and lives with us, and my son
, who is 15, were in the truckgoing to meet my daughter she's
20 and her boyfriend at arestaurant like 30 minutes away.
Well, I'm always listening topodcasts while I'm on the road,
(06:32):
just never my own podcast.
That would be kind of weird,but anyway, my mom wanted to
hear it so I was going to put onmy latest episode for her.
Now I don't check very often tosee if I have new reviews for
the podcast, because I hardlyever get any and it gets
discouraging.
So I just check it, like everyonce in a while.
Well, I can't see a thingwithout my reading glasses on,
(06:55):
so I accidentally scrolled downtoo far on the page and I caught
just a glimpse like a veryblurry glimpse of where it shows
the ratings, and I thought itsaid 13 ratings.
Well, I couldn't believe myeyes because I had been stuck at
12 ratings for like two months.
So I passed my phone to my sonand I was like oh my God, does
that say 13 ratings?
(07:16):
Oh my gosh, read it out loud tous.
So I want to take this time topersonally thank Paula6693 for
leaving me a five star reviewwith such kind words on Apple.
This is what Paula said in herreview.
The title of it says Excellent.
Then she goes on to say I havebeen looking for a new podcast
(07:38):
that holds my attention and youhave done that 100%.
I'm so excited to listen tomore.
I literally wanted to cry.
So, paula, wherever you are,thank you for listening and for
taking your valuable time out ofyour day to write that review
for me.
I wish I could give you a bighug.
So yeah, and my son alsopointed out that I have seven
(08:02):
five star ratings on Spotify.
You guys are probably probablylaughing at me for being excited
about seven, but I had zero forso long.
So, whoever is rating me onSpotify, I want to thank you so
much and give you a big hug too.
So please help me out.
If you like the podcast, youcan do that by leaving me a five
(08:26):
star review on Apple podcast ora five star rating on Spotify.
To leave me a rating and reviewon Apple, just go to my show
page and scroll down till yousee ratings and reviews.
Select a star rating.
Then, below that, click onwrite a review.
Thank you for helping me outwith that, and big, big hugs to
(08:47):
all of you.
Now let me tell you a true crimestory.
I'm going to take you back tothe evening of February 16th
2022.
We're going to JacksonvilleBeach.
That's on Florida's Upper EastCoast, near the Georgia State
Line.
The temperature that night wasabout 63 degrees Fahrenheit.
(09:11):
Then, 30 year old KirstenBridegine I think it's Kirsten,
actually, sorry, kirsten Then,30 year old Kirsten Bridegine,
33 year old.
Jared Bridegine's wife stayedhome that fateful Wednesday
evening with their six month olddaughter, london, while Jared
(09:31):
and Bexley, their other daughter, who was two years old, went on
a daddy date night with Jared'snine year old twins.
The twins are named Liam andAbigail.
Abigail goes by Abby.
Liam and Abby are Jared'schildren from his first marriage
to Shana Gardner Fernandez.
Kirsten couldn't have knownwhen Jared walked out the door
(09:54):
that evening that she'd neversee her husband alive again.
Jared and his ex-wife, shanaGardner Fernandez, shared
custody of Liam and Abby.
Jared and his wife Kirstenwould get the twins every other
week During their off weeks.
When the twins weren't withthem, they would still see them
(10:14):
midweek on Wednesdays, and theycalled it date night.
Jared Galen Bridegine was bornon June 29, 1988 in Warrensburg,
missouri, to Gaylord and JoanneBridegine.
Jared's the youngest of theirfour kids.
His sister is Ashley and hisbrothers are Justin and Adam.
When Jared was still young, thefamily moved to Jacksonville,
(10:38):
florida, where Jared grew up.
He graduated in 2007 from theDouglas Anderson School of the
Arts.
Jared met his ex-wife, shanaGardner Fernandez in 2009
through his brother, adam's wife, carly, who had been close
friends with her since they werein their quote-unquote younger
years.
