Ex-wife of Microsoft executive who was shot dead execution-style by a hitman fights against extradition from Washington state to Florida amid fears murder trial may end in death penalty
- Fernandez was arrested and charged with first degree murder, conspiracy, solicitation and child abuse in connection with Jared Bridegan's death
- Lawyers said that they won't waive extradition during her first court appearance in hopes of avoiding a death sentence in Florida
- Washington became one of 23 states to abolish the death penalty earlier this year, while Florida still has capital punishment on the books
The ex-wife of a Microsoft executive who was shot dead execution-style is fighting her extradition from Washington state to Florida.
Shanna Gardner-Fernandez said through her lawyers this week she will not waive extradition amid fears she could face the death penalty following her trial.
Washington became one of 23 states to abolish the death penalty earlier this year, while Florida still has capital punishment on the books.
Florida State Attorney Melissa Nelson made it clear when Fernandez was arrested that she will be seeking the death penalty.
The 34-year-old was arrested and faces charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy, solicitation and child abuse in connection with the killing of Jared Bridegan, who was shot 'execution style' by a hitman allegedly hired by her new husband.
Lawyers for Shanna Gardner Fernandez, 34, said that they won't waive extradition during her first court appearance, meaning they attend to try and keep her from being taken back to Florida
Jared Bridegan, 33, was killed in February 2022
Under the law, Fernandez is now a fugitive of justice and is currently being held without bond.
Fernandez's next court date, which will specifically address her possible extradition, is set for September 14, according to Fox News.
Kristen Bridegan, Jared's widow, told DailyMail.com on Friday she will support the death penalty for Fernandez if she is convicted of the brutal slaying.
Her arrest came 547 days after the father-of-four was killed execution style just minutes from his ex-wife's home. And his widow and family have counted every last one.
He was shot multiple times at close range in what police described as an 'ambush' and 'targeted' attack. Speaking at the time Jacksonville Beach Police Chief Gene Paul Smith said that when Bridegan stepped out of his car he was 'gunned down in cold blood.'
He was working as a senior design manager for Microsoft, and lived with his new wife and their two children in St. Augustine, Florida.
They lived in a $780,000 home, which Jared's two children with Gardner-Fernandez visited, and he would regularly drive north to Jacksonville Beach to spend time with them.
It's unclear what kind of new evidence led police to finally charge Gardener-Fernandez, who has been laying low since the murder.
Shanna Gardner-Fernandez has now been charged along with her new husband, Mario, with the murder of her ex
She and her husband, Mario Saldana-Fernandez, who was charged earlier this year, now both face the death penalty.
It is believed that hitman and Saldana-Fernandez's former tenant Henry Tenon, 62, lured Bridegan to the street by placing a tire in front of his vehicle while he was driving home with his youngest child.
The case was unsolved for months until Tenon confessed to the plot after being arrested for an unrelated crime.
Hitman Henry Tenon confessed to the plot earlier this year
Saldana-Fernandez pleaded not guilty earlier this year and is due to go to trial.
Bridegan and his new bride, Kirsten, were living an idyllic life when he was murdered.
He was 'thriving' at work and was beloved by colleagues.
The salary for a senior Microsoft UX designer is around $200,000.
On February 16, Jared had just dropped the twins he shares with Gardner-Fernandez off at their mother's house and was driving home with his two-year-old daughter in the backseat when he encountered a tire in the middle of the road.
He stopped and got out to move the tire - but was shot dead in an execution-style killing.
'For it to be in that area, someone knew what they were doing. There are no cameras, there are no houses there. There's no Ring doorbell.
'It's trees and a one-way street,' Kirsten, his widow, told DailyMail.com at the time of his murder.
Tenon was arrested on unrelated charges earlier this year but confessed to his role in the killing under questioning.
He told police that Saldana-Fernandez had hired him, and is now willing to testify against him at trial. The pair met when he rented a home from him.
Shanna's new husband, Mario Saldana-Fernandez, was charged earlier this year and is awaiting trial
Shanna with the couple's twins Abby and Liam. At the time of Jared's death, she made public Facebook and Instagram pleas for support for them
It's unclear how Gardner-Fernandez met her new husband, but those who knew them before their arrests say she became 'wilder and wilder' as their romance progressed.
She visited a tattoo parlor in 2015 asking for a genital piercing - a request that shocked staff who said she looked like a 'normal mother'.
'She went from this goody two shoes girl to this wild lady. I just remember thinking, well, this is a changed woman,' one employee said at the time.
In the beginning of their relationship, friends of the former couple say Shanna wooed Jared with the promise of wealth from her parents.
They married and had twins Abby and Liam, then moved to Bridegan's native Jacksonville Beach to accommodate Liam's heart condition that required him to live at sea level.
They eventually separated in 2015 and for the next six years, fought over who would raise their children.
Bridegan married Kirsten in 2017, who he has two children with, while Shanna married Mario in 2018.
Bridegan had just dropped the twins back at his ex-wife's house on February 16 at around 7.30pm and was taking his regular route home when he stopped to move a tire placed in the road – a trap, police think, set to lure him out of his vehicle.
Jared's widow Kirsten previously told DailyMail.com he had no enemies aside from his ex. Earlier this year, before both his ex-wife and her new husband were charged, she warned them: 'Enjoy your freedom while you can'
He was shot multiple times at close range next to the driver's door of his Volkswagen Atlas. Bridegan's two-year-old daughter, Bexley, was in the car, strapped in her child-seat.
The brutal crime sent shockwaves through the quiet Florida beach town, with Bridegan's friends and family expressing profound shock that anyone should have targeted the man whom, they say, had no enemies.
The devout Mormon tech executive was, according to his grieving widow, a devoted and wonderful father to twins Liam and Abbie, daughter Bexley and their youngest daughter London, just seven months old.
