Inside look at Jared Bridegan’s custody battle as investigation into his murder continues
Investigators continue to search for those involved in the murder of St. Johns County father of 4, Jared Bridegan.
State Attorney Melissa Nelson announced on Wednesday the arrest of Henry Tenon and said he did not act alone.
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Bridegan’s wife, Kirsten Bridegan, told Fox News Digital, “This was orchestrated, this was planned and this was specific to Jared.”
She also mentioned how authorities charged Tenon with conspiracy, meaning there are more people involved.
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While other suspects have not been named by the Jacksonville Beach Police Department, we do know Tenon has ties to Mario Fernandez, who is currently married to Shanna Gardner-Fernandez, who is Jared Bridegan’s ex-wife and mother of his 10-year-old twins.
Action News Jax learned that Tenon, 61, rented a house that belonged to Mario Fernandez. Fox News Digital reported that Fernandez “was spotted Friday shaving his beard in his yard in Kissimmee, Florida.”
Bridegan was gunned down in February 2022 in his ex-wife’s Jacksonville Beach neighborhood after dropping his twins off at their mother’s house.
RELATED: Family and neighbors speak out after man arrested in Jared Bridegan’s murder
He was moving a tire out of the road when he was shot and killed.
“This was a planned and targeted ambush and murder,” Jacksonville Beach Police Chief Gene Paul Smith said.
He was planning to head home to his wife, Kirsten, and his daughter London. His other daughter Bexley, who was 2 at the time, was in the back seat.
RELATED: Major break in Jared Bridegan murder mystery after ex-wife moves cross-country
Per Bridegan and Gardner-Fernandez’s divorce agreement, whoever didn’t have custody of the kids that week got to have one night a week to take the children out.
Gardner-Fernandez filed for divorce in February 2015 on the grounds that the marriage was “irretrievably broken.”
St. Johns County Clerk of Courts said the case file is 819 pages long.
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Court documents show the couple had trouble agreeing on who would have majority custody of the kids and who would get their $800,000 Ponte Vedra Beach home.
The battle in court was still ongoing at the time of Bridegan’s death, a battle that spanned seven years.
“Even though we didn’t always get along, he was the father of my kids. And I would never want this to happen to anybody,” Gardner-Fernandez told Action News Jax in a June interview.
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Jacksonville Beach police have not identified Gardner-Fernandez or her husband as suspects.
Right now, there have not been any other arrests made and there has been no mention of who investigators suspect Tenon allegedly conspired with for the murder.
Action News Jax reached out to Gardner-Fernandez and her attorney for comment, but has not heard back.
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