Frank Parlato
Frank Report is looking at the murder for hire of Jared Bridegan. Prosecutors in Florida seek the death penalty for Mario Fernandez Saldana and his wife, Shanna Lee Gardner, whom they allege paid Henry Arthur Tenon, to kill Gardner’s ex-husband.
Prosecutors have offered the murderer a role as a cooperator, and it comes with a light prison sentence, provided he testifies against the couple.
Gardner is the daughter of wealthy Mormon business owners. There is nothing but circumstantial evidence linking Gardner to the plot.
Gardner’s attorney Jose Baez is seeking grand jury testimony of Detective Christopher Johns to see if he told the same alleged lies to the grand jury as he did in open court during pretrial hearings.
Death Penalty Case
Florida has charged Shanna Gardner, 36, with first-degree murder, a capital felony punishable by death or life in prison. Judge London Kite has set the trial start for October 20, 2025. Prosecutors allege Gardner and her husband, Mario Fernandez Saldana, 34, paid $15,000 to a hit man to kill her ex-husband, Jared Bridegan, 33.
Jared Bridegan was a Microsoft executive and father of four; he had twins with his ex-wife, Shanna Gardner, who lived in Jacksonville Beach, and two with his wife at the time of his death, Kirsten Bridegan, in St. Augustine.
The Murder of Bridegan
Jared Bridegan was killed on February 16, 2022, shortly after dropping off his 9-year-old twins at Shanna Gardner’s home in Jacksonville Beach, Florida.
He stopped on a secluded road near her home due to a tire blocking his path.
Bridegan exited the car to move the tire while his 2-year-old daughter remained in the car in her car seat. He was shot twice during the attempt. His vehicle’s hazard lights were on and his daughter was unharmed. Police said nothing appeared stolen, and his wife reported everything seemed normal during their last conversation.
Investigation
For nearly a year, police made no arrests. However, from the start, investigators focused on his ex-wife, Shanna Gardner, and her current husband, Mario Fernandez Saldana, whom she married in 2018.
Gardner and Bridegan wed in 2010 and divorced in 2015, which was followed by years of contentious custody and financial disputes. Prosecutors allege the murder plot stemmed from this fraught relationship, claiming money was the motive. Gardner came from a wealthy family, and prosecutors presented her trust fund as evidence.
Shanna Gardner’s parents, Sterling and Shelli Gardner, own Stampin’ Up!, a successful arts and crafts company well-known in the Mormon community in Utah. They set up a trust for Gardner and her children, ensuring the funds were not legally her assets to prevent Bridegan from claiming part of it. The trust stipulated Gardner would receive the money once she had no legal obligation to pay support to Bridegan.
In the interim, her husband, Mario Fernandez Saldana, was a trustee.
Police spoke with Gardner on the night of Bridegan’s murder. She admitted the divorce was not amicable and said the ex-couple only communicated through texts. Gardner claimed she didn’t know of any issues Bridegan had with others that could have led to his death. Investigators also interviewed Kirsten Bridegan, Jared’s wife, who said, “The only person who had ill will toward him is Shanna and Mario.” Gardner’s father told police Bridegan was “set on making Shanna’s life miserable“ post-divorce and focused on getting money from her.
On July 18, 2022, police visited a rental house in Jacksonville owned by Saldana. They spoke with the tenant and noticed a spare tire leaning against the house. While a detective loaded the tire into his truck, Henry Arthur Tenon, a former resident, arrived and briefly chatted with the officers. Police later determined the tire matched one found a the murder scene, leading them to return to the house. They learned Tenon had gone to Georgia to retrieve his father’s pickup truck after his death.
On October 14, 2022, police obtained Tenon’s bank records showing three handwritten checks totaling $10,000 from Saldana to Tenon, issued after the murder by First Choice Home Rentals LLC, owned by Saldana and Shanna Gardner. Phone records revealed 35 contacts between Tenon and Saldana during the month of Bridegan’s murder. Saldana’s phone registered pings at Tenon’s apartment the day before Bridegan was killed.
On January 25, 2023, Jacksonville Beach Police Chief Gene Paul Smith and State Attorney Melissa Nelson announced the arrest of 61-year-old Henry Arthur Tenon. He was charged with conspiracy to commit murder, second-degree murder with a weapon, being an accessory after the fact to a capital felony, and child abuse.
Legal Developments and Pleas
When Tenon was arrested, details emerged about Bridegan’s contentious divorce from Gardner and his strained relationship with Gardner and Saldana. Jacksonville Beach Police Chief Smith described the incident as a “planned and targeted ambush and murder.”
