As the nation continues to follow the details of the Lindsay Clancy trial, another complicated murder case is dragging on in Jacksonville.
The jury selection for a Jacksonville Beach woman accused of conspiring to kill her ex-husband in 2022 was supposed to begin Monday, Aug. 31, but was postponed to 2027, following a shocking development in the case.
Last week, a jury found Mario Fernandez Saldana guilty for his role in the 2022 murder-for-hire plot of his now-estranged wife's ex-husband, Jared Bridegan. On Wednesday, Aug. 26, he was found guilty of first-degree murder and solicitation to commit a capital felony.
Shanna Gardner, who is still legally married to Fernandez Saldana, faces charges of her own: first-degree murder, solicitation to commit
a capital felony, conspiracy to commit murder and child abuse. Gardner moved to Washington state, but remains in jail without bond.
Her trial was originally scheduled to begin this month, but has now been postponed following new charges brought against Fernandez Saldana, just one day after he was found guilty.
Here's a quick breakdown of the case, why Gardner's trial was postponed and what Fernandez Saldana has been charged with.
Who killed Jared Bridegan? 2022 Jacksonville Beach murder goes to trial
Fernandez Saldana, 38, was found guilty of conspiring to kill Jared Bridegan. Gardner, 39, is accused of conspiring with him to hire Henry Tenon, 65, to shoot Bridegan due to a long and bitter divorce and custody dispute. Tenon is a former tenant of Fernandez Saldana's.
They knew exactly when and where Bridegan would be the night of Feb. 16, 2022, returning to St. Augustine after dropping off his 9-year-old shared-custody twin son and daughter at Gardner and Fernandez Saldana's home in Jacksonville Beach.
Not far from the home, someone in a truck belonging to Tenon placed a tire that had Tenon's DNA on it in the middle of the isolated road Sanctuary Boulevard. Bridegan stopped, turned his hazard lights on and got out to move the tire when he was fatally shot multiple times. His 2-year-old daughter, Bexley, was in the backseat but unharmed.
She told Child Protection Team investigators that a man came up to the car, she heard "boom, boom, boom," and then "Daddy hit the ground."
That man is believed to be Tenon, who previously pleaded guilty to shooting Bridegan but later retracted his plea and was granted a separate trial. He is also believed to be the man seen on video leaving the scene on foot while someone else left in a truck seen on video released to the public.
An arrest warrant states that financial records from Tenon’s bank showed three handwritten checks from Fernandez Saldana in October 2022. Phone records also showed Tenon and Fernandez Saldana had communicated 35 times that February, 30 times in March and five to nine times in May and June.
Murder trial of Jax Beach woman charged with conspiring to kill ex-husband postponed. Here's why
Just one day after jurors found Fernandez Saldana guilty, he was charged with lewd or lascivious molestation against two juveniles in separate cases.
Fernandez Saldana's arrest warrant states that Jacksonville Sheriff's Office investigators interviewed a person (whose name was redacted) outside the state in May 2025. She said incidents of being molested began at age 8. She said he would touch her inappropriately multiple times on multiple evenings.
On Aug. 24 of this year, investigators interviewed another juvenile also outside the state. She said she's known him six or seven years and had stayed overnight at his and Gardner's home on March 11, 2022. In the morning when she was still in bed, she said he got in with her and pressed up against her inappropriately until she locked herself in a bathroom. No one else was home at the time.
The motion for continuance stated that the defense learned about the arrest warrant one hour before Gardner's final pretrial conference on Thursday, Aug. 27, and that the accusations documented would have given Fernandez Saldana motive to kill Bridegan outside of his relationship with Gardner.
It also stated that the proper investigation into Fernandez Saldana's alleged crimes against minors could not happen before Monday, Aug. 31, which was when Gardner's jury selection was set to begin.
"That charge gives Mr. Fernandez a motive to kill Jared Bridegan that has nothing to do with Ms. Gardner... A motive to keep Jared from learning that Mr. Fernandez" committed an act that was redacted, the motion said.
"The State’s case depends on convincing a jury that Ms. Gardner procured Mr. Fernandez’s crime... She is entitled to show the jury the truth. Counsel has had one hour to learn that truth exists — not to investigate it, not to conduct discovery on it, not to develop it into a defense. That means pulling the law enforcement file, finding and interviewing witnesses to the abuse and to Mr. Fernandez’s [redaction] and building a record the jury can see. None of that is optional."
The attorneys also said the problem was compounded by a petition from Jared Bridegan's widow. Kirsten Bridegan's petition to the Fifth District Court of Appeal challenged the trial court’s orders directing forensic imaging of her cell phone. She was ordered by Judge London Kite to relinquish the phone but refused to comply, and was dropped from the witness list for Gardner's trial.
When are the next trials for the Jacksonville murder-for-hire case?
Gardner's trial was originally set for this month, September 2026, but is now postponed to 2027. In light of the recent charges brought against Fernandez Saldana, which the defense argues could have affected Fernandez Saldana's motive, Gardner's jury selection will now begin on May 3, 2027.
Gardner is charged with first-degree murder, solicitation to commit a capital felony, conspiracy to commit murder and child abuse.
Prosecutors are also seeking to have Henry Tenon on trial with Gardner, who both remain in jail without bail. He is the third defendant, accused of having been hired to kill Bridegan. His jury selection was previously scheduled to begin on March 29, 2027.
What is Mario Fernandez Saldana's sentence?
Fernandez Saldana has yet to receive his official sentencing for the killing of Jared Bridegan, but the sentence for first-degree murder is a life sentence. Judge London M. Kite set his sentencing date for October 5 before the new charges came to light.
What are Mario Fernandez Saldana's new charges?
Mario Fernandez Saldana, who was recently found guilty of conspiring to kill Jared Bridegan in 2022, has now been charged with lewd/lascivious molestation - offender 18 or older against victim less than 12 years old and lewd or lascivious molestation for separate cases, according to court records.
Scott Butler has been an editor/reporter specializing in public safety coverage for 26 years with The Florida Times-Union. He can be reached at sbutler@jacksonville.com.
Lianna Norman is a journalist for the USA TODAY Network-Florida's service journalism Connect team. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: New charges could reshape Jacksonville's Jared Bridegan murder case
