September 13, 2023 • 44 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.
Hey there, welcome to episode26 of Tell Me a True Crime Story
(00:22):
.
I'm your host, holly.
This is an ongoing story thathas not gone to trial yet, but
it really needs to be covered.
Jared has an awesome wife who,woefully, is now his widow.
He has wonderful kids, familyand friends that love him and
miss him very much, and if youhaven't heard part one, go back
(00:44):
and listen to that.
This is part two.
Jared is our victim in thiscase.
His wife, kirsten, and hisfamily have fought very hard to
bring Jared's murders to justiceand their battle is far from
over.
Being Jared's killers pay fortheir deplorable, wicked act is
all Kirsten and Jared's lovedones can do for him now, because
(01:08):
Jared is gone and he's nevercoming home.
Death is so final and soheart-wrenching.
Today we'll finish coveringwhat we know so far about the
tragic case of the ambush murderof Jared Bridegain.
As I said, this is part two, soplease go back and listen to
part one if you haven't yet.
(01:28):
And if you did listen to partone and you heard where I cut
off some words and stuff, I'mreally sorry about that.
I don't know what I did duringthe editing, but I really
screwed some stuff up.
So actually, if I am not it's12.30 am right now if I am not
dead tired by the time I getdone recording, editing and
(01:51):
uploading this one, then I amdefinitely going to go back and
rerecord part one tonight andrepost that.
But if I am just totally deadafter I get done doing this and
I crash and go to bed, I amstill going to rerecord it and
post it, but it will probably belike tomorrow evening.
Just wanted to let you guysknow that I know that some of it
(02:16):
is messed up and words were cutoff and stuff.
I don't know what I did, butI'm going to fix it.
So thank you so much for beinghere.
I hope that you and your familyare happy, healthy and together
forever.
Before we get started, I wantedto say that I received another
five star rating on Apple.
It's not a written review, butit is five stars and I'm so
(02:38):
grateful for that.
I'm sorry that I can't thankyou by name because it won't let
me see the names of the usersthat give stars only instead of
stars and reviews.
But thank you so much, whoeveryou are, and I wish I could give
you a big hug and I'm stillholding steady at seven five
star ratings on Spotify.
So if you listen to thispodcast on Spotify, could you
(03:02):
please take a sec and give me afive star rating if you enjoy
the podcast.
Thank you so much.
So yeah, I guess that's all Ihave to say.
I know yesterday, before we gotstarted, I talked for like way
too long, maybe like 10 minutes.
I never do that and I like youguys to maybe hear a few
(03:26):
personal things about mesometimes so you can kind of get
to know the person behind thevoice.
And but I know a lot of peopledon't like to hear a lot of, you
know, chit chat either.
So now let me tell you a truecrime story.
We're going to continue with thetimeline of the investigation
(03:48):
and other notable events inJared's case.
When we closed out part one,detectives had just identified
the suspected trigger man inJared's murder.
The suspect detectives were ledto was then 61 year old Henry
Arthur Tenon, who is about sixfoot three and weighs
approximately 259 pounds.
(04:09):
They discovered that he hadcriminal records in both Georgia
and Florida which includedmultiple felony convictions for
driving on a suspended license,which classified him as a
habitual traffic offender,burglary, grand theft and
unlawful possession of firearms.
Most notably, they learned thathe possessed a blue Ford F-150
(04:34):
Lariat, which matched thedescription of the suspect truck
.
On August 18, 2022, henryArthur Tenon was arrested for
possession of a weapon by afelon and for driving with a
suspended or revoked license ona third or subsequent conviction
.
During a police interview, hewas questioned about the murder
(04:56):
of Jared Bridegain and about theFord F-150.
So, just to remind you guys,we're in August now.
This is when they arrested thesuspected trigger man named
Henry Arthur Tenon, and Jaredwas killed months before, on
(05:18):
February 16, 2022.
Investigators found that theonly link between Jared
Bridegain and Henry Arthur Tenonwas Mario Fernandez Saldana and
, as you know from Part 1, marioFernandez Saldana happens to be
the current husband of Jared'sex-wife, shana Gardner Fernandez
(05:39):
.
Henry Tenon had previouslyrented a home owned by Mario
Fernandez Saldana, located at5239 Potomac Avenue in Northwest
Jacksonville, and some sourcesfamiliar with Henry Tenon told
news outlets that Henry Tenonsometimes worked for Mario
Fernandez Saldana, doing oddjobs here and there.
(06:00):
In October of 2022,investigators received Henry
Tenon's financial records fromhis bank.
They found three handwrittenchecks from Mario Fernandez
Saldana to Henry Tenon.
The amount of each check hasnot been disclosed.
Apparently, henry Tenon's leaseended at the home he rented
from Mario Fernandez Saldana inFebruary of 2022.
(06:24):
And told police he did not haveany phone contact with Mario
Fernandez Saldana after hislease ended, except for one time
in May.
However, phone records told adifferent story.
The phone records showed thatHenry Tenon and Mario Fernandez
Saldana had 35 phone contacts inFebruary, which was the month
(06:44):
Jared was killed, 30 phonecontacts in March and 5-7 phone
contacts with each other in Mayand June.
Reportedly, the police and ATFsearched the home Henry Tenon
rented from Mario FernandezSaldana several times before
Tenon was arrested in August of2022.
At least one of those times,authorities kicked the door down
(07:07):
.
They were looking for DNAevidence, a gun and Henry
Tenon's truck.
They left with about 10 bags ofitems, including all of Tenon's
clothes and most of hiselectronics.
Henry Tenon had been kept incustody since August of 2022
when he'd been arrested on theunrelated felony driving charge
and possession of a weapon by afelon charge.
(07:28):
He was awaiting trial on thosecharges when, on January 24 of
this year, 2023, an affidavitfor arrest warrant was issued
for him in the murder of JaredBreitigan, charging him with the
following offensesSecond-degree murder with a
weapon, conspiracy to commitfirst-degree murder, accessory
(07:49):
after the fact to a capitalfelony, and child abuse.
The child abuse charge stemsfrom the emotional trauma
suffered by little Bexley as herdad was gunned down in front of
her.
Reportedly, authorities learnedduring their investigation that
Henry Tenon became involved inthe conspiracy to murder Jared
Breitigan a little over a monthbefore the killing occurred, on
(08:12):
January 4, 2022.
A year after Jared's death, inFebruary of 2023, jared's case
was featured on Dr Phil andKirsten was interviewed.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Tell me what it's been like for the last year.
I don't even know how todescribe it.
For the first few months italmost seemed like it wasn't
real.
You know, I would still expectto see him pull in the driveway
and walk through the door, andthen the moments where it was
sinking in were excruciating.
I had nights where I would justscream.
(08:44):
My parents would stay here and,thankfully, help us through
that.
But it's been really tough andon top of losing him, you know
not having answers, not beingable to answer our daughter when
she asks why daddy isn't comingback, why her siblings aren't
here.
It's just been an excruciatingyear.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
In March of 2023, henry Tenon pleaded guilty to
second-degree murder with aweapon and agreed to testify
truthfully against anyaccomplice.
On March 16, 2023, marioFernandez Saldana was indicted
by a grand jury.
According to the indictment, heplotted the murder of Jared
Bridegain in the four monthsleading up to the killing,
(09:25):
starting on November 1, 2021.
Maria Fernandez-Saldana wasindicted on the following
charges First-degree murder witha weapon, conspiracy to commit
first-degree murder,solicitation to commit a capital
felony and child abuse.
Concurrent with his indictment,maria Fernandez-Saldana was
(09:45):
arrested in Kissimmee, florida,by a law enforcement team
comprised of Jacksonville Beachpolice officers, orange County
Sheriff's deputies and ATFagents.
After Mario's arrest, stampin'Up's leadership team sent a
letter to the company'sdemonstrators, which is what
they call their independentsales consultants.
The letter read quote as aStampin' Up leader, we feel it's
(10:08):
important to communicate withyou regarding a Gardner family
matter.
Stampin' Up is aware that MarioFernandez, shana Gardner's
current husband, has beenarrested in conjunction with an
ongoing investigation.
Shana, shelley and Sterling'sdaughter and Mario have been
separated for an extended periodof time.
We have no further detailsabout the situation other than
(10:30):
what has been reported by themedia.
We understand that somedemonstrators have received
troubling comments about thismatter on their social media
platforms.
Please feel free to deletecomments of an inappropriate
nature and block slash reportthose commenters on your
personal accounts.
You may also share this emailwith your teams if needed.
