Fernandez's Check to Jared Bridegan's Alleged Killer Said This

**Tony Brueski** (0:00)
This is HiddenKillers With Tony Brueski.

**Tony Brueski** (0:11)
Jared Bridegan, the Microsoft executive, the father, the husband, the man who by all accounts was a wonderful human being. The trial around his murder, the trials around his murder are about to begin. There's several people charged in the conspiracy to kill him. His ex-wife, Shanna Gardner, Mario Fernandez, her boyfriend, husband, guy.
She made a great decision with hooking up with after because he's just clearly the shining image of who you'd like to have your children around and continue your life with after the divorce. And also the guy that was a tenant of Mario's for a house that he rented to him. All of them, all of them are going to be facing separate trials in the coming months. Mario is first, he's the the bow of Jared's ex, Shanna Gardner, the genius that she is.
And this is what we're going to be talking about today, Mario's trial, because it's about to begin. Jury selection is beginning right now. And we're going to be following it. And Shanna's trial comes right after Mario's, so a lot of things that get revealed that come out in Mario's, you guessed it, it's almost like a preview.
It's the dress rehearsal to the big one, to hers.
Mario Fernandez walked into a DuvalCounty courtroom facing four criminal charges and a potential death sentence. He now faces two charges and now a maximum of life in prison. We're going to talk about how we got here. And I'd love your thoughts in the comments section and sub stack and YouTube as we begin diving deep into this case. Prosecutors dropped the conspiracy to commit murder and child endangerment charges in late July of this year of 26 They didn't really explain why, though. A criminal defense attorney, unaffiliated with the case, called it a strategic calculus, noting that the remaining solicitation charge covers much of the same legal ground as conspiracy. Sometimes they cut those sort of things to avoid confusion with jurors. No matter how black and white you make it or not that complex, you know, the less hoops one has to jump through to get from point A to point B sometimes is the better option. The death penalty came off the table in late 25 with the support, actually, of Jared Bridegan's own widow and family. He's a lucky mother-effer. Fernandez pled not guilty to everything from the start. His defense team, led by attorney Jesse Dreiker, briefly floated a plea deal with prosecutors before trial. The state said, no, we don't think so. Dreiker told the judge the offer wasn't formal, wasn't in writing, and he didn't want to discuss details in open court. So it's as far as it got. Fernandez is going on trial on first degree murder and solicitation to commit a capital felony. A second person was at the crime scene the night Jared Bridegan was killed. Prosecutors revealed that detail in late July. They haven't said who it was yet, though. That's a mystery for the case. Before his arrest, Fernandez had no criminal record in Duval County. He had a military background and managed rental properties through a company he co-owned with Gardner. He also worked as a maintenance man at a gym. Financial record show Fernandez was the trustee of the ShannaGardner Irrevocable Trust to fund Gardner's family set up to protect assets from Bridegan during the divorce. First choice, Home Rentals LLC listed Fernandez as owner number one with a 60-40 split. When detectives showed up at his home the night of the shooting, Fernandez told him he thought they were there about an animal dispute in the neighborhood. Body cam footage from the March 23 arrest in Orlando showed him polite and very relaxed. The state's theory comes down to one word, link. Prosecutors allege Fernandez is the only documented connection between Jared Bridegan and the man who allegedly shot him. Henry Tenon rented a house from Fernandez in Jacksonville's Biltmore neighborhood for several years. Phone records show 35 calls between Fernandez and Tenon in February 22 The month Bridegan was killed, 30 more in March. Communication continued at lower volume through June. Prosecutors also have paper, three handwritten checks from Fernandez's company. First Choice Home Rentals LLC made out to Tenon after the murder. Total came to roughly $10,000. Two of those checks were issued the same day in March of 22, one month after the killing. One of those checks was dated April 4th of 22 It allegedly carried the memo line Kickstarter. And good luck. That detail comes from the lead detective's testimony. Tenon's bank account held 52 cents on January 6th of 22 Six weeks before the killing, by February 4th it was negative by $2.38.