JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Florida judge ruled Tuesday that defense attorneys in the Shanna Gardner murder case will be allowed to make a private, in-camera proffer in a closed hearing — after a heated courtroom debate over discovery rules, constitutional rights and court procedure.
Gardner and her estranged second husband, Mario Fernandez, are accused of carrying out a murder-for-hire plot on Gardner’s ex-husband, Jared Bridegan, who was gunned down in February 2022. Prosecutors say the accused gunman is Henry Tenon, a former tenant of Fernandez.
During Tuesday’s hearing, the judge amended Gardner’s earlier order and scheduled the closed hearing for July 27, just weeks before trial.
Kirsten and Jared Bridegan (Copyright 2025 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.)Latest hearing for Gardner
At issue was whether the defense can subpoena the cell phone of Kirsten Bridegan, a key witness in the case. Prosecutors argued the defense had not met the legal threshold of materiality required to obtain the subpoena.
“A blanket request for general category information is insufficient,” Assistant State Attorney Steve Siegel said, adding that the defense request amounted to harassment of the witness.
“She should be doing what she should do as the widow of Jared Bridegan and is preparing for a trial in three weeks,” Siegel said.
Defense argues constitutional rights at stake
Defense attorney Kirsten Nelson countered that Florida’s rules of criminal procedure allow the court to hear a limited, private proffer on the question of materiality — and that forcing a public disclosure would violate her client’s constitutional rights.
“I am not permitted constitutionally or under the Florida rules of ethics to further disclose what my client’s defense strategy is,” Nelson said. “That violates my ethical obligations and it violates my client’s constitutional rights.”
The two sides also clashed over the legal definitions of “in-camera” and “ex parte,” with Nelson arguing the state was conflating the terms.
“It is a misnomer to call a hearing where both sides have notice of the basis of the hearing, the time of the hearing, the substance of the hearing generally speaking, an ex parte proceeding,” she said.
Henry Tenon appears in court (WJXT)Judge rules after reviewing case law
After a recess to review newly submitted case law, the judge sided with the defense, citing State v. Young, 654 So. 2d 962 (3rd DCA 1995), as support for the in-camera procedure.
“I reread the rule. There is no requirement that it be in writing. It was made here in open court,” the judge said. “Any party can do it.”
The hearing will include Gardner, her defense attorneys, the clerk’s office, judicial staff, bailiffs and a court reporter. Proceedings will be sealed for appellate purposes. The state was given leave to file additional written arguments before the hearing.
A separate hearing was set for July 23, 2026, to give media organizations the opportunity to intervene before the courtroom is closed.
Timeline: How we got here
More than four years ago, Jared Bridegan dropped his then-9-year-old twin children off at the home of his ex-wife, Shanna Gardner, after a “date night” with their dad.
He left Gardner’s Jacksonville Beach home on Feb. 16, 2022, with his 2-year-old daughter, Bexley, strapped in her car seat in the back of his dark-colored SUV. They were headed back to St. Augustine.
But the 33-year-old Microsoft executive never made it home.
Following his normal route through the Sanctuary neighborhood, Bridegan suddenly had to stop in the area of Jacksonville Drive, America Avenue and Sanctuary Boulevard.
A tire was in the road.
This tire was in the road, block Jared Bridegan’s path home (WJXT)
When Bridegan stepped out of his SUV, he was ambushed by gunfire. At least one bullet missed Bexley by mere inches in her car seat.
RELATED | Murder-for-hire plot included practice run along Jared Bridegan’s normal route home: prosecutors
Bridegan was left lying in the street next to the SUV with the door wide open, and the shooter seemed to melt into the shadows just as quickly as he had launched his ambush attack.
None of the 911 callers that night mentioned seeing a shooter or a vehicle leaving the scene.
LISTEN: Press play below to hear 911 calls from night of Jared Bridegan’s murder (WARNING: May include graphic content)
But eventually, detectives tracked down the man they say pulled the trigger.
Investigators say that it was all part of a murder-for-hire plot set in motion by Gardner and her new husband, Mario Fernandez. It was a conspiracy that began in November of 2021, according to court documents.
Interactive TimelineAlleged murder-for-hire scheme
According to detectives, Gardner was tired of sharing custody of her twin children with Bridegan.
Fernandez, she knew, could “take care of him” because of his military background, Gardner told a friend. At least that’s what the friend told investigators as she detailed the strained marriage between Gardner and Fernandez and the contentious ongoing custody battle between Gardner and Bridegan.
RELATED: A friend of Shanna Gardner said she could help in Jared Bridegan’s murder case. Here’s what she told investigators | How investigators say they untangled conspiracy to kill Jared Bridegan
Investigators say that’s exactly what Fernandez did, hiring Henry Tenon, a tenant at one of his properties, to kill Bridegan.
In his initial interview with police in July 2022, Tenon told investigators that he had been renting a home from Fernandez in Jacksonville’s Biltmore neighborhood for several years.
Tenon’s original court records said he became involved in the conspiracy on Jan. 4, 2022 — just over a month before Bridegan was killed.
Investigators said when Tenon was arrested on an unrelated felony driving charge in August 2022, they questioned him about Bridegan’s murder and a Ford F-150 truck they had been searching for since the shooting.
RELATED | Follow the money: Checks written to Jared Bridegan’s admitted killer connect him to 2 accused in ‘murder-for-hire plot’ | Jared Bridegan’s wife files wrongful death lawsuit against 3 accused in his murder
Tenon was later arrested in Bridegan’s murder, and investigators said the single link between Tenon and Bridegan was Fernandez.
In 2023, Tenon pleaded guilty and admitted to being the gunman who killed Bridegan, but he has since backtracked, and a judge granted his motion to withdraw his guilty plea.
State prosecutors initially said they would be seeking the death penalty against Gardner and Fernandez if they were convicted, but they have since taken the death penalty off the table, with the support of Bridegan’s widow, Kirsten, and his family.
Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.