JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 Jared Bridegan was the kind of father who turned everyday life into a lesson, a project or an adventure. The kind of \u201cactive dad\u201d who built a gymnastics bar in his backyard for his oldest daughter and learned to skateboard as an adult to spend time with his son.<\/p>\n
He loved family bike rides, Mario Kart race nights, silly games, creative rainy day projects, spontaneous trips to Disney World and ice cream cake on his birthday. <\/p>\n
But his youngest daughter, London, won\u2019t get to experience those memory-making moments with her father. She was just 6 months old when Bridegan, 33, was killed two days after Valentine\u2019s Day in 2022.<\/p>\n
Bexley and London Bridegan on Valentine’s Day 2022 (Kirsten Bridegan (via JusticeforJaredB Instagram))<\/p>\n
Her sister, Bexley, who was 2 years old at the time, was with their dad when he was ambushed and shot while driving home from dropping off his two oldest children at their mother\u2019s home in Ponte Vedra Beach.<\/p>\n
In the years since, prosecutors have described the deadly shooting as a murder-for-hire plot, which they say was orchestrated by Bridegan\u2019s ex-wife and her second husband.<\/p>\n
As the first of three trials in the case gets underway with jury selection this week, News4JAX wanted to highlight what family members and friends have shared about who Jared Bridegan was before that fateful February day.<\/p>\n
His widow, Kirsten, has publicly shared memories of Jared on the JusticeforJaredB Instagram page since his death, and we have leaned heavily on those posts and information from his obituary in this report.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want people to know WHO Jared was,\u201d Kirsten Bridegan wrote. \u201cI want his memory to live on. I want his life to mean something for those who didn\u2019t get the chance to know him like we all did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Early life <\/p>\n
Jared Galen Bridegan was born on June 29, 1988, as the youngest of four siblings to Gaylord and JoAnn Bridegan in Warrensburg, Missouri.<\/p>\n
As a child, Bridegan moved with his family to Jacksonville, and he graduated from Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in 2007. He later attended Utah Valley University, earning a bachelor\u2019s degree in digital media in 2014 with an emphasis in cinema production.<\/p>\n
\u2018Constant fear\u2019: Jared Bridegan\u2019s brother describes nightmare of unsolved murder<\/p>\n
While he was studying in Utah, Bridegan met and married his first wife, Shanna Gardner, in 2010. They had twin children, a boy and a girl, and divorced in 2015.<\/p>\n
NOTE: For privacy reasons, we will refer to Bridegan\u2019s eldest daughter as A.B. and her twin brother as L.B.<\/p>\n
Two years later, when the twins were 4 years old, Bridegan met his second wife, Kirsten, on a dating app. They married in October 2017 and had two daughters together by 2021. In one of her posts, Kirsten reflected on the short time she had with her husband.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I could have known what would happen 5 short years after meeting you, I\u2019d still say yes,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n
Professionally, Bridegan had a longtime interest in videography and became an accomplished user experience designer. He worked as senior UX designer at Canopy, director of UX at Web.com, chief technology officer at Clean Simple Eats, and, at the time of his death, was a senior design manager at Microsoft.<\/p>\n
\u2018The best dad\u2019<\/p>\n
Jared Bridegan\u2019s highest purpose was at home in his role as husband and father.<\/p>\n
\u201cJared was quiet, full of love, and one of the best fathers you can imagine,\u201d his father, Gaylord, said in a 2023 statement.<\/p>\n
Jared and Kirsten lived with their daughters in St. Augustine, while Gardner and her second husband, Mario Fernandez, lived in Ponte Vedra Beach with the twins when they had custody. <\/p>\n
Jared Bridegan with his wife, Kirsten, holding their daughters, Bexley and London. Blurred in the photo are Jared’s twin children from his previous marriage.<\/p>\n
In interviews with News4JAX in the weeks after the shooting, Kirsten Bridegan said Jared built his life around his children.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe minute you met him you just fell in love with the kind of guy he was,\u201d she said in March 2022.<\/p>\n
In one of her Instagram posts, Kirsten shared a video of L.B. on Jared\u2019s last birthday in June 2021, describing what he liked about his dad as little Bexley sat on his lap and he fed her Jared\u2019s traditional ice cream cake birthday treat.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I try to take apart something or if it doesn\u2019t work, he always cheers me up and either turns it into something better than I thought or he would cheer me up and make me feel better,\u201d L.B. said. \u201cHe is also very kind to others, and when people are mean to me, he would always stand up for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