Tenon pleaded not guilty on February 13, 2023.
Saldana, 34, was arrested on March 16, 2023 in Orange County and extradited to Jacksonville. During a March 16 news conference, the State Attorney’s Office announced Saldana’s arrest and Tenon’s guilty plea to second-degree murder with a weapon.
State Attorney Melissa Nelson stated Tenon admitted to being the shooter and agreed to testify against Saldana and others involved.
Saldana faces charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation to commit a capital felony, and child abuse.
Under a plea agreement, Tenon pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, avoiding the death penalty, with a sentence of 15 years to life. However, he could be released earlier.
The state accepted Tenon’s plea for second-degree murder with a weapon on March 16, 2023, waiving sentencing guidelines. In exchange for “truthful testimony” against the co-defendants, charges for conspiracy to commit murder, accessory after the fact to a capital felony, and child abuse will be dropped at sentencing, per the plea agreement.
The plea bargain asks the sentencing court to consider Tenon’s life expectancy, cooperation with prosecutors, and input from all parties, including the victim’s family, to determine an appropriate sentence, as stated in the agreement.
The victim’s widow has expressed emotional support for her husband’s killer, saying she prayed for him and hoped he would name Gardner as his co-conspirator and testify against her.
On April 4, 2023, Saldana pleaded not guilty to all charges. Assistant State Attorney Christina Stifler announced on May 3, 2023, that the prosecution is seeking the death penalty for Saldana.
On August 17, 2023, Gardner was indicted on the same charges. Prosecutors also seek the death penalty against her.
Gardner arrest photos
Legal Challenges and Surprise Evidence
There appears to be no physical evidence linking Shanna Gardner to the killing. Gardner did not communicate or conduct financial transactions with Tenon; all his communications were with Saldana. During an August 16, 2024, bail hearing, the defense argued the state fabricated evidence to mislead the court about Gardner’s knowledge of the murder.
The court denied her bail.
According to the defense, Detective Christopher Johns of the Jacksonville Beach Police Department allegedly made false statements during his May 17, 2024, testimony regarding Gardner’s investigation.
Detective Johns claimed Gardner began funneling money from her trust fund before the murder, citing checks and withdrawals without specifying the year, implying these transactions occurred in 2022.
Contesting Detective’s Testimony
Gardner’s defense revealed that withdrawals from her trust fund occurred in 2021, a year before the murder, and were for legitimate expenses.
The prosecution further argued Gardner called her lawyers immediately after Tenon’s arrest, suggesting she knew of his role in the murder. However, the defense noted a significant omission: Tenon’s roommate had contacted Saldana about the arrest and informed Saldana that police said Gardner might be involved in the murder. Saldana later told his wife.
The defense argued Gardner called her attorney based on news that police considered her a suspect was a reasonable precaution, rather than evidence of guilt.
The Defense’s Strategy and Allegations
During her bail hearing, prosecutors introduced text messages between Gardner and a friend from 2015. In these messages, prosecutors claim Gardner expressed a desire for Bridegan to “disappear,“ using code words. The texts referred to Bridegan as “stupid“ and also mentioned “casserole“ or “funeral potatoes,” which they said were code words connected to his death.
The exchange also included discussions about finding someone “who could shut people up” and allusions to a “magician” capable of making people “permanently disappear.” Prosecutors also presented messages between two other women, suggesting Gardner sought one woman to contact another woman to find a hit man years before Bridegan’s murder.
Unveiling Exculpatory Evidence
Gardner’s attorney, Jose Baez, accused the state of withholding the seven-year-old messages and twisting their meaning before the bond hearing, calling it “textbook lying and hiding the ball by Detective Johns.“
Prosecutors also withheld that Detective Johns had interrogated one of the women, Kim Jensen, and strangely, after speaking with Jensen, went out of his way not to interview the other woman involved in the texts.
But Johns said under oath that he did try to contact her.
After the hearing, Susan Lee and Kim Jensen, contacted attorney Baez.
“Both witnesses submitted affidavits stating the messages were taken out of context and are utterly false,“ Baez said.
Lee claimed Detective Johns lied in his testimony about attempting to contact her. Confronted with the contradiction between what Detective Johns testified and what the woman he testified about said under oath, prosecutors said Johns did not actually lie on the stand. He did not remember his efforts or lack thereof to contact Lee because he did not bring his case notes with him in court.
