The husband of murdered Microsoft executive Jared Bridegan’s ex-wife was indicted on first-degree murder charges Thursday over the February 2022 slaying, Florida authorities announced.
Mario Fernandez Saldana, who was arrested in Kissimmee, Florida, is married to Shanna Gardner-Fernandez, Bridegan’s ex-wife.
Saldana was indicted on charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation to commit a capital felony, and child abuse. He could face the death penalty if convicted, State Attorney Melissa Nelson said.
Gardner-Fernandez and Bridegan shared twins and had been locked in a contentious custody battle shortly before his killing. The affidavit for Saldana’s arrest warrant described their divorce as “highly acrimonious” and noted the former spouses had shared custody of their two kids.
Bridegan, a devout Mormon who had been a software developer for Microsoft, was slain in front of his daughter Bexley, whom he shared with his second wife, Kristen.
The dad of four had noticed a tire in the road and pulled over to remove it when he was gunned down in what police called a planned ambush.
Henry Tenon has been charged with second-degree murder.
Little Bexley was in the backseat and alone in the car for a few minutes until a passerby noticed her father dead on the road and called 911.
Saldana’s arrest happened just a few hours after his former tenant and occasional handyman Henry Tenon pleaded guilty to second-degree murder charges in the killing.
“Our investigation has revealed a single link between Jared Bridegan and Henry Tenon: That is Mario Fernandez Saldana,” Nelson said Thursday.
Jared Bridegan was killed in front of his daughter in February 2022. GoFundMeTenon has agreed to cooperate with authorities and to testify against Fernandez Saldana as part of his plea deal, the prosecutor said. Nelson said that Tenon and Saldana planned and executed Bridegan’s murder together, and Tenon has since admitted under oath to firing the fatal shot.
Cops also discovered Saldana had written Tenon three checks, according to the arrest warrant, but further details about the payments were redacted in the records provided to The Post. Tenon had been arrested for an “unrelated felony driving charge” in August 2022, but wasn’t booked for the murder until January.
Saldana was busted Thursday morning just outside of Orlando and will be extradited three hours north to Jacksonville for his first court appearance, the Nelson said.
“Our investigation remains active and ongoing,” Nelson added. “And it has not stopped today with the arrest of Mario Fernandez Saldana. We all remain committed to seeking the truth and that is the entire truth and holding accountable every single individual.”
Shanna Gardner-Fernandez moved to West Richland, Washington, with the twins she shared with Jared. BOB SELF/USA TODAY NETWORK
Jared Bridegan poses with his wife, Kirsten, and their children. GoFundMeBridegan’s widow Kirsten said at a press conference Thursday that “We have great relief knowing that two of the people behind my husband’s murders are now behind bars and are no longer a threat to our family.”
“We’re also still angry, angry that they were walking free while we were grappling withthe reality that Jared wouldn’t be here,” she said. “We have fought hard for the truth in the world now knows what we have known all along: that Jared truly was an innocent victim.”
Gardner-Fernandez and Saldana met at a Crossfit gym in 2018 and have reportedly split since Bridegan’s killing. Both previously denied any involvement in the crime.
Their Jacksonville Beach neighbors told The Post earlier this year that Saldana once killed a local cat.
Henry Tenon did not act alone, officials said. Instagram/@justiceforjaredb“The whole thing was very, very frightening,” the neighbor said. “It was very disturbing.”
Gardner-Fernandez, who comes from a high-profile Mormon family, left the Florida home in November and moved to Richland, Washington, with the now-10-year-old twins she shared with the slain Microsoft employee.
She is said to have given up on religion after splitting from her first husband, with their marriage reportedly ending after she had an affair.
Following his split with Gardner-Fernandez in 2015, Bridegan went on to marry Kirsten, mother of Bexley, and another daughter, London.
“I’m not surprised, to be honest,” Kirsten Bridegan said shortly after Tenon’s January arrest. “This was orchestrated, this was planned and this was specific to Jared.”
“She heard the noises of the shots that killed her dad, and she was alone wondering what happened to him, and he’s not answering her for minutes — and minutes are an eternity for a child,” she said.