(10:51):
Stampin' Up's longstandingcommitment to you and all of our
demonstrators is unwavering.
Thank you for your concern andcontinued support.
Sincerely Stampin' Up.
End quote.
Now I just wanted to remind youthat Stampin' Up is the company
that is owned by ShelleyGardner, who is Shana Gardner's
(11:13):
mom, and Shana is JaredBridegans ex-wife.
So, near the end of March of2023, jesse Dracer, the attorney
that started representing MarioFernandez Saldana sometime
after his arrest, gave thefollowing statement to News4Jax.
Quote Mr Fernandez has beenbrought and transferred to
(11:38):
DeVall County and we are in thevery early stages of the process
.
We will be filing a plea of notguilty at his arraignment.
Mr Fernandez learned, alongwith the public, at the State
Attorney's Press Conference,that Henry Tenon was responsible
for the death of Mr Bridegans,and we understand that he
entered a plea of guilty at hisarraignment for that crime.
(11:59):
It is Mr Fernandez's intentionto litigate this case in a
courtroom and not in the courtof public opinion, and we don't
believe it's proper to commenton pending litigation.
End quote On April 4, 2023,mario Fernandez Saldana pleaded
not guilty to the charges.
On May 5, 2023, the stateannounced their intention to
(12:23):
seek the death penalty againsthim for the murder of Jared
Bridegans.
Prosecutors have said that hewill not be offered a plea deal.
The case will be prosecuted byAssistant State Attorney
Christina Stifler.
The press release regarding theindictment and arrest of Mario
Fernandez Saldana says quote anextensive investigation revealed
(12:45):
Fernandez Saldana was integralto the solicitation, conspiracy
and murder of Jared Bridegans.
End quote State AttorneyMelissa Nelson said in her
statement to the public quote weremain committed to seek the
truth, the entire truth, andholding accountable every
individual involved in themurder of Jared Bridegans.
End quote.
Now I normally don't interjectmy opinion very often here on my
(13:10):
podcast.
I aim to just bring you guysall of the facts, but when I
heard that line from StateAttorney Melissa Nelson, all I
can think is that Shana GardnerFernandez must have been shaking
in her boots, knowing that itwas just a matter of time before
she was arrested too.
Mario Fernandez Saldana wasextradited back to DeVall County
(13:31):
Last month.
In mid-August, jared's case wasfeatured on the Dr Phil Show
again On Thursday, august 17,2023, state Attorney Melissa
Nelson spoke at a press briefingannouncing the indictment by a
fourth judicial circuit grandjury and the subsequent arrest
of Shana Gardner Fernandez.
(13:52):
Standing with State AttorneyMelissa Nelson At the briefing
were detectives from theJacksonville Beach Police
Department and ATF agents fromthe Jacksonville Field Office.
She opened up by saying thatthe announcement would be the
last public update on the case.
She went on to say, quote wepromised at the outset of this
investigation we would notrelent until we uncovered the
(14:16):
truth of Jared's murder, thewhole and entire truth.
End quote State AttorneyMelissa Nelson was arrested for
the murder of Jared Bridegans.
State Attorney Melissa Nelsonsaid the grand jury indicted
Shana Gardner Fernandez forfirst-degree murder, conspiracy
to commit first-degree murder,solicitation to commit
first-degree murder and childabuse in relation to the murder
(14:37):
of Jared Bridegans.
She said quote Shana Gardner'sindictment acknowledges her
central and key role in the cold, calculated and premeditated
murder of Jared Bridegans.
End quote.
Shana's indictment says thatshe may have been scheming to
kill Jared Bridegans as far backas May of 2015.
(14:57):
Count two, which is conspiracyto commit murder of her
indictment states, quote MarioEnrique Fernandez-Saldana and
Shana Lee Gardner on or betweenMay 1st 2015 and March 16, 2023
in the county of Duvall and thestate of Florida did agree
conspire, combine or confederatewith other human beings to
(15:21):
affect the death of JaredBridegans, a human being end
quote.
State Attorney Melissa Nelsonalso announced the state's
intention to seek the deathpenalty in this case, just as
the state will seek the deathpenalty against Mario
Fernandez-Saldana.
Afterward, kirsten, jared'swidow, spoke to the press about
(15:42):
her and Jared's family beingkept from seeing the twins quote
.
Our hearts and minds have beenwith Liam and Abby since the day
of Jared's murder, butespecially for the past year and
a half.
Liam and Abby have beenisolated and kept away from us
while they lived with theirmother, their stepdad and their
maternal grandparents.
Despite my constant request tosee or speak to them, I have
(16:06):
been denied and continuouslyignored.
So I will take this opportunityto do it again.
End quote.
And Kirsten addressed thegardeners directly.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
I plead with the gardeners to put the emotional
and mental well-being of LiamAbbey above all else and allow
them to reconnect with us.
We are their family.
We love them.
We have prayed for them everysingle day for the last 547 days
since they were ripped away andisolated from us.
(16:41):
The kids deserve all the loveand support possible as we work
through this next chapter.
Please do not continue to addto their pain.
Let our children be siblingsagain and put them first and do
what's right.
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Adam Bridegain spoke too.
He spoke to his brother that helost forever.
Speaker 4 (17:04):
I wanted to speak to Jared.
Jared, we shouldn't be heretoday.
You should be making us laughand spending time with your
family.
Your siblings miss you everyday.
There is a pain in our heartsthat will never go away.
(17:25):
Your parents miss you.
Your wife misses you.
Your children miss you.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
When a reporter asked Kirsten how she felt about the
fact that the prosecutor isseeking the death penalty in
this case, this is what Kirstensaid.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
State Attorney Melissa Nelson said that the
state intends to seek the deathpenalty against.
Speaker 3 (17:50):
Shawna and Mario.
Does anyone from the familyhave a comment about that?
A life was taken and countlesslives are impacted by that, so I
believe that the harshestpunishment is justified here.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
Thank you guys Appreciate it.
Thank you as.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
State Attorney Melissa Nelson, mentioned at the
press briefing over 2,800 milesto the Northwest.
Shawna was arrested in WestRichland, washington, just
before 9 am.
She was taken in by ATF agentswith the Washington field
division, officers of the WestRichland Police Department and a
detective from Jackson villeBeach that has been working this
(18:32):
case.
Police body cam footage opensup with officers standing near
patrol cars that are parked inthe cul-de-sac near Shawna's
home while other officers are atthe front door.
Then the video moves to thefront door area and Shawna's mom
, shelley, can be seen sittingin a chair on the front porch
crying.
Shelley is wearing eyeglassesand all black, a black tank top,
(18:56):
black workout tights, blacktennis shoes and a black
baseball cap.
Her medium-length, light brownhair is pulled into a low
ponytail.
She asks an officer quote can Ibe with the kids or can you at
least bring the kids out to me?
End quote.
The doorway to the house isopen but it's blurred out for
the privacy of the children.
I assume Shawna is brought outof the house barefoot, with her
(19:18):
hair down, wearing shorts and at-shirt and in handcuffs.
She is sat down in the chairopposite her mom.
Walking right behind her weretwo ATF agents, one of them
armed with an assault rifle.
A female officer comes out ofthe open front doorway with
sandals for Shawna and placesthem on the ground in front of
her.
Then someone I think her momsays quote, you want me, can I
(19:43):
go get her pants?
End quote.
Shawna leans forward, looks inthe open doorway and tells her
daughter, abby, that she hasorders on her Instagram.
Then you can hear what soundslike a young boy's voice.
Say quote, where are your jeans, mom?
End quote.
The children sound calm.
They do not sound upset.
(20:05):
Shawna informs officers thatshe takes medication and they
discuss if she can take it withher to jail or not.
Shawna's jeans are brought tothe front door.
Then Shawna is escorted backinto the house to put them on in
the bathroom.
There's more discussion aboutShawna's prescriptions.
Then officers come out of thehouse with Shawna again.
Her hands are cuffed behind herback and she's wearing jeans
(20:28):
and the same t-shirt.
She's then escorted to a whitepolice cruiser with the West
Richland Police Department.
As she's walking to the cruiser, a female, who I presume is her
mom, shelley yells out love you, honey.
A female ATF agent helps Shawnainto the cruiser.
Then officers discuss hermedication again and where she's
(20:50):
being transported to.
Shawna was taken to the WestRichland Police Department, then
to the Benton County Jail.
During her arrest, shawnaremained calm.
Now I'm going to play a soundbite for you from that body cam
footage of Shanna's arrest.
