JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Court TV) — A man faces life in prison after a jury found him guilty of plotting and funding the death of his wife’s ex-husband.
Mario Fernandez Saldana stands as the verdict is read on Aug. 26, 2026. (Court TV)
A Florida jury deliberated for nearly four hours before finding Mario Fernandez Saldana, 38, guilty of first-degree murder and solicitation to commit a capital felony in the death of Microsoft executive Jared Bridegan. Fernandez’s wife, Shanna Gardner, who was formerly married to Bridegan and had two children with him, faces the same charges.
On Feb. 16, 2022, Bridegan had just dropped his two older children off at the Gardner-Fernandez home when he was stopped by a tire in the road. Prosecutors said that tire was no accident, and that it had been intentionally placed there to lure Bridegan out of his vehicle.
When Bridegan got out of his car to move the tire, he was shot multiple times and killed. Bullets went through his vehicle, where his 2-year-old daughter, from his second marriage, sat strapped into her car seat. She was not hurt.
At trial, Fernandez’s attorneys argued that there was no evidence connecting their client to Bridegan’s murder; they said that Fernandez had been at home when the shots were fired and that he had “no motive” and “no desire” to see his wife’s ex killed.
Prosecutors conceded that Fernandez didn’t pull the trigger, but said that he paid one of the tenants at a rental property he owned, Henry Tenon, to be the hit man. They traced payments totaling thousands of dollars that Fernandez paid Tenon by check, with memos that read “Keeping up with the roof” and “Kickstarter, good luck!”
Fernandez did not take the stand at his trial. His defense team called two witnesses, who testified that he took an active role in his stepchildren’s lives at home and at school.
Under Florida law, first-degree murder is punishable by life in prison without parole; prosecutors had initially sought a death sentence for both Fernandez and Gardner in the case, but changed course after Tenon withdrew his guilty plea and said he would not testify against them.
Judge London Kite ordered a presentencing investigation before formally imposing Fernandez’s sentence; he will return to court on Oct. 5.
Gardner’s criminal trial begins with jury selection on Monday, Aug. 31.