According to Adam Bridegine,shana lived in Utah but had been
(11:02):
in Florida visiting a friendwhen she met Jared my friend
that she was visiting may havebeen Carly Adam Bridegine's wife
, but I'm not really sure.
So a little bit about Shana andher family.
Shana Lee Gardner was born onMarch 18, 1987 into a wealthy
Mormon family in Utah and shehas four sisters.
(11:24):
Her parents are Shelly andSterling Gardner.
Shelly and Sterling own a verylucrative multi-level marketing
company called Stampin' Up.
Shana's mom, shelly Gardner, isa co-founder of Stampin' Up and
started the company with hersister, levon Crosby, in 1988.
Back then the sisters wereneighbors living in Las Vegas.
(11:44):
They were both stay-at-homemoms and their husbands worked
in construction.
The sisters were interested inbecoming demonstrators for a
rubber stamp company, butcouldn't find one that met all
of their expectations.
Shelly Gardner had planned onusing savings to build their
first home, but instead used themoney to start Stampin' Up.
They quickly outgrew the livingroom where they first started
(12:06):
the business, then outgrew awarehouse, then another, and
soon purchased their ownproperty in the state Knaab,
utah, and I hope I'm saying thatright.
I looked it up and couldn'treally find the pronunciation,
but it's K-A-N-A-B.
Knaab, kanab, utah.
(12:27):
Sometime around the year 2000,levan who Shelley refers to her
as Vana Sold her ownership inthe business to focus on her
kids and family, and Shelleybecame the sole owner of
Stampin' Up.
I'm not sure how many kids hersister Levan had at the time
that she sold her part in thebusiness, but she now has nine
(12:49):
children and lives in Knaab,utah.
She and her husband, sean, havea 3.4 million dollar home there
.
Shelley Gardner is the formerCEO of Stampin' Up and now
serves actively as the chair ofthe board of directors of the
company.
In 2016, she appointed herdaughter, sarah Douglas, to be
(13:09):
CEO.
The company is headquartered inRiverton, utah.
It operates in 11 countries,has nearly 350 full-time
employees and has an estimatedannual revenue of over $100
million per year.
So that's a little about Shanna,jared's ex-wife, her family and
(13:31):
her background.
So now we're going to get backto Jared and Shanna.
They met in 2009 and marriedthe next year.
In April of 2010 at theMagnificent Salt Lake City
Temple.
They bought a house in Utahnear Shanna's parents worth
about $800,000.
I'm not sure when it was duringtheir marriage or whether it
(13:52):
was supposedly during theirwhole marriage, but reportedly,
shanna's parents gave the couplea monthly stipend of about
$8,500 and access to creditcards, and it's also been widely
reported that her parents gaveJared $100,000 to start a
business.
Jared and Shanna's twins, liamand Abby, were born on April
(14:16):
20th 2012.
Liam was born with a congenitalheart condition.
The couple were told by doctorsthat for their son's heart to
function properly, he needed tolive at sea level.
Jared's brother and wife livedin Connecticut at the time,
which was close to Liam's doctorin New York.
So Jared, shanna and the twinsmoved to Connecticut.
(14:38):
There, it seems, the marriagestarted to break down.
Reportedly, shanna stoppedgoing to church, while Jared
remained a devout Mormon.
Shanna started to work outfervently and got upset with
Jared for gaining weight.
However, it was said that atthe time, he was trying to focus
on start.
He was focused on trying tostart businesses.
(14:59):
So you know how that is.
You're you know if you'retrying to really start a
business, you ain't worriedabout what you're eating.
You're probably stressed outand you're eating more, whatever
.
He wasn't thinking about that.
It's been reported that at thispoint, jared wanted a fresh
start for he and Shanna'smarriage.
He was originally fromJacksonville, so he talked
Shanna into moving there.
(15:20):
They bought a home on PiazadaCircle in Ponte Vider Beach,
which is south of Jacksonville,for around eight hundred
thousand dollars.