Speaker 3 (22:14):
You have orders on your on the Instagram.
That is managing for you.
You have orders.
Speaker 2 (22:35):
So they're going to need the prescriptions in their
pill bottle.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
The home in Washington state where Shanna
was living with Liam and Abby.
The home where she was arrestedis located at 4754 Laurel Drive
in West Richland, washington.
The house is modern andbeautiful.
It's 3,300 square feet and hastwo stories, a basement, six
bedrooms, four bathrooms and athree car garage.
(23:23):
It's situated up on a ridge andthe view surrounding it is
quite spectacular.
It's been reported that herparents own the home.
I did some research on the homeand from what I could find is
that the home was built on thelast lot in the cul-de-sac.
The half acre lot sold for$146,000 in October of 2019.
(23:44):
The house was built byKraftmark Custom Homes, a
company out of RichlandWashington.
It was purchased for a milliondollars in September of 2022
from a company named Blue XTERRALLC by a company named
Whitesand LLC in Utah.
I couldn't find out much aboutthe company that purchased it,
(24:06):
the Whitesand LLC, or if herparents are affiliated with that
company or not.
Following Shanna's indictmentand arrest, stampin' Up's
leadership team sent emails totheir demonstrators or
independent sales consultants.
The email read quote the recentnews about the gardener's
daughter, shanna, is difficult.
(24:26):
Shelley and Sterling haveshared a statement in which they
respectfully request privacyregarding this personal matter
as they focus on providing loveand support to their family.
End quote.
The statement released from thegardener's reads quote words
cannot accurately express thedepth of our sadness.
Family is our top priority.
(24:47):
We love our daughter and arefocused on supporting her and
our entire family as we help ourgrandchildren navigate this
difficult and very confusingtime.
For their sake and all involved, we caution against further
speculation and request privacyas the legal process runs its
course.
In the meantime, we arethankful for the continued
(25:07):
support, thoughtfulness andprayers being so generously
shared by friends and loved ones.
End quote.
Shanna did not waive theextradition process to DuFall
County, florida.
In a court appearance the dayafter she was arrested, shanna,
dressed in dark green inmatescrubs, was represented by
attorney Andrew Wagley andappeared in front of Benton
(25:30):
County Superior CourtCommissioner Megan Whitmire.
A court commissioner is aperson chosen by the court, used
to ease the caseload of judges.
They have the power to hearcertain types of legal matters
and make decisions in them.
When Commissioner MeganWhitmire asked Shanna's attorney
what his client's intentionswere in relation to her
(25:52):
extradition back to Florida, heresponded by saying quote your
honor.
At this juncture we do notanticipate waiving extradition.
We want to look into the habeascorpus procedure and we would
ask the court to set a hearingdown the line so that we may
address that end quote.
The next hearing on theextradition matter is scheduled
for September 14th at 8.30 am.
(26:14):
In the meantime, shanna isbeing held without bail on a
fugitive warrant in the BentonCounty Jail.
Kirsten Bridegain, jarrod'swidow, began the Bridegain
Foundation in September of 2022in response to what Bexley went
through the night her dad wasmurdered right in front of her.
Witnesses that came upon thescene found two-year-old Bexley
(26:36):
crying, still strapped into hercar seat in the back.
Kirsten later learned thatshe'd sat in that car seat alone
, scared, confused and crying,for three whole minutes within
feet of her dad's body, beforeshe was rescued by a couple.
Bexley was taken to the policestation to be cared for while
Kirsten was located and notified.
(26:57):
The couple at the scene hadgiven little Bexley a blanket
and the police department had acoloring book, but Kirsten and
Bexley ended up being at thepolice station for an extended
period of time that night, likea long time.
While Kirsten spoke with policeand answered their questions,
she didn't think to take adiaper bag with her to the
station.
She'd needed a diaper forBexley and they had one at the
(27:21):
station, but it was one size toosmall.
It fit, but, as Kirstenexplains on Instagram, she
realized that there was a needfor more essentials and comfort
items for little ones thatbecome involved in similar
traumatic situations, as Bexleywas thrust into that night.
So to help fill that need,kirsten started the Breitigen
Foundation.
What the nonprofit does is puttogether and distribute Bexley
(27:45):
boxes to police departments andother agencies that deal with
children that are victims ofviolent crime.
It helps the agencies be betterequipped to comfort and console
a traumatized child.
Bexley boxes contain essentialslike sippy cups, snacks,
formula diapers and wipes, butthey also contain comfort items
(28:07):
such as kid blankets, books,stuffed animals, toys and
coloring supplies.
Kirsten appealed to the publicon Instagram to donate items for
Bexley boxes and the responsewas overwhelming.
It was so heartwarming to seethat she received so many items
and gift cards.
The things that we canaccomplish together are just
(28:29):
amazing, so encouraging anduplifting.
The Jacksonville Beach PoliceDepartment, where Bexley had
been on the night her dad waskilled, was the recipient of the
very first Bexley box inOctober of 2022.
, according to Kirsten's website, breitigenfoundationorg, so far
there have been 31 Bexley boxesdelivered to law enforcement
(28:52):
agencies and victim servicesoffices in many different states
.
Kirsten said that Bexley oftenrecalls what she witnessed the
night her dad was killed, sayingboom, boom, boom, daddy.
On the ground.
Kirsten said Bexley has a lotof questions and some of them
she can't answer.
She asked where her dad is andwhy he isn't there.
(29:15):
Kirsten tells her that herdaddy's body did not get better
and that he's with God.
Then Bexley asks why, andKirsten tells her that someone
hurt him.
I'm going to read an excerptfrom an article in the Florida
Times Union by Dan Scanlon,written about a candlelight
vigil that was held a couplemonths after Jared's murder.
(29:37):
Quote Three minutes of silencewas asked of the crowd who held
candles flickering in the breezeas a bird sang in a nearby tree
.
The three minutes signified thetime that Bexley spent alone in
the car as her father waskilled.
Then, after Kirsten Breitigenlet Bexley down, the pink clad
toddler walked up to one of thephotos showing her with her
(30:00):
mother and father and pointed atJared's image.
That's my daddy, she saidbefore walking over to other
family members, where she'd evenwiped tears from her mother's
face.
Quote.
Not only did Jared's family loseJared when he was murdered,
they lost his twins too.
That's because, months afterJared's murder, shana took the
(30:23):
twins and moved over 2,800 milesaway across the country to West
Richland in Washington State.
Even prior to their move toWashington, not long after
Jared's murder, shana cut offcontact between Liam and Abby
and Kirsten, bexley, london andall of Jared's family.
Kirsten had been in Liam andAbby's lives for five years,
(30:46):
since they were four years old.
She had an especially closerelationship with Abby, and
Bexley did too.
Abby and Bexley would haveregular tea parties together
after school.
The Frozen movie was a favoriteof Bexley's, and Abby had asked
Kirsten to order an Elsacostume for her so that she
could surprise Bexley on herbirthday by wearing it for her.
(31:07):
There's a really sweet pictureon Instagram of the two girls
together Abby dressed as Elsa,holding Bexley in her arms.
Kirsten described the twosisters as inseparable.
Kirsten has lots of pictures onInstagram of Liam and Abby and
of the twins with their sisters,bexley and London.
(31:28):
In a Fox News digital interview, adam Bridegain, jared's
brother, and Kirsten expressedpain and sadness that Bexley and
London are missing out on timewith their siblings, liam and
Abby precious time that theywill never be able to get back
About a year ago on the Justicefor Jared B Instagram page,
(31:50):
kirsten did a Q&A with followersof the page.
When someone asked if it wastrue that Shana wouldn't allow
the twins to go to theirfather's funeral, Kirsten
answered quote that's correct.
I offered to pick them up anddrop them off before slash after
, but she refused unless shecould also attend.
That was out of the questionfor obvious reasons.
(32:12):
So unfortunately she kept themfrom attending.
The entire family was.
Slash is heartbroken over thatend quote.
When asked if she ever gets tosee her stepkids, she answered
quote this one got asked a lot.
What answer is no.
Let me break it down fromFebruary 16.
(32:33):
Timeline of last communicationwith Liam and Abby February 17.
I asked to be present when Liamand Abby, the twins, were
informed that Jared was killed.
Shana thankfully agreed.
My father and I went to herhouse to be there when the kids
were informed, february 18.
Shana told me Abby hadsomething she wanted to bring by
(32:55):
for her little sisters andasked if that was okay.
I said yes and they came by thehouse for a bit.
A couple of FaceTime calls withthe twins occurred between then
and February 23.
