Ex-wife charged with murder of Microsoft executive Jared Bridegan in Florida: Read the full macabre story

In a huge update in the murder investigation of Microsoft executive Jared Bridegan who was shot dead in Florida last year, his ex-wife Shanna Gardner has been charged for having a “central and key role” in the killing.

Jared Bridegan(X(formerly Twitter)/@Katie_Jeffries)

Melissa Nelson, the state attorney for the 4th Judicial Circuit in Florida informed the media that on Thursday, a grand jury indicted Gardner on charges which include first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, solicitation to commit first-degree murder and child abuse.

“Shanna Gardner’s indictment acknowledges her central and key role in the cold, calculated and premeditated murder of Jared Bridegan,” said Nelson on Thursday at a news conference.

Notably, Bridegan was shot dead in front of his 2-year-old daughter when he had stepped down from his car to remove a tire which was lying on the road in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. The daughter witnessed the horrific incident from inside the car.

According to officials, Gardner conspired to kill Bridegan, with her husband Mario Fernandez-Saldana. However, the couple hired another man Henry Tenon to commit the murder. Interestingly, Tenon was a tenant of Fernandez-Saldana’s. The killer has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and agreed to testify against any accomplice.

Nelson informed that Gardner was taken into custody from West Richland, Washington, on Thursday morning by agents with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. As per reports, she was being held without bail in the Benton County, Washington, jail on Thursday night.

Nelson informed the media that prosecutors would seek to extradite Gardner to Duval County, Florida, to face charges.

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Meanwhile, Bridegan’s widow Kirsten Bridegan told the media that she “hoped and prayed that this day would come.”

“Shanna’s arrest ends one horrific chapter of our pursuit for justice for Jared. We expect to see justice carried out to the fullest extent of the law,” said Kirsten.