Lee said the messages with Gardner was dark humor, not a conspiracy to commit murder years later. During a subsequent hearing, Jensen testified, denying she ever contacted Lee on Gardner’s behalf to find a hit man. “I did not,“ Jensen stated when Baez questioned her. Jensen also said the text messages were a long-running joke. An exculpatory interview between the prosecutors and Jensen was also conveniently not recorded.
Contesting the State’s Narrative
Detective Johns also failed to inform the court that the “funeral potatoes“ in the text messages were not code for killing someone years later. The prosecution failed to inform the Court that Mormon church members prepare funeral meals for members of the LDS church family/community. It’s common practice for Mormons to prepare meals, often referred to as “funeral meals,“ for the family of a deceased member, with “funeral potatoes,“ a casserole, being the best-known dish served at these gatherings.
Seeking Transparency
Gardner’s attorney, Jose Baez, seeks access to the grand jury testimony of Detective Johns. He suspects Johns misrepresented evidence and lied by omission to the grand jury, just as he did in open court.
Florida law maintains grand jury secrecy to protect witness privacy and the investigative process. However, Florida statutes and federal precedents provide exceptions when there is a compelling need to rectify a potential injustice—significantly when perjury or intentional misrepresentation may have affected the grand jury’s decision-making process.
Under the ruling of Brady v. Maryland, prosecutors must disclose any evidence that could potentially negate the defendant’s guilt or undermine a witness’s credibility.
Moving Forward in the Legal Battle
This case bears watching. Given the inconsistencies, omissions, and alleged perjury in Detective Johns’ statements, the defense’s argument that the importance of not executing an innocent person outweighs the need for grand jury secrecy. By unsealing Detective Johns’ grand jury testimony, the court would have the opportunity to ensure Gardner’s indictment was not based on the detective’s falsehoods.
Gardner and Saldana are currently being held without bond.
Tenon, a cooperating witness, awaits sentencing contingent on his testimony against Saldana and Gardner. Like many cooperators, this murderer has an incentive to say whatever the prosecutors want him to say, regardless of Gardner’s innocence or guilt.
It will be interesting to see if prosecutors will offer Saldana a plea to a lesser charge that will spare his life. Perhaps the state will allow him out in a few years if he becomes a cooperator and testifies Gardner plotted to kill her ex-husband.
In this way, Saldana, if he is guilty and his wife is not, may be successful in a double killing, one for the money with Tenon and the other to save his life by helping the state kill his wife.
Shanna Lee Gardner may be guilty or innocent. In our next story, we will explore Saldana’s history and possible motives.
To be continued.
Frank Parlato is an investigative journalist, media strategist, publisher, and legal consultant.
Please leave a comment: Your opinion is important to us!
Think the police just look at the ex-wife for being tired of issues, how about the current wife for probably being tired and irritated about dealing with others, child support, and children not her own
If this is how it went down its among the dumbest murder for hire schemes.
Shannah could very well be innocent. Even if her husband is found to be guilty he would have devised the plan without her for her own protection, knowing she would be the first person to look at.
While the police were at the rental property the confessed shooter decided to approach and talk to the cops? Doesn’t add up. Had Tenon secured legal counsel when he provided info to the cops and then allegedly admitted to being the shooter? Makes no sense.
Frank, you usually do a good job of reporting, but you’re out of your league here. You should not be reporting on what the defense has told you, especially prior to trial.The defense seeks to poison the jury pool and attorney Baez is certainly crafty at that. Shanna may or may it be guilty but the prosecution is still holding its cards close to the vest.
As a reputable journalist, you should stay out of this until the actual trial and at that time you should fully report on the evidence as it comes out. Moreover, the detective’s testimony is at best peripheral and the ultimate verdict will not use or fall on his testimony. As for the truth of what Tenon or Saldana may testify, again, commenting on that before trial is prejudicial. Let them testify at trial and then report on their testimonies. Anything you say before trial is prejudicial and unduly favorable to the defense.
The problem lies with Grand juries where the outcome immediately biases the public against the defendant and begins prosecution with an uneven playing field. We see this repeatedly and it needs to be exposed to the public prior to irreversible damage being done – allowing “Justice” to run its course and denying journalists the ability to report on questionable conduct of grand jury testimony in real time is against ccd public interest.
The Sandusky case and countless others demonstrate how cases go off the rails based upon protected Grand jury information. Innocent people are destroyed by outcomes of the grand jury where the die is cast. This will never end unless it’s exposed in real time.