In 2014, jared graduated fromUtah Valley University with a
bachelor's degree in digitalmedia.
Then he started working on amaster's degree online.
For Christmas in 2014, jaredgave Shanna personal training
(15:43):
sessions.
Reportedly, just weeks later,shanna and the personal trainer
began having an affair with oneanother.
Shanna has denied having theaffair, but the personal trainer
has confirmed that he andShanna did have a romantic
relationship.
He said that Shanna had toldhim that she and Jared had been
separated for months.
She said they weren't reallyspeaking to one another and were
(16:05):
living on opposite ends of thehouse.
The trainer said that he andShanna dated for a few months
before breaking it off.
Shanna and Jared separated whenJared found sexually explicit
messages between Shanna and herpersonal trainer lover, but
reportedly Jared was willing toforgive Shanna her indiscretions
(16:26):
.
For the sake of their children,however, she wanted a divorce.
Sources told Fox News Digitalthat when Jared confronted
Shanna about the affair, shetold him she didn't love him
anymore.
Shanna filed for a divorce inFebruary of 2015, yet they
continued to live under the sameroof.
The next day after filing fordivorce, shanna went to a tattoo
(16:47):
shop to get a Clitoris piercing.
According to a waiver shesigned at the tattoo shop,
obtained by Fox News Digital,shanna listed her trainer
boyfriend as her emergencycontact.
By this point they'd probablybeen dating for about a month or
so since sometime in January.
In the span of a few months,shanna went to the tattoo shop
(17:11):
three times all together forpiercings.
The other two times were for apiercing in her ear and for a
navel piercing.
She started talking to thepeople who worked there about
her divorce from Jared.
She told them her life could bebetter if he could just quote
unquote, shut up.
Then she asked them if theyknew anyone who could quote
(17:31):
unquote shut him up.
Shanna ended up admitting thatshe made the statement, but said
she didn't intend on doingJared any harm.
She stopped by the tattoo shopoften too, just to hang out with
a guy that worked there thatshe'd struck up a friendship
with.
He said she often complainedabout Jared and said that he was
(17:54):
Quote unquote, trying to takeall of her money.
Shanna said in court documentsthat she and Jared didn't love
any love each other anymore.
The Florida Times Union hasreported that in the divorce
filing, shanna accused Jared ofquote unquote disturbing and
abusive behavior toward theirkids.
Jared accused Shanna oftreating him in a disparaging
(18:17):
manner in front of the kids andalso of spying on him.
As, as proof of the spying,jared emailed his divorce
divorce lawyer photos of hiddenbaby monitors, one under Abby's
dresser and one under Liam's bed.
Also, he said that Shanna put avoice activated recorder in the
(18:38):
home, put a tracking device onhis car and she put a lock on
the master bedroom door.
Furthermore, jared said Shannalied when she said she had no
income.
Reportedly, shanna's parentsfinancially Supported her and
Jared claimed that Shanna madethousands of dollars working
under the table for her mom'sbusiness.
(18:59):
An article written by ScottButler for the Florida Times
Union stated that in Jared andShanna's extensive divorce court
file.
It says about a motion forrelief.
Quote the husband is astay-at-home father while being
a full-time student throughoutthe marriage, completing his
Bachelor of Arts degree, and ispresently engaged in an online
(19:21):
master of arts program.
The wife has provided the solesupport to the family through
regular and recurring gifts fromher family to the parties, as
Well as from trust and or otherfamily related funds.
The parties have regularlyreceived a stipend from the
wife's family exceeding 8,500per month, which has enabled the
(19:42):
husband to further his degreeprograms, and quote Jared also
said that Shanna canceled aheart surgery that
three-year-old Liam was supposedto have in June of 2015 in New
York and they'd waited formonths for that appointment.
She allegedly canceled it on herown, without consulting Jared.
(20:04):
Shanna wanted the home andprimary custody.
She accused Jared ofthreatening to withdraw cash
from their twins trust fund forhis own use.
Jared wanted the home too.