After February 23, shanaignored or denied requests to
FaceTime Liam and Abby untilMarch 24.
March 24.
(33:16):
Shana finally responds to oneof my many requests to FaceTime
the kids and says she'd like tohave a conversation with me
first, march 25.
Phone conversation with Shanahappens.
She agrees to allow oneFaceTime call per week between
Bexley and the twins.
I'm told I'm not to speak tothem, only Bexley.
The kids had their one FaceTimecall per week for about three
(33:39):
weeks until she canceled thecall scheduled for April 18 and
said there will be no moreFaceTime calls moving forward.
I responded and asked if wecould at least speak to them on
their birthday, april 20.
She agreed April 20.
Last FaceTime call with Liamand Abby it was observed.
Since April 20, I have sentnumerous texts asking for
(34:01):
contact with the twins.
Since then I either get noresponse or an excuse as to why
it can't happen.
I believe my phone number hasnow been blocked.
When I realized I was blocked,I emailed Shana's criminal
defense attorney asking him tohelp mediate visits.
He responded and said it wasn'this area of expertise and
referred me to her family lawattorney.
(34:23):
I emailed the family lawattorney weeks ago and I haven't
heard back.
I sent a follow-up yesterday.
Crickets.
Other family members havereached out as well.
They've been ignored.
The kids have been completelycut off from their dad's family"
.
Someone asked how the twinsreacted to the news about their
(34:44):
father.
Kirsten replied quote not well.
As would be expected, bothstarted sobbing.
Abby's first question, aftercrying for a while, was do I
still get to see my sisters?
I held Liam and Shana held Abby.
Mario stood away from everyonewith his arms folded.
End quote.
(35:05):
An Instagram follower askedKirsten if there are any members
of Shana's family that aresuspicious of her.
In response, kirsten posted afew pictures one showing Shana
and Mario together smiling.
One showing Shana with hersisters, all of them smiling and
happy looking.
This is the picture that Imentioned in part, one that they
took at Jared's memorialservice, and also the same
(35:27):
picture that Shana's sister usedfor her National Siblings Day
post on social media.
And then another pic with Shana, her parents and the twins all
making silly faces.
Kirsten said quote I mean, dothey look suspicious of her?
Not to mention the attacks hermom has made on both mine and
(35:49):
Jared's reputations, both ofwhich she had to backtrack and
later deleted when she realizedshe was caught in lies.
End quote, since Jared waskilled to celebrate his birthday
.
For the past two years, kirstencalls for people to serve others
and perform acts of kindness inhonor of Jared.
On the Justice for Jared BInstagram page, a post from the
(36:11):
end of May 2023 reads quoteJared found joy in serving
others and teaching his childrento do the same.
End quote.
Kirsten pointed out in a postthat serving others and doing
something kind for othersdoesn't have to cost money, and
she's so right.
Smiling at someone is free.
(36:31):
So is holding the door forsomebody or helping an old
person with their bags.
These things seem so obvious andsimple, but we're all so busy
and we go about our lives notpaying much attention to each
other.
We should all be more kind toone another.
It's okay to speak to astranger, to shake their hand or
(36:54):
even hug them if they need it,and they're okay with it.
It's not weird, like your kidswill tell you, like my kids have
told me, mom.
You're weird.
You talk to everybody.
You never know what people aregoing through and you know they
may be very depressed or lonely.
Their smile or kind words mayjust make them feel valued when
(37:15):
they felt invisible, and itmakes us feel good too.
And Amazon driver was in frontof my driveway yesterday and he
was rearranging his packages inthe back of the truck.
It was really, really, reallyhot out and I was in a hurry.
I was in my driveway leaving togo somewhere.
I could have easily just left,but you know, I was like, okay,
(37:38):
go back in the garage and gethim some water.
So I went in the garage, gavehim a couple bottles of water
from the fridge and he wasreally appreciative of that and
I felt happy to you know that Itook the time and took the time
to give it to him.
What a better place the worldwould be if we were all more
(37:58):
cognizant of what we could do tomake someone else around us
happy.
I'm going to close this episodewith words and memories about
our victim, jared GalenBridegain.
Jared was a devout Mormon andhis relationship with his
Heavenly Father and his son,jesus Christ, was a main
priority in his life.
Prior to his murder, he servedas a Sunday school teacher in
(38:21):
the Church of Jesus Christ ofLatter-day Saints to eleven and
twelve-year-olds.
Jared had a long time interestin videography and he was an
accomplished UX designer.
Ux stands for user experience.
As mentioned earlier, at thetime of his murder, he was a
senior design manager atMicrosoft.
Jared's obituary described himas an awesome father husband,
(38:44):
son and friend to many and I cantell you that he absolutely was
.
I spent hours looking at theJustice for Jared B Instagram
page all of the videos andpictures and messages and posts
that Kirsten put up there aboutJared and in honor of him.
(39:10):
He looks like he was an awesomeall around father husband.
You know son, brother, friend,everything he loved spending
time with his kids, buildingthings and creating memories.
Kirsten posted on Instagramthat he truly loved being a dad
(39:33):
and even played kickball whilebaby wearing.
The video with that post showsJared and Liam playing kickball
together.
Jared has, I assume, babyLondon like front facing in a
baby carrier on his chest.
Liam rolls a red ball to hisdad, jared kicks it far and Abby
(39:54):
goes running after the ball.
Jared, the kids and Kirstenoften went on bike rides
together and they would eventake the dog and the dog would
be on a leash running along withthem.
There's a video of that onInstagram.
It's so cute, but it's soheartbreaking to to see Jared
there so alive and smiling andenjoying every day small moments
(40:17):
with his family and all of thatwas robbed from him and Kirsten
and all of them.
It's just so, so sad.
Jared built an amazing dollhousefor his girls and even a laser
tag course in the garage for thekids.
His brother, adam, recalledthat Jared and their dad had
(40:37):
built shelving in Jared's roomwhen he was young so that a
train set could travel aroundhis entire room.
Jared also loved doing homeimprovement projects with his
wife, kirsten.
They did a project in the housewith the kids in 2020.
I think Kirsten said it was afireplace, if I'm not mistaken,
and before they sealed it up andfinished it, they wrote a
(40:58):
message on the wood and it readMade by the Bridegans 2020,
jared Kirsten, liam Abbey,bexley, future Baby.
And then there was a heartdrawn underneath of that Jared
said to have been funny, happy,go lucky and a bit shy.
There's no doubt that Jared'swife Kirsten, his family, his
(41:22):
children and the world lost awonderful man that day.
Please follow Justice for JaredB and the Bridegain Foundation
on Instagram.
Look at the pics and videosthat Kirsten has posted of Jared
with her and the kids and seeglimpses into the beautiful life
(41:43):
that they had that was socallously, senselessly and
cruelly stolen from them.
Just make sure that you havetissues with you, because you
will surely need them.
We all can and should sendmessages of love and hope to
Kirsten and the kids throughInstagram.
Also, please consider making adonation to the Bridegain
(42:06):
Foundation if you are able to.
Thank you guys for listening tothis episode of Tell Me a True
Crime Story.
Please tell your friends,coworkers and family about the
podcast.
Share a link to the podcastwith someone who's interested in
true crime stories.
Also follow the podcast onApple, google, spotify or
(42:27):
wherever.
Please follow the podcast onsocial media.
Facebook, instagram and TikTokare at Tell Me a True Crime
Story.
I'm getting much better atupdating my social media pages
with content about the cases Icover and posting pics and
videos related to the cases.
I posted some videos on TikTokthat actually kind of blew up.
(42:55):
They weren't about episodesthat I've covered per se, they
were just like little true crimestuff that's going on in the
news.
Now some videos that's onTikTok at Tell Me a True Crime
Story.
If you want to check those out,please follow me there and on
Facebook and Instagram.
(43:16):
Thank you guys so much If youwant to support this podcast.
I just rolled out something new.
It's a small way that you cansupport the podcast.
You can buy me a coffee bygoing to buymeacoffeecom slash
truecrimestorypod, remember ifyou enjoy listening.
(43:37):
The way you can support me andit's free is to write a short
but sweet review for the podcaston Apple Podcast or give it a
5-star rating on Spotify.
If there's anywhere else thatyou know of that you can review
podcasts.
Somewhere else that you listen,please do it there for me.
(43:57):
Thank you so very much forbeing here.
I truly, truly appreciate eachand every one of you guys.
Please join me in episode 27when I'll tell you another true
crime story.
Big, big hugs to all of you.
Speaker 2 (44:17):
Bye-bye.
