Suspect accused of murdering Microsoft executive arraigned
Correspondent Molly Line reports the latest on the case from Jacksonville, Florida.
Microsoft executive Jared Bridegan was mysteriously gunned down in front of his 2-year-old daughter Bexley in north Florida exactly one year ago — and this is where the investigation stands.
On Jan. 25, police arrested Henry Tenon for second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, accessory after the fact and child abuse for the Feb. 16, 2022, killing that left four children fatherless.
Prosecutors did not disclose whether Tenon pulled the trigger.
Although the charges state that Tenon, 61, conspired with at least one accomplice for six weeks to plot the cold-blooded killing, authorities have not publicly named additional suspects.
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An old booking photo of Henry Tenon who is charged with the Feb. 16 murder of Jared Bridegan. A family portrait of Jared and Kirsten Bridegan and their daughters Bexley and London. (Florida Department of Corrections/ Courtesy of Kirsten Bridegan)
Law-enforcement sources told Fox News Digital, however, that Bridegan’s ex-wife, Shanna Gardner-Fernandez, and her second husband, Mario Fernandez, remain suspects in the slaying.
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At the time of the murder, Tenon lived in a Jacksonville, Florida, home owned by Fernandez. He also worked as a handyman for Fernandez, who sold the rental home late last year.
Tenon entered a not-guilty plea at his arraignment Monday in the Duval County Courthouse, as Bridegan’s family tearfully looked on from the gallery.
General view of the home at 5239 Potomac Avenue in Jacksonville, Florida, Wednesday, January 25, 2023, where Henry Tenon lived when he allegedly murdered Jared Bridegan. The home was owned by Shanna Gardner-Fernandez's husband, Mario Fernandez, at the time of the killing. (Mark Sims for Fox News Digital)
Bridegan’s widow, Kirsten Bridegan, with whom he shares Bexley and 1-year-old London, delivered a brief statement flanked by her brother-in-laws Adam and Justin Bridegan and other friends and family members.
"Honesty, I think it's still sinking in," the shattered widow said of seeing Tenon for the first time in the courtroom. "To think that might have been one of the last people my husband saw is kind of a hard pill to swallow."
Mario Fernandez is seen trimming his beard outside of his home in Kissimmee, Florida, Friday, January 23, 2023. Fernandez is a suspect in the murder of Jared Bridegan. (Mom&Paparazzi for Fox News Digital)
The grieving widow made a plea directly to Tenon.
"Henry, if you get to hear this, please choose now to do the right thing. Please help us receive justice sooner than later," she told the cameras. "Please help us in this nightmare that we are living every single day."
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Jared Bridegan and Gardner-Fernandez had a contentious divorce in 2015 and continued to battle in court over custody of their now-10-year-old twins and over marital assets until his death.
A photo combination of Kirsten and Jared Bridegan with their daughter London and his ex-wife Shanna Gardner-Fernandez. (Courtesy of Kirsten Bridegan/Facebook)
Minutes before Bridegan was repeatedly shot, he had dropped off the twins he shares with Gardner-Fernandez at her home nearby in Jacksonville Beach. He'd taken them out for dinner with his toddler daughter Bexley.
They were on their way home to St. Augustine when Bridegan came upon a tire in the one-way road and stepped out to move it.
Melissa Nelson, State Attorney for the Fourth Judicial District, addresses a press conference in Jacksonville Beach, Florida on Wednesday, January 25, 2023. (Mark Sims for Fox News Digital)
Jacksonville Beach Police Department Chief Gene Paul Smith and Melissa Nelson, state attorney for the Fourth Judicial District, said at a joint press conference announcing the arrest that the tire was intentionally placed in the road to lure Bridegan from of his car.
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Investigators have repeatedly asked for the public’s help identifying a dark blue Ford F-150 captured on surveillance video near the crime scene but haven’t said whether they’ve located the vehicle or if it’s connected to Tenon.
A photo combination of Jared and Kirsten Bridegan, on the left, and Shanna Gardner-Fernandez outside her home in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. (Courtesy of Kirsten Bridegan/Mom&Paparazzi for Fox News Digital)
Authorities have been closed-lipped about the progress of the probe. Amid mounting public scrutiny, Gardner-Fernandez quietly moved 2,800 miles to West Richland, Washington, with the twins late last year.
Her wealthy parents, Sterling and Shelli Gardner, used an LLC to secretly purchase a $1 million home for her, property records show.
Shelli Gardner founded the multimillion dollar paper-craft company Stampin’ Up! and supports Gardner-Fernandez financially.
Meanwhile, Gardner-Fernandez appears to be estranged from her second husband, who has been living in Orlando, Florida, and did not join her for the cross-country move.
A poster announced a $55,000 reward for information about the unsolved murder of Jared Bridegan. (Jacksonville Beach Police Department)
"There are more people," Kirsten Bridegan previously told Fox News Digital after Tenon’s arrest. "This was orchestrated, this was planned and this was specific to Jared."
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She said she would continue fighting for justice until every single person involved in Jared Bridegan’s murder was held accountable.
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