Prosecutors have released video of detectives interviewing Shanna Gardner’s friend in 2023 following the murder of St. Johns County father Jared Bridegan.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The State Attorney’s Office released new documents and video Monday in the murder case of Jared Bridegan, a father of four who lived in St. Johns County.
His ex-wife, Shanna Gardner, her second husband, Mario Fernandez-Saldana, and Saldana’s tenant, Henry Tenon are all defendants in the case.
Bridegan was murdered on Feb. 16, 2022. Police have called his killing a “murder-for-hire plot” orchestrated by Gardner and Fernandez. Both Gardner and Fernandez have pleaded not guilty to all their charges.
Monday’s information release includes an hour-and-a-half-long Jacksonville Beach Police interview with a woman who knew both Bridegan and Gardner.
Jensen is also the friend who exchanged texts with Shanna over the years — conversations that investigators say show Gardner wanted help finding someone to kill Bridegan.
Jensen’s interview with police took place in February 2023, one year after the murder and a week after the arrest of Tenon, the man investigators believe to be the hitman. And at this point in 2023, neither Gardner nor Fernandez had been arrested.
Jensen told police in the interview that she did not know Tenon, and she thought he didn’t look like he could do the job of a hitman, based on what she saw of him on the news.
“If you’re going to pick someone to help you do something,” Jensen said, “that (Tenon) wouldn’t be my first choice. Just saying. He doesn’t have an air of confidence… you know… I’ll be your partner in crime… whatever your crimes are.” The detective in the interview room responded: “That’s an interesting choice of words. Do you think somebody picked somebody?”
Jensen responded, “Oh no. I just like, if I’m analyzing… if this actually was a hit on him, a little more thought would have gone into it.”
One of the two investigators in the room asked Jensen, “Do you think Mario had Tenon do this? Is it even a possibility?”
“I don’t see what the benefit would be,” Jensen said. “And Mario’s a very selfish person. Mario doesn’t do much that doesn’t benefit him. I just don’t see where the benefit would be.”
“If Mario did this, you would’ve called one of your sniper buddies, and it would’ve been quick, easy, and no one would’ve known the difference,” Jensen said. “And he (Mario) thinks militaristically.”
Jensen was interviewed not as a suspect, but just as part of the investigation and faces no charges.
In the interview, Jensen told detectives she and others found Bridegan to be controlling and often thinking about money. She also said that Bridegan and Gardner did not get along.
“They were never going to be friends. It’s just tumultuous whenever they’re around each other, and it was more so on his part.” Jensen said.
“Once she became a mom,” Jensen said about Gardner, “she was like ‘this is my life.’ She never said a bad word about Jared in front of the kids.”
The State Attorney’s Office also released text message threads between Shanna Gardner and Kim Jensen.
Prosecutors also released another thread between Jensen/KJ/Kimmie and Susan Lee, dated July 17, 2016.
Kimmie: Shanna needs a guy.
Kimmie: The kind that performs permanent disappearing acts on certain people.
Kimmie: Know any magician?
Lee: Ah magician. No, that I do not. For stupid?
According to investigators, Gardner and her friends sometimes referred to Bridegan as “stupid”.
According to court records, Gardner and Fernandez-Saldana are set to be back in court on March 6 at 9 a.m. for a pre-trial hearing.
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