Tell me a true crime story.
Hey there, welcome to episode26 of Tell Me a True Crime Story
(00:22):
.
I'm your host, holly.
This is an ongoing story thathas not gone to trial yet, but
it really needs to be covered.
Jared has an awesome wife who,woefully, is now his widow.
He has wonderful kids, familyand friends that love him and
miss him very much, and if youhaven't heard part one, go back
(00:44):
and listen to that.
This is part two.
Jared is our victim in thiscase.
His wife, kirsten, and hisfamily have fought very hard to
bring Jared's murders to justiceand their battle is far from
over.
Being Jared's killers pay fortheir deplorable, wicked act is
all Kirsten and Jared's lovedones can do for him now, because
(01:08):
Jared is gone and he's nevercoming home.
Death is so final and soheart-wrenching.
Today we'll finish coveringwhat we know so far about the
tragic case of the ambush murderof Jared Bridegain.
As I said, this is part two, soplease go back and listen to
part one if you haven't yet.
(01:28):
And if you did listen to partone and you heard where I cut
off some words and stuff, I'mreally sorry about that.
I don't know what I did duringthe editing, but I really
screwed some stuff up.
So actually, if I am not it's12.30 am right now if I am not
dead tired by the time I getdone recording, editing and
(01:51):
uploading this one, then I amdefinitely going to go back and
rerecord part one tonight andrepost that.
But if I am just totally deadafter I get done doing this and
I crash and go to bed, I amstill going to rerecord it and
post it, but it will probably belike tomorrow evening.
Just wanted to let you guysknow that I know that some of it
(02:16):
is messed up and words were cutoff and stuff.
I don't know what I did, butI'm going to fix it.
So thank you so much for beinghere.
I hope that you and your familyare happy, healthy and together
forever.
Before we get started, I wantedto say that I received another
five star rating on Apple.
It's not a written review, butit is five stars and I'm so
(02:38):
grateful for that.
I'm sorry that I can't thankyou by name because it won't let
me see the names of the usersthat give stars only instead of
stars and reviews.
But thank you so much, whoeveryou are, and I wish I could give
you a big hug and I'm stillholding steady at seven five
star ratings on Spotify.
So if you listen to thispodcast on Spotify, could you
(03:02):
please take a sec and give me afive star rating if you enjoy
the podcast.
Thank you so much.
So yeah, I guess that's all Ihave to say.
I know yesterday, before we gotstarted, I talked for like way
too long, maybe like 10 minutes.
I never do that and I like youguys to maybe hear a few
(03:26):
personal things about mesometimes so you can kind of get
to know the person behind thevoice.
And but I know a lot of peopledon't like to hear a lot of, you
know, chit chat either.
So now let me tell you a truecrime story.
We're going to continue with thetimeline of the investigation
(03:48):
and other notable events inJared's case.
When we closed out part one,detectives had just identified
the suspected trigger man inJared's murder.
The suspect detectives were ledto was then 61 year old Henry
Arthur Tenon, who is about sixfoot three and weighs
approximately 259 pounds.
(04:09):
They discovered that he hadcriminal records in both Georgia
and Florida which includedmultiple felony convictions for
driving on a suspended license,which classified him as a
habitual traffic offender,burglary, grand theft and
unlawful possession of firearms.
Most notably, they learned thathe possessed a blue Ford F-150
(04:34):
Lariat, which matched thedescription of the suspect truck
.
On August 18, 2022, henryArthur Tenon was arrested for
possession of a weapon by afelon and for driving with a
suspended or revoked license ona third or subsequent conviction
.
During a police interview, hewas questioned about the murder
(04:56):
of Jared Bridegain and about theFord F-150.
So, just to remind you guys,we're in August now.
This is when they arrested thesuspected trigger man named
Henry Arthur Tenon, and Jaredwas killed months before, on
(05:18):
February 16, 2022.
Investigators found that theonly link between Jared
Bridegain and Henry Arthur Tenonwas Mario Fernandez Saldana and
, as you know from Part 1, marioFernandez Saldana happens to be
the current husband of Jared'sex-wife, shana Gardner Fernandez
(05:39):
.
Henry Tenon had previouslyrented a home owned by Mario
Fernandez Saldana, located at5239 Potomac Avenue in Northwest
Jacksonville, and some sourcesfamiliar with Henry Tenon told
news outlets that Henry Tenonsometimes worked for Mario
Fernandez Saldana, doing oddjobs here and there.
(06:00):
In October of 2022,investigators received Henry
Tenon's financial records fromhis bank.
They found three handwrittenchecks from Mario Fernandez
Saldana to Henry Tenon.
The amount of each check hasnot been disclosed.
Apparently, henry Tenon's leaseended at the home he rented
from Mario Fernandez Saldana inFebruary of 2022.
(06:24):
And told police he did not haveany phone contact with Mario
Fernandez Saldana after hislease ended, except for one time
in May.
However, phone records told adifferent story.
The phone records showed thatHenry Tenon and Mario Fernandez
Saldana had 35 phone contacts inFebruary, which was the month
(06:44):
Jared was killed, 30 phonecontacts in March and 5-7 phone
contacts with each other in Mayand June.
Reportedly, the police and ATFsearched the home Henry Tenon
rented from Mario FernandezSaldana several times before
Tenon was arrested in August of2022.
At least one of those times,authorities kicked the door down
(07:07):
.
They were looking for DNAevidence, a gun and Henry
Tenon's truck.
They left with about 10 bags ofitems, including all of Tenon's
clothes and most of hiselectronics.
Henry Tenon had been kept incustody since August of 2022
when he'd been arrested on theunrelated felony driving charge
and possession of a weapon by afelon charge.
(07:28):
He was awaiting trial on thosecharges when, on January 24 of
this year, 2023, an affidavitfor arrest warrant was issued
for him in the murder of JaredBreitigan, charging him with the
following offensesSecond-degree murder with a
weapon, conspiracy to commitfirst-degree murder, accessory
(07:49):
after the fact to a capitalfelony, and child abuse.
The child abuse charge stemsfrom the emotional trauma
suffered by little Bexley as herdad was gunned down in front of
her.
Reportedly, authorities learnedduring their investigation that
Henry Tenon became involved inthe conspiracy to murder Jared
Breitigan a little over a monthbefore the killing occurred, on
(08:12):
January 4, 2022.
A year after Jared's death, inFebruary of 2023, jared's case
was featured on Dr Phil andKirsten was interviewed.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Tell me what it's been like for the last year.
I don't even know how todescribe it.
For the first few months italmost seemed like it wasn't
real.
You know, I would still expectto see him pull in the driveway
and walk through the door, andthen the moments where it was
sinking in were excruciating.
I had nights where I would justscream.
(08:44):
My parents would stay here and,thankfully, help us through
that.
But it's been really tough andon top of losing him, you know
not having answers, not beingable to answer our daughter when
she asks why daddy isn't comingback, why her siblings aren't
here.
It's just been an excruciatingyear.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
In March of 2023, henry Tenon pleaded guilty to
second-degree murder with aweapon and agreed to testify
truthfully against anyaccomplice.
On March 16, 2023, marioFernandez Saldana was indicted
by a grand jury.
According to the indictment, heplotted the murder of Jared
Bridegain in the four monthsleading up to the killing,
(09:25):
starting on November 1, 2021.
Maria Fernandez-Saldana wasindicted on the following
charges First-degree murder witha weapon, conspiracy to commit
first-degree murder,solicitation to commit a capital
felony and child abuse.
Concurrent with his indictment,maria Fernandez-Saldana was
(09:45):
arrested in Kissimmee, florida,by a law enforcement team
comprised of Jacksonville Beachpolice officers, orange County
Sheriff's deputies and ATFagents.
After Mario's arrest, stampin'Up's leadership team sent a
letter to the company'sdemonstrators, which is what
they call their independentsales consultants.
The letter read quote as aStampin' Up leader, we feel it's
(10:08):
important to communicate withyou regarding a Gardner family
matter.
Stampin' Up is aware that MarioFernandez, shana Gardner's
current husband, has beenarrested in conjunction with an
ongoing investigation.
Shana, shelley and Sterling'sdaughter and Mario have been
separated for an extended periodof time.
We have no further detailsabout the situation other than
(10:30):
what has been reported by themedia.
We understand that somedemonstrators have received
troubling comments about thismatter on their social media
platforms.
Please feel free to deletecomments of an inappropriate
nature and block slash reportthose commenters on your
personal accounts.
You may also share this emailwith your teams if needed.