He contended that Shanna hadthe means to live somewhere else
.
He was also asking for primarycustody, alimony and child
support.
(20:24):
Their contentious divorce wasnot finalized until months later
, but reportedly they stillended up back in court for many
years for custody and childsupport issues and concerns
about where the twins wouldattend school.
The Florida Times Unionreported that a document in the
court file states quote theparenting plan is clearly an
issue and the parents are unableto agree.
(20:46):
The disagreement of the parentsat this point now extends well
beyond mere time sharing andgoes to issues of the mental
health and well-being of thechildren and, reportedly, the
bulk of the court actions wereinitiated by Shanna, kirsten
told Fox News.
Quote it was difficult to watchJared go through constant court
battles when all he wanted wasto focus on being the best
(21:09):
husband and father he could be.
End.
Quote.
Reportedly, shanna met hercurrent husband, maria
Fernandez-Saldana, at a CrossFitgym in 2018 where she worked
out and he worked there as amaintenance man.
They married that same year.
Despite trying, I couldn't findmuch on Mario Fernandez-Saldana
(21:30):
.
The only thing I could reallyfind was an incident he was
involved in where he was accusedof intimidating his female
neighbor with his pit bull.
The neighbor would feed straycats and he didn't like the cats
.
I guess the police were calledin an officer-advised Mario
Fernandez-Saldana about the lawsconcerning dangerous dogs and
suggested that if he had aproblem with the feral cats, he
(21:53):
could contact animal control.
Reportedly, this was not theonly incident involving him over
the cats.
The Duval County Florida TaxCollector's website shows a home
in the names of Shanna Gardnerand Mario Enrique Fernandez,
located at 1511 Marsh InletCourt in Jacksonville Beach.
(22:14):
They paid over $8,200 for theirproperty taxes in 2021 and in
2022.
Zillow says that the home wasbuilt in 2014.
A document on the Duval County,florida Property Appraisers
Office shows that Shanna andMario bought the home in 2018
for $575,000.
(22:34):
Another document on the siteshows that they sold the home
for $899,900 in May of 2023.
So that's this year, may of 23.
Shanna ran a baking business outof that home called Beach Baked
904, which she started in 2020.
(22:55):
In a video on YouTube, shannais interviewed by a woman named
Jean Pickett about her bakingbusiness.
Shanna explained that thebusiness allows her more time
with her children because of theflexible hours.
She said she does custom bakingjobs.
In the video, shanna said thatit's a home-based bakery covered
under Florida's Cottage Law.
(23:16):
This means that the foods madein the home-based kitchen are
not subject to state food safetyregulations.
Only certain foods are allowedto be made and gross sales
cannot exceed $250,000 in a year.
Shanna said that she baked whenshe was young with her grandma
and that the font in her logowas modeled after her
grandmother's handwriting.
(23:37):
Jared and Kirsten met each otheron a dating app.
They married in 2017.
Kirsten Bridegain was bornKirsten Elizabeth Fock in 1991
and grew up in Maple Valley,washington.
Kirsten and Jared had theirdaughter Bexley in August of
2019.
Two years later, in August of2021, london came.
(23:59):
At the time of Jared's murder,he was working as a manager of
user experience at Microsoft.
Kirsten had also worked forMicrosoft as an account manager
and had worked there since 2016.
She stopped working atMicrosoft in January of 2022 to
become a full-time mom.
Now we're back to Wednesday,february 16th 2022.
(24:21):
A little before 8 pm, kirstengot a call from Jared saying
he'd just dropped off Liam andAbby at Shanna's house.
He told Kirsten he loved herand that he and Bexley would be
home shortly.
There was nothing unusual abouttheir conversation.
The drive from JacksonvilleBeach, where Shanna lived, to St
(24:41):
Augustine, where he and Kirstenlived, should have taken Jared
and Bexley about 30 minutes.
When they didn't get home whenthey should have, kirsten began
to get worried and immediatelyshe felt that something was not
right.
She went out looking for them.
