Microsoft Executive Jared Bridegan Murder Trial Begins in Florida

The trial of Mario Fernandez Saldana is underway in Florida in connection with the 2022 murder of Microsoft executive Jared Bridegan, who prosecutors say was the target of an elaborate murder-for-hire plot.

Bridegan, 33, was killed in February 2022 after dropping off his twin children at his ex-wife’s home in Jacksonville Beach. Prosecutors say someone placed a tire in the middle of the road along Bridegan’s route home, forcing him to stop and get out of his vehicle.

Bridegan was then shot multiple times and killed. His 2-year-old daughter was in the back seat at the time but was not injured.

Prosecutors allege the killing was connected to Bridegan’s contentious custody dispute with his ex-wife, Shanna Gardner. They say Gardner and Fernandez Saldana were involved in a plot to have Bridegan killed. Both have pleaded not guilty.

Fernandez Saldana, 38, is the first person connected to the alleged murder-for-hire scheme to go to trial.

Investigators arrested Henry Tenon nearly a year after the shooting and identified him as the alleged gunman. Tenon initially pleaded guilty to second-degree murder under an agreement requiring him to testify against Fernandez Saldana and Gardner.

Tenon later withdrew his guilty plea and said his previous testimony was false. His own trial is scheduled for March 2027.

Prosecutors have pointed to GPS evidence they say shows Tenon traveled along Bridegan’s normal route twice before the killing as part of a practice run. Investigators also found checks Fernandez Saldana wrote to Tenon and more than 60 phone contacts between the two men, according to court records.

Gardner was arrested several months after Fernandez Saldana and faces charges including first-degree murder, conspiracy and solicitation to commit first-degree murder. Her trial is scheduled to begin in September.

The case has drawn national attention because of the allegations surrounding the custody dispute and the prosecutors’ claim that Bridegan’s killing was carefully planned.

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