Jared Bridegan's ex-wife and co-conspirator in his murder is now locked up in Jacksonville
Shanna Lee Gardner, the accused mastermind behind the plot to kill ex-husband Jared Bridegan, is back in Jacksonville in jail after being transferred from across the country.
Gardner, 36, waived her extradition challenge Thursday during a hearing in Benton County, Wash., where she had moved and was arrested on Aug. 17 on charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation to commit a capital felony and child abuse. It cleared the path for her to be returned to Jacksonville late Friday to face the charges, jail records show.
Her first Duval County court appearance is scheduled for a Nov. 3 arraignment, according to the State Attorney's Office. She remains in custody without bail.
Gardner had moved from Jacksonville Beach to West Richland, Wash., with the twin son and daughter she shared with Bridegan but without new husband Mario Fernandez Saldana. It followed wide speculation and media attention surrounding the death of Bridegan, who had just dropped off their twins to Gardner and was on his way home to St. Augustine when he was gunned down under suspicious circumstances.
Jacksonville Beach murder plot: Bodycam video shows Shanna Gardner's arrest in ex-Jared Bridegan's murder plot
Jacksonville Beach police quickly surmised that a tire in the middle of the road that Bridegan stopped for not far from Gardner and Fernandez Saldana's home likely was placed there. That's when Bridegan was ambushed and shot in front of his 2-year-old daughter sitting in her child-safety seat in back of his car.
Their much-publicized divorce and custody wranglings and Gardner's initial perceived lack of compassion for Bridegan's widow Kirsten Bridegan and their surviving children led many people to theorize who might be behind the attack.
Then Henry Arthur Tenon, a 62-year-old former tenant of Fernandez Saldana, was arrested on Jan. 25. On March 16 he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, stating he was the triggerman and agreeing to testify against the others, State Attorney Melissa Nelson previously said.
It was the same day 35-year-old Fernandez Saldana was arrested in Orlando on the same charges as his wife. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for both Gardner and Fernandez Saldana.
Shanna Gardner's husband: Bodycam shows a polite and relaxed Mario Fernandez Saldana during arrest in Bridegan case
An arrest warrant states "the investigation into Bridegan’s background revealed a highly acrimonious divorce from his ex-wife, Shanna Gardner, and a contentious relationship with both Gardner and Fernandez Saldana." The documents include evidence of payments made to Tenon by Fernandez Saldana and cellphone communication between the two.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Shanna Gardner extradited to Jacksonville in ex-Jared Bridegan's death