In another post, Kirsten shared a video from a previous Father\u2019s Day that shows Jared reading A.B.\u2019s \u201cFun Facts About Dad.\u201d A.B. wrote \u201cI love my dad because he\u2019s the best,\u201d and said cuddling was her favorite thing to do with Jared.<\/p>\n
Bexley also had a special relationship with Jared and \u201cfollowed him around everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was a total daddy\u2019s girl and soaked up every second she got to spend with him,\u201d Kirsten wrote.<\/p>\n
But love wasn\u2019t all about snuggles for Jared. It was also about learning.<\/p>\n
The do-it-yourself \u201cjack of all trades\u201d poured hours into projects meant to give his children a place to imagine and be kids \u2013 like a laser tag arena in the garage — and he often got the children involved.<\/p>\n
When Kirsten mentioned she wanted to grow fresh strawberries and vegetables, Jared built her garden boxes, then pulled in the twins so they could learn and work beside him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the kind of Dad Jared was,\u201d Kirsten wrote on Instagram. \u201cThey loved working in the garage with Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then, there was the playhouse.<\/p>\n
Jared created the labor of love from the ground up — dropping a handful of rare curse words along the way. It took countless hours over a few weeks and lots of trips to the yard during breaks between work meetings. <\/p>\n
Jared built the frame, hauled and hung cement siding and got cuts on his hands from the roofing materials. And after it was done, he had to cut the roof off when the family\u2019s HOA complained that \u201cthe beautiful pitched roof popped over our fence by less than a foot,\u201d Kirsten wrote.<\/p>\n
Bexley Bridegan (left) sits on the playhouse being constructed by her father, Jared Bridegan (pictured right) (Kirsten Bridegan (via JusticeforJaredb Instagram))<\/p>\n
\u201cBut, he wanted to give his kids a place to imagine, to create, to be kids – so he did it. He changed the roof, he hung pictures inside, he let me paint the door blue and \u2018girly it up\u2019 a bit. He even put house numbers on it and a welcome mat outside the door,\u201d Kirsten shared. \u201cWhen I say he was \u2018the best dad\u2019 it\u2019s because I mean it. He was. Nobody did more for their children than him, me included.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the projects weren\u2019t just for the children, he also made handcrafted wooden beams for a master bedroom ceiling, built a custom fireplace and office desk, shiplapped walls and more.<\/p>\n
Kirsten and Jared loved tackling home projects together, often with country music or old-school punk playing. When they built that custom fireplace in 2020, they left a note on the studs before closing the wall.<\/p>\n
And Jared wasn\u2019t shy about offering his skills to his neighbors.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was also the guy in the neighborhood who would loan you his tools and then show up to help you with your project,\u201d his obituary said.<\/p>\n
Focus on faith<\/p>\n
Those closest to him said faith shaped the way Jared Bridegan tried to live — and parent.<\/p>\n
In a note shared on social media and in his obituary, his family described priorities that guided his decisions: his relationship with his Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, his marriage to Kirsten, and the privilege of being a father.<\/p>\n
\u201cJared found joy in serving others and teaching his children to do the same,\u201d Kirsten wrote.<\/p>\n
He also served as a Sunday School teacher in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, teaching 11- and 12-year-olds. <\/p>\n
His obituary said youth expressed gratitude for the fun he brought through creative object lessons and humorous stories as he taught them about his faith.<\/p>\n
He shared those same lessons with his own children. <\/p>\n
In a note to A.B. just months before he was killed, Jared wrote:<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery good thing in my life has come the closer I follow Christ. Follow him and you\u2019ll always be happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe took every opportunity to teach his kids about the power of Jesus Christ and encouraged them to make decisions in life based on His teachings,\u201d Kirsten wrote in the post sharing Jared\u2019s note to A.B. \u201cEvery good thing in life he credited to his Savior and tried to be better every day as a result.\u201d<\/p>\n
That faith has been something his widow and children have clung to in the years since Jared\u2019s murder.<\/p>\n
Kirsten often shares about the comfort of the family\u2019s belief that \u201cwe will see him again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re all looking forward to that reunion,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n
But she acknowledged that explaining to her young daughters why their dad isn\u2019t here with them has been difficult.<\/p>\n