(10:51):
Stampin' Up's longstandingcommitment to you and all of our
demonstrators is unwavering.
Thank you for your concern andcontinued support.
Sincerely Stampin' Up.
End quote.
Now I just wanted to remind youthat Stampin' Up is the company
that is owned by ShelleyGardner, who is Shana Gardner's
(11:13):
mom, and Shana is JaredBridegans ex-wife.
So, near the end of March of2023, jesse Dracer, the attorney
that started representing MarioFernandez Saldana sometime
after his arrest, gave thefollowing statement to News4Jax.
Quote Mr Fernandez has beenbrought and transferred to
(11:38):
DeVall County and we are in thevery early stages of the process
.
We will be filing a plea of notguilty at his arraignment.
Mr Fernandez learned, alongwith the public, at the State
Attorney's Press Conference,that Henry Tenon was responsible
for the death of Mr Bridegans,and we understand that he
entered a plea of guilty at hisarraignment for that crime.
(11:59):
It is Mr Fernandez's intentionto litigate this case in a
courtroom and not in the courtof public opinion, and we don't
believe it's proper to commenton pending litigation.
End quote On April 4, 2023,mario Fernandez Saldana pleaded
not guilty to the charges.
On May 5, 2023, the stateannounced their intention to
(12:23):
seek the death penalty againsthim for the murder of Jared
Bridegans.
Prosecutors have said that hewill not be offered a plea deal.
The case will be prosecuted byAssistant State Attorney
Christina Stifler.
The press release regarding theindictment and arrest of Mario
Fernandez Saldana says quote anextensive investigation revealed
(12:45):
Fernandez Saldana was integralto the solicitation, conspiracy
and murder of Jared Bridegans.
End quote State AttorneyMelissa Nelson said in her
statement to the public quote weremain committed to seek the
truth, the entire truth, andholding accountable every
individual involved in themurder of Jared Bridegans.
End quote.
Now I normally don't interjectmy opinion very often here on my
(13:10):
podcast.
I aim to just bring you guysall of the facts, but when I
heard that line from StateAttorney Melissa Nelson, all I
can think is that Shana GardnerFernandez must have been shaking
in her boots, knowing that itwas just a matter of time before
she was arrested too.
Mario Fernandez Saldana wasextradited back to DeVall County
(13:31):
Last month.
In mid-August, jared's case wasfeatured on the Dr Phil Show
again On Thursday, august 17,2023, state Attorney Melissa
Nelson spoke at a press briefingannouncing the indictment by a
fourth judicial circuit grandjury and the subsequent arrest
of Shana Gardner Fernandez.
(13:52):
Standing with State AttorneyMelissa Nelson At the briefing
were detectives from theJacksonville Beach Police
Department and ATF agents fromthe Jacksonville Field Office.
She opened up by saying thatthe announcement would be the
last public update on the case.
She went on to say, quote wepromised at the outset of this
investigation we would notrelent until we uncovered the
(14:16):
truth of Jared's murder, thewhole and entire truth.
End quote State AttorneyMelissa Nelson was arrested for
the murder of Jared Bridegans.
State Attorney Melissa Nelsonsaid the grand jury indicted
Shana Gardner Fernandez forfirst-degree murder, conspiracy
to commit first-degree murder,solicitation to commit
first-degree murder and childabuse in relation to the murder
(14:37):
of Jared Bridegans.
She said quote Shana Gardner'sindictment acknowledges her
central and key role in the cold, calculated and premeditated
murder of Jared Bridegans.
End quote.
Shana's indictment says thatshe may have been scheming to
kill Jared Bridegans as far backas May of 2015.
(14:57):
Count two, which is conspiracyto commit murder of her
indictment states, quote MarioEnrique Fernandez-Saldana and
Shana Lee Gardner on or betweenMay 1st 2015 and March 16, 2023
in the county of Duvall and thestate of Florida did agree
conspire, combine or confederatewith other human beings to
(15:21):
affect the death of JaredBridegans, a human being end
quote.
State Attorney Melissa Nelsonalso announced the state's
intention to seek the deathpenalty in this case, just as
the state will seek the deathpenalty against Mario
Fernandez-Saldana.
Afterward, kirsten, jared'swidow, spoke to the press about
(15:42):
her and Jared's family beingkept from seeing the twins quote
.
Our hearts and minds have beenwith Liam and Abby since the day
of Jared's murder, butespecially for the past year and
a half.
Liam and Abby have beenisolated and kept away from us
while they lived with theirmother, their stepdad and their
maternal grandparents.
Despite my constant request tosee or speak to them, I have
(16:06):
been denied and continuouslyignored.
So I will take this opportunityto do it again.
End quote.
And Kirsten addressed thegardeners directly.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
I plead with the gardeners to put the emotional
and mental well-being of LiamAbbey above all else and allow
them to reconnect with us.
We are their family.
We love them.
We have prayed for them everysingle day for the last 547 days
since they were ripped away andisolated from us.
(16:41):
The kids deserve all the loveand support possible as we work
through this next chapter.
Please do not continue to addto their pain.
Let our children be siblingsagain and put them first and do
what's right.
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Adam Bridegain spoke too.
He spoke to his brother that helost forever.
Speaker 4 (17:04):
I wanted to speak to Jared.
Jared, we shouldn't be heretoday.
You should be making us laughand spending time with your
family.
Your siblings miss you everyday.
There is a pain in our heartsthat will never go away.
(17:25):
Your parents miss you.
Your wife misses you.
Your children miss you.
Speaker 1 (17:35):
When a reporter asked Kirsten how she felt about the
fact that the prosecutor isseeking the death penalty in
this case, this is what Kirstensaid.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
State Attorney Melissa Nelson said that the
state intends to seek the deathpenalty against.
Speaker 3 (17:50):
Shawna and Mario.
Does anyone from the familyhave a comment about that?
A life was taken and countlesslives are impacted by that, so I
believe that the harshestpunishment is justified here.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
Thank you guys Appreciate it.
Thank you as.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
State Attorney Melissa Nelson, mentioned at the
press briefing over 2,800 milesto the Northwest.
Shawna was arrested in WestRichland, washington, just
before 9 am.
She was taken in by ATF agentswith the Washington field
division, officers of the WestRichland Police Department and a
detective from Jackson villeBeach that has been working this
(18:32):
case.
Police body cam footage opensup with officers standing near
patrol cars that are parked inthe cul-de-sac near Shawna's
home while other officers are atthe front door.
Then the video moves to thefront door area and Shawna's mom
, shelley, can be seen sittingin a chair on the front porch
crying.
Shelley is wearing eyeglassesand all black, a black tank top,
(18:56):
black workout tights, blacktennis shoes and a black
baseball cap.
Her medium-length, light brownhair is pulled into a low
ponytail.
She asks an officer quote can Ibe with the kids or can you at
least bring the kids out to me?
End quote.
The doorway to the house isopen but it's blurred out for
the privacy of the children.
I assume Shawna is brought outof the house barefoot, with her
(19:18):
hair down, wearing shorts and at-shirt and in handcuffs.
She is sat down in the chairopposite her mom.
Walking right behind her weretwo ATF agents, one of them
armed with an assault rifle.
A female officer comes out ofthe open front doorway with
sandals for Shawna and placesthem on the ground in front of
her.
Then someone I think her momsays quote, you want me, can I
(19:43):
go get her pants?
End quote.
Shawna leans forward, looks inthe open doorway and tells her
daughter, abby, that she hasorders on her Instagram.
Then you can hear what soundslike a young boy's voice.
Say quote, where are your jeans, mom?
End quote.
The children sound calm.
They do not sound upset.
(20:05):
Shawna informs officers thatshe takes medication and they
discuss if she can take it withher to jail or not.
Shawna's jeans are brought tothe front door.
Then Shawna is escorted backinto the house to put them on in
the bathroom.
There's more discussion aboutShawna's prescriptions.
Then officers come out of thehouse with Shawna again.
Her hands are cuffed behind herback and she's wearing jeans
(20:28):
and the same t-shirt.
She's then escorted to a whitepolice cruiser with the West
Richland Police Department.
As she's walking to the cruiser, a female, who I presume is her
mom, shelley yells out love you, honey.
A female ATF agent helps Shawnainto the cruiser.
Then officers discuss hermedication again and where she's
(20:50):
being transported to.
Shawna was taken to the WestRichland Police Department, then
to the Benton County Jail.
During her arrest, shawnaremained calm.
Now I'm going to play a soundbite for you from that body cam
footage of Shanna's arrest.