She called Jared's cell phone,but Jared didn't answer it.
A police officer did.
(25:02):
The officer told Kirsten thather daughter, bexley was okay,
but that she needed to come bythe police station to hear about
her husband.
What the police told Kirstenthat night forever changed her
life.
A ruthless killer had ambushedher husband, jared, and
cold-bloodily murdered him,making her a widow and his four
(25:24):
children.
As you know, jared dropped offLiam and Abby at Shanna's house
just before 8 pm, probablyaround 7 45 or so.
At about 8.03 pm, jacksonvilleBeach police officers were
dispatched in response to ashooting in the area of
Jacksonville Drive and SanctuaryBoulevard.
The male victim was pronounceddead at the scene from multiple
(25:47):
gunshot wounds.
He'd been shot at close rangeand his body was lying on the
ground outside of his blackVolkswagen Atlas SUV.
He was identified as 33 yearold Jared Bridegain.
There was a two-year-old littlegirl there too, being comforted
by witnesses.
Those brave Good Samaritansthat were holding the baby girl
(26:09):
had happened upon the scene justafter Jared was shot.
Police learned that thewitnesses found her crying and
still strapped into her car seatin the back on the passenger
side of the vehicle.
They'd pulled her out of thecar, gave her a blanket and held
her until help arrived.
Jacksonville Beach policeimmediately secured the scene
(26:29):
and began a homicideinvestigation.
They canvassed the area seekingwitnesses and surveillance
video.
Handgun shell casings werefound at the scene.
Also at the scene was a wheelwith a damaged tire on it.
It was identified as belongingto a 2004 Ford F-150 Lariat.
The shell casings and wheel andtire were tested for DNA
(26:54):
evidence.
Investigators deduced thatimmediately after dropping off
his nine-year-old twins at homewith their mom, his ex-wife
Shanna Jared started for home,taking his usual route From
Shanna's house, he would havedriven for about two and a half
miles through a residential areabefore getting back out onto
the main road, j Turner ButlerBoulevard, on the last little
(27:18):
stretch of road to exit thesanctuary neighborhood.
It's called Sanctuary Boulevardand it's a little over a tenth
of a mile.
It's dark at night, with woodson either side.
The wheel with the damaged tireon it had been deliberately
placed in the road.
When Jared came upon it in theroad and saw that it blocked his
path because it was too big todrive over, he stopped his car,
(27:43):
turned on his hazard lights andopened his door.
Upon exiting his vehicle, hewas shot almost immediately
multiple times.
His two-year-old daughter,bexley, strapped into her car
seat just feet away, was theonly witness to her father's
brutal murder.
Bexley had not been physicallyharmed, but trajectory rods and
(28:04):
ballistics evidence showed thatprojectiles struck the interior
of the vehicle, including metaland glass, within mere feet of
where Bexley was strapped intoher car seat.
Investigators further concludedthat the placement of the wheel
must have been planned andorchestrated with precision
timing, because motion-activatedsurveillance videos around the
(28:25):
homicide scene suggest that thewheel was not in the roadway
shortly before the shooting,because no vehicles driving on
Sanctuary Boulevard were seenswerving to avoid the wheel.
Jared Bridegain was not armedand there was no evidence of a
struggle at the scene.
He was not robbed of any of hispersonal items, such as his
(28:48):
watch, wedding ring, cell phone,money or wallet.
His car was not stolen.
After looking into JaredBridegain's background,
investigators learned of thehighly acrimonious divorce from
his ex-wife, shanna GardnerFernandez, and of the existence
of a contentious relationshipbetween the Bridegains and
Shanna and her husband, mariaFernandez-Saldana.
(29:09):
The day after Jared wasmurdered, police issued a press
release asking for anyone in thearea with home security footage
between the hours of 6 pm and8.30 pm involving a black SUV to
come forward.
Jared had been driving a blackSUV.
On February 22, 2022, firstCoast Crime Stoppers announced a
(29:32):
$3,000 reward for informationleading to the arrest of the
person who murdered Jared.
