Prosecutors have released video of detectives interviewing Shanna Gardner’s friend in 2023 following the murder of St. Johns County father Jared Bridegan.<\/p>\n
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 The State Attorney\u2019s Office released new documents and video Monday in the murder case of Jared Bridegan, a father of four who lived in St. Johns County.<\/p>\n
His ex-wife, Shanna Gardner, her second husband, Mario Fernandez-Saldana, and Saldana\u2019s tenant, Henry Tenon are all defendants in the case.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Monday\u2019s information release includes an hour-and-a-half-long Jacksonville Beach Police interview with a woman who knew both Bridegan and Gardner.<\/p>\n
Jensen is also the friend who exchanged texts with Shanna over the years \u2014 conversations that investigators say show Gardner wanted help finding someone to kill Bridegan.<\/p>\n
Jensen\u2019s 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. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Jensen told police in the interview that she did not know Tenon, and she thought he didn\u2019t look like he could do the job of a hitman, based on what she saw of him on the news.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re going to pick someone to help you do something,\u201d Jensen said, \u201cthat (Tenon) wouldn\u2019t be my first choice. Just saying. He doesn\u2019t have an air of confidence\u2026 you know\u2026 I\u2019ll be your partner in crime\u2026 whatever your crimes are.\u201d The detective in the interview room responded: \u201cThat\u2019s an interesting choice of words. Do you think somebody picked somebody?\u201d \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jensen responded, \u201cOh no. I just like, if I\u2019m analyzing\u2026 if this actually was a hit on him, a little more thought would have gone into it.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the two investigators in the room asked Jensen, \u201cDo you think Mario had Tenon do this? \u00a0Is it even a possibility?”<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t see what the benefit would be,\u201d Jensen said. \u201cAnd Mario\u2019s a very selfish person. \u00a0Mario doesn\u2019t do much that doesn\u2019t benefit him. I just don\u2019t see where the benefit would be.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Mario did this, you would\u2019ve called one of your sniper buddies, and it would\u2019ve been quick, easy, and no one would\u2019ve known the difference,\u201d Jensen said. \u00a0\u201cAnd he (Mario) thinks militaristically.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jensen was interviewed not as a suspect, but just as part of the investigation and faces no charges.<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were never going to be friends. It\u2019s just tumultuous whenever they\u2019re around each other, and it was more so on his part.\u201d Jensen said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce she became a mom,\u201d Jensen said about Gardner, \u201cshe was like \u2018this is my life.\u2019 She never said a bad word about Jared in front of the kids.\u201d<\/p>\n
The State Attorney\u2019s Office also released text message threads between Shanna Gardner and Kim Jensen.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors also released another thread between Jensen\/KJ\/Kimmie and Susan Lee, dated July 17, 2016.<\/p>\n
Kimmie: Shanna needs a guy.<\/p>\n
Kimmie: The kind that performs permanent disappearing acts on certain people.<\/p>\n
Kimmie: Know any magician?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lee: Ah magician. No, that I do not. For stupid?<\/p>\n
According to investigators, Gardner and her friends sometimes referred to Bridegan as \u201cstupid\u201d.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n