Speaker 3 (22:14):
You have orders on your on the Instagram.
That is managing for you.
You have orders.
Speaker 2 (22:35):
So they're going to need the prescriptions in their
pill bottle.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
The home in Washington state where Shanna
was living with Liam and Abby.
The home where she was arrestedis located at 4754 Laurel Drive
in West Richland, washington.
The house is modern andbeautiful.
It's 3,300 square feet and hastwo stories, a basement, six
bedrooms, four bathrooms and athree car garage.
(23:23):
It's situated up on a ridge andthe view surrounding it is
quite spectacular.
It's been reported that herparents own the home.
I did some research on the homeand from what I could find is
that the home was built on thelast lot in the cul-de-sac.
The half acre lot sold for$146,000 in October of 2019.
(23:44):
The house was built byKraftmark Custom Homes, a
company out of RichlandWashington.
It was purchased for a milliondollars in September of 2022
from a company named Blue XTERRALLC by a company named
Whitesand LLC in Utah.
I couldn't find out much aboutthe company that purchased it,
(24:06):
the Whitesand LLC, or if herparents are affiliated with that
company or not.
Following Shanna's indictmentand arrest, stampin' Up's
leadership team sent emails totheir demonstrators or
independent sales consultants.
The email read quote the recentnews about the gardener's
daughter, shanna, is difficult.
(24:26):
Shelley and Sterling haveshared a statement in which they
respectfully request privacyregarding this personal matter
as they focus on providing loveand support to their family.
End quote.
The statement released from thegardener's reads quote words
cannot accurately express thedepth of our sadness.
Family is our top priority.
(24:47):
We love our daughter and arefocused on supporting her and
our entire family as we help ourgrandchildren navigate this
difficult and very confusingtime.
For their sake and all involved, we caution against further
speculation and request privacyas the legal process runs its
course.
In the meantime, we arethankful for the continued
(25:07):
support, thoughtfulness andprayers being so generously
shared by friends and loved ones.
End quote.
Shanna did not waive theextradition process to DuFall
County, florida.
In a court appearance the dayafter she was arrested, shanna,
dressed in dark green inmatescrubs, was represented by
attorney Andrew Wagley andappeared in front of Benton
(25:30):
County Superior CourtCommissioner Megan Whitmire.
A court commissioner is aperson chosen by the court, used
to ease the caseload of judges.
They have the power to hearcertain types of legal matters
and make decisions in them.
When Commissioner MeganWhitmire asked Shanna's attorney
what his client's intentionswere in relation to her
(25:52):
extradition back to Florida, heresponded by saying quote your
honor.
At this juncture we do notanticipate waiving extradition.
We want to look into the habeascorpus procedure and we would
ask the court to set a hearingdown the line so that we may
address that end quote.
The next hearing on theextradition matter is scheduled
for September 14th at 8.30 am.
(26:14):
In the meantime, shanna isbeing held without bail on a
fugitive warrant in the BentonCounty Jail.
Kirsten Bridegain, jarrod'swidow, began the Bridegain
Foundation in September of 2022in response to what Bexley went
through the night her dad wasmurdered right in front of her.
Witnesses that came upon thescene found two-year-old Bexley
(26:36):
crying, still strapped into hercar seat in the back.
Kirsten later learned thatshe'd sat in that car seat alone
, scared, confused and crying,for three whole minutes within
feet of her dad's body, beforeshe was rescued by a couple.
Bexley was taken to the policestation to be cared for while
Kirsten was located and notified.
(26:57):
The couple at the scene hadgiven little Bexley a blanket
and the police department had acoloring book, but Kirsten and
Bexley ended up being at thepolice station for an extended
period of time that night, likea long time.
While Kirsten spoke with policeand answered their questions,
she didn't think to take adiaper bag with her to the
station.
She'd needed a diaper forBexley and they had one at the
(27:21):
station, but it was one size toosmall.
It fit, but, as Kirstenexplains on Instagram, she
realized that there was a needfor more essentials and comfort
items for little ones thatbecome involved in similar
traumatic situations, as Bexleywas thrust into that night.
So to help fill that need,kirsten started the Breitigen
Foundation.
What the nonprofit does is puttogether and distribute Bexley
(27:45):
boxes to police departments andother agencies that deal with
children that are victims ofviolent crime.
It helps the agencies be betterequipped to comfort and console
a traumatized child.
Bexley boxes contain essentialslike sippy cups, snacks,
formula diapers and wipes, butthey also contain comfort items
(28:07):
such as kid blankets, books,stuffed animals, toys and
coloring supplies.
Kirsten appealed to the publicon Instagram to donate items for
Bexley boxes and the responsewas overwhelming.
It was so heartwarming to seethat she received so many items
and gift cards.
The things that we canaccomplish together are just
(28:29):
amazing, so encouraging anduplifting.
The Jacksonville Beach PoliceDepartment, where Bexley had
been on the night her dad waskilled, was the recipient of the
very first Bexley box inOctober of 2022.
, according to Kirsten's website, breitigenfoundationorg, so far
there have been 31 Bexley boxesdelivered to law enforcement
(28:52):
agencies and victim servicesoffices in many different states
.
Kirsten said that Bexley oftenrecalls what she witnessed the
night her dad was killed, sayingboom, boom, boom, daddy.
On the ground.
Kirsten said Bexley has a lotof questions and some of them
she can't answer.
She asked where her dad is andwhy he isn't there.
(29:15):
Kirsten tells her that herdaddy's body did not get better
and that he's with God.
Then Bexley asks why, andKirsten tells her that someone
hurt him.
I'm going to read an excerptfrom an article in the Florida
Times Union by Dan Scanlon,written about a candlelight
vigil that was held a couplemonths after Jared's murder.
(29:37):
Quote Three minutes of silencewas asked of the crowd who held
candles flickering in the breezeas a bird sang in a nearby tree
.
The three minutes signified thetime that Bexley spent alone in
the car as her father waskilled.
Then, after Kirsten Breitigenlet Bexley down, the pink clad
toddler walked up to one of thephotos showing her with her
(30:00):
mother and father and pointed atJared's image.
That's my daddy, she saidbefore walking over to other
family members, where she'd evenwiped tears from her mother's
face.
Quote.
Not only did Jared's family loseJared when he was murdered,
they lost his twins too.
That's because, months afterJared's murder, shana took the
(30:23):
twins and moved over 2,800 milesaway across the country to West
Richland in Washington State.
Even prior to their move toWashington, not long after
Jared's murder, shana cut offcontact between Liam and Abby
and Kirsten, bexley, london andall of Jared's family.
Kirsten had been in Liam andAbby's lives for five years,
(30:46):
since they were four years old.
She had an especially closerelationship with Abby, and
Bexley did too.
Abby and Bexley would haveregular tea parties together
after school.
The Frozen movie was a favoriteof Bexley's, and Abby had asked
Kirsten to order an Elsacostume for her so that she
could surprise Bexley on herbirthday by wearing it for her.
(31:07):
There's a really sweet pictureon Instagram of the two girls
together Abby dressed as Elsa,holding Bexley in her arms.
Kirsten described the twosisters as inseparable.
Kirsten has lots of pictures onInstagram of Liam and Abby and
of the twins with their sisters,bexley and London.
(31:28):
In a Fox News digital interview, adam Bridegain, jared's
brother, and Kirsten expressedpain and sadness that Bexley and
London are missing out on timewith their siblings, liam and
Abby precious time that theywill never be able to get back
About a year ago on the Justicefor Jared B Instagram page,
(31:50):
kirsten did a Q&A with followersof the page.
When someone asked if it wastrue that Shana wouldn't allow
the twins to go to theirfather's funeral, Kirsten
answered quote that's correct.
I offered to pick them up anddrop them off before slash after
, but she refused unless shecould also attend.
That was out of the questionfor obvious reasons.
(32:12):
So unfortunately she kept themfrom attending.
The entire family was.
Slash is heartbroken over thatend quote.
When asked if she ever gets tosee her stepkids, she answered
quote this one got asked a lot.
What answer is no.
Let me break it down fromFebruary 16.
(32:33):
Timeline of last communicationwith Liam and Abby February 17.
I asked to be present when Liamand Abby, the twins, were
informed that Jared was killed.
Shana thankfully agreed.
My father and I went to herhouse to be there when the kids
were informed, february 18.
Shana told me Abby hadsomething she wanted to bring by
(32:55):
for her little sisters andasked if that was okay.
I said yes and they came by thehouse for a bit.
A couple of FaceTime calls withthe twins occurred between then
and February 23.