The reward amount quickly grewto $8,000.
On February 23, 2022, around 9am, officers conducted a search
in a wooded area west ofSanctuary Boulevard between
Sanctuary Parkway andJacksonville Drive.
I'm not sure what, or ifanything, was found during that
(29:55):
search.
Atf began assisting theJacksonville Beach Police
Department and Jared's murderbecame a joint investigation
between Jacksonville Beach PDand ATF.
On February 24, 2022, the ATFoffered a separate $5,000 reward
for information leading to thearrest and conviction of the
(30:16):
suspect or suspects responsiblefor Jared's murder.
The next day, via theirFacebook page, the Jacksonville
Beach Police Departmentclarified that the rewards being
offered by the two separateagencies First Coast Crime
Stoppers and ATF were notstackable.
Both agencies were simplyoffering different avenues for
people to report tips aboutJared's murder.
(30:40):
On the evening of February 24,kirsten got an alert on her
watch from her Nest camera aboutsomeone being in her driveway.
She was scared.
Her husband had just beenmurdered the week before and his
killer or killers were stillout there.
Kirsten called her neighbor,who was ex-military.
Together they looked in theyard but found nothing.
Kirsten also notified the localpolice of the incident.
Twelve days after Jared'smurder, on February 28, kirsten
(31:10):
received a CURT request viaemail from Shanna asking for a
copy of Jared's deathcertificate.
It read, quote my attorney hasrequested a copy of Jared's
death certificate for the familycourt.
You can send it to me or to himand his paralegal directly,
whichever you prefer, end quote.
Then, sometime after that email, shanna asked Kirsten to return
(31:32):
library books the twins hadtaken out Reportedly.
This request was made beforethey'd even had Jared's funeral.
On March 7, 2022, the FirstCoast Crime Stoppers reward
increased to $13,000 forinformation leading to the
arrest of the person responsiblefor Jared's murder.
The investigation revealed thata pickup truck was picked up on
(31:55):
three security cameras thenight Jared was killed on
Shedder Avenue, which is nearthe murder scene.
On March 9, 2022, theJacksonville Beach Police
Department issued a pressrelease seeking information from
the public about a vehicle ofinterest related to the homicide
investigation of JaredBridegain.
The press release containspictures of the truck police
(32:19):
were trying to locate and readsthe truck is believed to be a
dark colored, likely blue,2004-2008 Ford F-150, four doors
with running boards possiblysilver, brown trim and a silver
toolbox.
If you saw this vehicle thenight of 2, 1622 between the
(32:40):
hours of 5.30pm and 8.30pm, orknow of its current whereabouts,
we ask that you call theJacksonville Beach Police
Department immediately at904-270-1667.
Shelley Shanna's mom wrote in ablog post in March of 2022 about
(33:01):
a memorial that Shanna and herfamily held for Liam and Abby in
honor of their father, jaredQuote.
It was so sweet to see Liam andAbby surrounded by family and
friends as they recalled happymemories of their dad.
Just before sunset, everyonecut flowers from beautiful
arrangements, walked over thedune together and tossed them
(33:22):
into the ocean.
As a farewell, the guestsreceived heart-shaped cookies
made by Liam and Abby, withtheir mom's help, of course, to
thank them for their support.
The event was filled with goodfood, lots of visiting and
enormous amounts of love.
There were lots of picturesattached to this blog post
(33:43):
showing the twins, shanna Mario,shanna's sisters, her parents
and other guests.
The thing that struck me themost about the pictures was that
everyone seemed very smiley andhappy Way too happy considering
that they were at a memorialfor the twins' father, who had
just been brutally murdered,like weeks prior, the joy
(34:05):
reflected in the pictures isvery inappropriate, to say the
least.
According to my research, thatmemorial was held at a home that
had just been purchased byShelley and Sterling Gardner in
Jacksonville Beach.
The home was purchased in Marchof 2022 for about $3.6 million
in the name of Arabian MeadowsLLC.
