BENTON COUNTY, Wash. (Court TV) — The ex-wife of slain Microsoft executive Jared Bridegan appeared in court briefly on Thursday for an extradition hearing.
A still frame from bodyworn camera footage shows Shanna Gardner’s arrest in West Richland, Wash. (West Richland Police Department)
Florida State Attorney Melissa Nelson announced Shanna Gardner-Fernandez’s indictment on conspiracy charges last month. She was arrested at her home in Washington State, where she’s currently being held and awaiting extradition.
Shanna is charged with conspiracy, solicitation and child abuse in the shooting death of her ex-husband, Jared Bridegan. Bridegan was gunned down in front of his young daughter in 2022 while driving in Jacksonville Beach.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Shanna’s extradition warrant on Thursday, prompting the judge in Washington to continue Shanna’s hearing until Oct. 5 to allow time for the state to receive it.
Prosecutors say that Shanna worked with her current husband, Mario Fernandez-Saldana and a third man, Henry Tenon, to kill her ex, with whom she had an ongoing custody dispute for their two shared children. The child who was in the car at the time of the murder was Jared’s daughter with his second wife, Kristen Bridegan.
Henry Tenon has pleaded guilty in the case, admitting to investigators that he pulled the trigger, and has agreed to testify against Mario.
WATCH: Shanna Gardner-Fernandez Arrest: Dramatic Bodycam Footage Released
Jared Bridegan was killed on Feb. 16, 2022. (Jacksonville Beach Police Department)
Because Shanna remains in Washington, her husband’s case in Florida remains in limbo. At a hearing on September 12, Judge London Kite said that she cannot move the case forward until both co-defendants are in the jurisdiction. Kite set a tentative date of Oct. 2 for the next pre-trial hearing in the case, but said that date would be adjusted if Shanna has not yet been extradited.
Jared’s brother, Adam, spoke to Court TV’s Matt Johnson after Shanna’s arrest. Adam said that while the extradition process is slow, he’s looking forward to the trial.
“I think we feel peace that justice is being served, even though it’s slow. … We look forward to the trial and it will be very painful to relive and to be exposed to see that there are things that we don’t even know, but I think for Jared’s story, it will be important for the public to understand the details, to understand what really took place.”
Prosecutors have previously said they will seek the death penalty in the case against Mario.