After February 23, shanaignored or denied requests to
FaceTime Liam and Abby untilMarch 24.
March 24.
(33:16):
Shana finally responds to oneof my many requests to FaceTime
the kids and says she'd like tohave a conversation with me
first, march 25.
Phone conversation with Shanahappens.
She agrees to allow oneFaceTime call per week between
Bexley and the twins.
I'm told I'm not to speak tothem, only Bexley.
The kids had their one FaceTimecall per week for about three
(33:39):
weeks until she canceled thecall scheduled for April 18 and
said there will be no moreFaceTime calls moving forward.
I responded and asked if wecould at least speak to them on
their birthday, april 20.
She agreed April 20.
Last FaceTime call with Liamand Abby it was observed.
Since April 20, I have sentnumerous texts asking for
(34:01):
contact with the twins.
Since then I either get noresponse or an excuse as to why
it can't happen.
I believe my phone number hasnow been blocked.
When I realized I was blocked,I emailed Shana's criminal
defense attorney asking him tohelp mediate visits.
He responded and said it wasn'this area of expertise and
referred me to her family lawattorney.
(34:23):
I emailed the family lawattorney weeks ago and I haven't
heard back.
I sent a follow-up yesterday.
Crickets.
Other family members havereached out as well.
They've been ignored.
The kids have been completelycut off from their dad's family"
.
Someone asked how the twinsreacted to the news about their
(34:44):
father.
Kirsten replied quote not well.
As would be expected, bothstarted sobbing.
Abby's first question, aftercrying for a while, was do I
still get to see my sisters?
I held Liam and Shana held Abby.
Mario stood away from everyonewith his arms folded.
End quote.
(35:05):
An Instagram follower askedKirsten if there are any members
of Shana's family that aresuspicious of her.
In response, kirsten posted afew pictures one showing Shana
and Mario together smiling.
One showing Shana with hersisters, all of them smiling and
happy looking.
This is the picture that Imentioned in part, one that they
took at Jared's memorialservice, and also the same
(35:27):
picture that Shana's sister usedfor her National Siblings Day
post on social media.
And then another pic with Shana, her parents and the twins all
making silly faces.
Kirsten said quote I mean, dothey look suspicious of her?
Not to mention the attacks hermom has made on both mine and
(35:49):
Jared's reputations, both ofwhich she had to backtrack and
later deleted when she realizedshe was caught in lies.
End quote, since Jared waskilled to celebrate his birthday
.
For the past two years, kirstencalls for people to serve others
and perform acts of kindness inhonor of Jared.
On the Justice for Jared BInstagram page, a post from the
(36:11):
end of May 2023 reads quoteJared found joy in serving
others and teaching his childrento do the same.
End quote.
Kirsten pointed out in a postthat serving others and doing
something kind for othersdoesn't have to cost money, and
she's so right.
Smiling at someone is free.
(36:31):
So is holding the door forsomebody or helping an old
person with their bags.
These things seem so obvious andsimple, but we're all so busy
and we go about our lives notpaying much attention to each
other.
We should all be more kind toone another.
It's okay to speak to astranger, to shake their hand or
(36:54):
even hug them if they need it,and they're okay with it.
It's not weird, like your kidswill tell you, like my kids have
told me, mom.
You're weird.
You talk to everybody.
You never know what people aregoing through and you know they
may be very depressed or lonely.
Their smile or kind words mayjust make them feel valued when
(37:15):
they felt invisible, and itmakes us feel good too.
And Amazon driver was in frontof my driveway yesterday and he
was rearranging his packages inthe back of the truck.
It was really, really, reallyhot out and I was in a hurry.
I was in my driveway leaving togo somewhere.
I could have easily just left,but you know, I was like, okay,
(37:38):
go back in the garage and gethim some water.
So I went in the garage, gavehim a couple bottles of water
from the fridge and he wasreally appreciative of that and
I felt happy to you know that Itook the time and took the time
to give it to him.
What a better place the worldwould be if we were all more
(37:58):
cognizant of what we could do tomake someone else around us
happy.
I'm going to close this episodewith words and memories about
our victim, jared GalenBridegain.
Jared was a devout Mormon andhis relationship with his
Heavenly Father and his son,jesus Christ, was a main
priority in his life.
Prior to his murder, he servedas a Sunday school teacher in
(38:21):
the Church of Jesus Christ ofLatter-day Saints to eleven and
twelve-year-olds.
Jared had a long time interestin videography and he was an
accomplished UX designer.
Ux stands for user experience.
As mentioned earlier, at thetime of his murder, he was a
senior design manager atMicrosoft.
Jared's obituary described himas an awesome father husband,
(38:44):
son and friend to many and I cantell you that he absolutely was
.
I spent hours looking at theJustice for Jared B Instagram
page all of the videos andpictures and messages and posts
that Kirsten put up there aboutJared and in honor of him.
(39:10):
He looks like he was an awesomeall around father husband.
You know son, brother, friend,everything he loved spending
time with his kids, buildingthings and creating memories.
Kirsten posted on Instagramthat he truly loved being a dad
(39:33):
and even played kickball whilebaby wearing.
The video with that post showsJared and Liam playing kickball
together.
Jared has, I assume, babyLondon like front facing in a
baby carrier on his chest.
Liam rolls a red ball to hisdad, jared kicks it far and Abby
(39:54):
goes running after the ball.
Jared, the kids and Kirstenoften went on bike rides
together and they would eventake the dog and the dog would
be on a leash running along withthem.
There's a video of that onInstagram.
It's so cute, but it's soheartbreaking to to see Jared
there so alive and smiling andenjoying every day small moments
(40:17):
with his family and all of thatwas robbed from him and Kirsten
and all of them.
It's just so, so sad.
Jared built an amazing dollhousefor his girls and even a laser
tag course in the garage for thekids.
His brother, adam, recalledthat Jared and their dad had
(40:37):
built shelving in Jared's roomwhen he was young so that a
train set could travel aroundhis entire room.
Jared also loved doing homeimprovement projects with his
wife, kirsten.
They did a project in the housewith the kids in 2020.
I think Kirsten said it was afireplace, if I'm not mistaken,
and before they sealed it up andfinished it, they wrote a
(40:58):
message on the wood and it readMade by the Bridegans 2020,
jared Kirsten, liam Abbey,bexley, future Baby.
And then there was a heartdrawn underneath of that Jared
said to have been funny, happy,go lucky and a bit shy.
There's no doubt that Jared'swife Kirsten, his family, his
(41:22):
children and the world lost awonderful man that day.
Please follow Justice for JaredB and the Bridegain Foundation
on Instagram.
Look at the pics and videosthat Kirsten has posted of Jared
with her and the kids and seeglimpses into the beautiful life
(41:43):
that they had that was socallously, senselessly and
cruelly stolen from them.
Just make sure that you havetissues with you, because you
will surely need them.
We all can and should sendmessages of love and hope to
Kirsten and the kids throughInstagram.
Also, please consider making adonation to the Bridegain
(42:06):
Foundation if you are able to.
Thank you guys for listening tothis episode of Tell Me a True
Crime Story.
Please tell your friends,coworkers and family about the
podcast.
Share a link to the podcastwith someone who's interested in
true crime stories.
Also follow the podcast onApple, google, spotify or
(42:27):
wherever.
Please follow the podcast onsocial media.
Facebook, instagram and TikTokare at Tell Me a True Crime
Story.
I'm getting much better atupdating my social media pages
with content about the cases Icover and posting pics and
videos related to the cases.
I posted some videos on TikTokthat actually kind of blew up.
(42:55):
They weren't about episodesthat I've covered per se, they
were just like little true crimestuff that's going on in the
news.
Now some videos that's onTikTok at Tell Me a True Crime
Story.
If you want to check those out,please follow me there and on
Facebook and Instagram.
(43:16):
Thank you guys so much If youwant to support this podcast.
I just rolled out something new.
It's a small way that you cansupport the podcast.
You can buy me a coffee bygoing to buymeacoffeecom slash
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(43:37):
The way you can support me andit's free is to write a short
but sweet review for the podcaston Apple Podcast or give it a
5-star rating on Spotify.
If there's anywhere else thatyou know of that you can review
podcasts.
Somewhere else that you listen,please do it there for me.
(43:57):
Thank you so very much forbeing here.
I truly, truly appreciate eachand every one of you guys.
Please join me in episode 27when I'll tell you another true
crime story.
Big, big hugs to all of you.
Speaker 2 (44:17):
Bye-bye.
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