(34:27):
It was built in 1990 and hasfour bedrooms, four bathrooms
and is 3,127 square feet.
It is just steps literallysteps from the Atlantic Ocean
Probably 200-something feet,which is about 100 or so foot
(34:49):
steps for a human to walk, soit's like the Atlantic Ocean is
right in their backyard.
Just weeks after Jared's funeralin March of 2022, shanna
Gardner Fernandez, marioFernandez Saldana, the twins,
and Shannon's parents, shelleyand Sterling Gardner, went on
vacation together during springbreak.
(35:10):
They went to an all-inclusiveresort called Club Med Sandpiper
Bay in Port St Lucie, florida.
Shelley posted pictures on herblog showing them jet skiing,
paddle boarding, kayaking andbuilding sand castles together.
Kirsten said that seeing Shannaand Mario making those memories
with the twins so soon afterJared's murder and feeling so
(35:32):
strongly that Shanna and Mariowere involved in his murder was
like quote-unquote salt in thewound.
In early April of 2022,shanna's sister posted on social
media a picture of herself withShanna and their other three
sisters for National SiblingsDay.
Shanna is in the middle of herfour sisters with a huge,
(35:55):
gleeful smile on her face.
Now, this picture that hersister chose to use in her post
was taken during the memorialthat Shanna and her family held
for the twins to honor theirmurdered father.
Shanna's sister verydistastefully captioned the
picture quote happy moments likethese are my favorite Red Heart
(36:17):
Emoji hashtag.
National Siblings Day end quote.
On April 11, 2022, the rewardthrough First Coast Crime
Stoppers increased to $25,000for information leading to the
arrest of the person whomurdered Jared, and another
month later, on May 9, 2022, thereward increased to $50,000.
(36:41):
So a month later, it doubledfrom $25,000 to $50,000 within a
month.
Most of the reward money camefrom private donations.
According to Adam Bridegain,jared Bridegain's brother, who
has been with Kirsten Jared'swidow at the forefront of
finding justice for Jared, saidthat Shanna's family did not
(37:01):
contribute to the reward fund.
About four months after Jared'smurder in June of 2022, shanna
and Mario Fernandez Saldanahired criminal defense attorney
Henry Cox III.
He is the former president ofboth the Florida Bar Association
and the Jacksonville BarAssociation, although his bio on
bedelfirmcom states that hespecializes in serious federal
(37:26):
and state criminal matters.
Henry Cox III said that he wasretained by Shanna and Mario
quote for the purpose of seeingif steps could be taken to
protect her young twins from anypublicity surrounding this
tragic event.
And quote During Jared'shomicide investigation, many
witnesses were interviewed, morethan 77 subpoenas were served
(37:50):
and more than 30 search warrantswere obtained.
Eventually, investigators wereled to the identification of a
suspect, and that's where we'regoing to stop for part one of
this case.
Part two will be releasedtomorrow.
Now that I've been doing thisfor a year, I'm going to slowly
(38:11):
roll out different ways for fansof the podcast to support the
show if they'd like to.
So if you would like to supportmy podcast, I have two ways for
you to do so.
The first way is you can buy mea coffee by going to buy me a
coffeecom slash true crime storypod.
I'll have a patron eventuallytoo, but that will be a little
(38:32):
bit down the road.
The other way you can supportthis show for free is by writing
a short but sweet review forthe podcast on Apple podcast or
give it a five star rating onSpotify.
I have not made any money frompodcasting in the year that I've
been doing this so far.
That's not been my goal nor myfocus.
What I have been focused on isalways improving something about
(38:53):
my show, whether it be thestory writing, the sound quality
, how I deliver it all of that.
I want to become a betterpodcaster with each episode and
continue to grow my audience.
Thank you, guys a ton for beinghere.
I truly, truly appreciate you.
Please join me in episode 26when I'll tell you another true
(39:14):
crime story.
Big hugs to all of you, bye,bye.
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