She wrote that shortly after Jared was killed, Bexley asked: \u201cWhy is Daddy with God?\u201d and \u201cWhy couldn\u2019t Daddy get better?\u201d<\/p>\n
Worst nightmare<\/p>\n
Again, Bexley was with her father on Feb. 16, 2022, when he was shot and killed while driving home after dropping the twins off at Gardner\u2019s Ponte Vedra Beach home.<\/p>\n
Kirsten recalled what it was like that night in a previous interview with News4JAX, saying when Jared hadn\u2019t arrived home by 8:30 p.m. like usual, she tried to reach him, but he wasn\u2019t responding to her calls or texts. <\/p>\n
She had a gut feeling something wasn\u2019t right, so she started driving his route to see if maybe he\u2019d been in an accident with Bexley.<\/p>\n
Kirsten and Jared Bridegan (Copyright 2025 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n
\u201cI took the route we normally take to get to the beach,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I kept calling his phone. And then one of the policemen answered it. And that\u2019s when I knew my gut feeling was right and something was really wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
The officer didn\u2019t answer her when she asked if Jared was OK. He just told her Bexley was alright and waiting for her at the Jacksonville Beach Police Station.<\/p>\n
\u201cDetails of that night are still so vivid,\u201d Kirsten wrote on Instagram. \u201cI remember finally seeing Bexley at the station – wrapped in a blanket a bystander had given her and coloring at a table with an officer. Other than a small toy and a coloring book, there wasn\u2019t much for her to do or eat and drink. Stations just aren\u2019t equipped with that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thanks to Kirsten and Bexley\u2019s efforts, a growing number of them now are, but more on that later.<\/p>\n
Investigators have since explained that Jared\u2019s route home through the Sanctuary neighborhood in Jacksonville Beach was interrupted by a tire left in the road. When he got out of the SUV to move it, he was shot at close range near the driver\u2019s door.<\/p>\n
Police said it was \u201ca miracle\u201d that Bexley, who was strapped into her car seat in the back, was not hit.<\/p>\n
In interviews with other news outlets, Kirsten said Bexley described the loud noise of the gunfire, calling it \u201cthe boom.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe says, \u201cBoom! Boom! Boom! Daddy on the ground,\u2019\u201d Kirsten explained.<\/p>\n
Neighbors\u2019 surveillance cameras from the Sanctuary subdivision caught the sound of those gunshots just before 8 p.m. <\/p>\n
This tire was in the road, block Jared Bridegan’s path home (WJXT)<\/p>\n
Kirsten said it was several minutes after the gunfire when bystanders found Jared on the ground by the black Volkswagen Atlas and Bexley still strapped into her car seat. <\/p>\n
A kind stranger pulled the little girl out of the SUV and wrapped her in a blanket.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was terrified and so, so confused,\u201d Kirsten wrote on Instagram.<\/p>\n
\u2018Light always wins\u2019<\/p>\n
Bexley\u2019s experience in the aftermath of her family\u2019s gut-wrenching loss led Kirsten toward a purpose, and \u201cBexley Boxes\u201d were born.<\/p>\n
Each curated kit, designed like a large toy box with a hinged lid, includes simple toys, blankets, snacks, diapers and other necessities to make sure that stations are equipped to comfort children when the unthinkable happens.<\/p>\n
A local social worker helped Kirsten add a card for the underside of the lid that gives first responders quick tips for interacting with traumatized children.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that will make such an impact on their experience,\u201d Kirsten wrote.<\/p>\n
The initiative, which began as a simple social media ask, blossomed into The Bridegan Foundation, which has placed dozens of boxes across Florida and in other states. <\/p>\n
Kirsten\u2019s goal now is to get a box in every station in the country and to make sure they\u2019re resupplied as needed.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing able to find something good in this horror is such a blessing to our family\u201d Kirsten wrote. \u201cThis is what Jared would\u2019ve wanted. He would want us to smile, to spread happiness, to help others.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, just before what would have been Jared\u2019s 37th birthday, the community dedicated a Japanese maple tree and a plaque in his honor in the Sanctuary neighborhood where he died.<\/p>\n
\u201cA place once marked by tragedy now testifies of healing,\u201d Kirsten wrote. <\/p>\n
She also highlighted the addition of streetlights in 2023 to the stretch of road where Jared was killed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey not only light up the once dark stretch of road, but stand as a symbol of what happens when people choose to stand up and stand together. Of how we can respond when something breaks,\u201d she wrote. \u201cOf how light always wins.\u201d<\/p>\n
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