Ex-Mormon mum plotted with gym trainer lover ‘to kill her estranged husband'

07 February 2024 , 16:16

659     0

Shanna Gardner-Fernandez has been charged, along with her new husband Mario, with her ex's murder (Image: Mario Fernandez / Facebook)

New court documents reveal how the marriage between a wealthy ex-Mormon mum and her Microsoft exec husband fell apart before he was murdered in an "ambush style" shooting.

Shanna Gardner-Fernandez, 36, is accused of plotting the gruesome murder of her ex-husband Jared after they allegedly hired a hitman, Henry Arthur Tenon, 62, to kill the father-of-four in front of his then two-year-old daughter in Jacksonville Beach, Florida.

Shanna, who came from a wealthy Mormon family, said she thought Jared may have had “ulterior motives, knowing she came from money,” in marrying her, according to court documents.

READ MORE: Microsoft's Jared Bridegan’s wife breaks silence after he's shot dead in front of baby

During a police interview on March 1, 2022, Shanna told police she married Jared two months after they first met because she was 'desperate.'

Tragedy as 13-month-old boy dies after the stolen car he was in crashed

But she said during their marriage he was a “hermit” who only wanted to spend time with her or play with his “toys,” the court documents revealed. Shanna described how the birth of their children, twins Abby and Liam, had placed a strain on their relationship after Liam developed an illness.

The couple moved from their home in Utah to Connecticut before they settled in Florida to be close to Jared’s family who would help with the children, Shanna revealed as she told interviewers about how they had met and their relationship.

Jared was shot multiple times in what police called an "ambush" slaying infront of his two-year-old daughter (Instagram / @justiceforjaredb)

During her interview with police after her ex's death Shanna admitted she became “emotionally involved” with fitness trainer Mario Fernandez Saldana who she met at a YMCA. It was “the beginning of the end” for her marriage she would tell police, and the couple got divorced in 2015 less than a year after they moved to Jacksonville.

Shanna told investigators how towards the end of their marriage her ex had started to suspect that she was having an affair and started to 'bash her publicly' to church members. Meanwhile she went on to 'vent to people at the YMCA' and soon met her now husband, Mario, court documents said.

After a divorce in which the couple disputed over money, Jared became worried about the presence of Mario in his children’s lives, according to people who know the family. He was described as a “devout” Mormon who worked as a software developer for Microsoft.

Mario Fernandez Saldana (Jacksonville Sheriff's Office)

Shanna Gardner-Fernandez (Jacksonville Sheriff's Office)

He was killed in what cops described as an “ambush” and a “targeted attack” where he was shot multiple times at close range. Jared stepped out of his car and was “gunned down in cold blood,” according to Jacksonville Beach Police Chief Gene Paul Smith, speaking at the time.

Tenon, Mario's former tenant, who acted as the gunman in the killing had reportedly confessed to the plot after being arrested for an unrelated crime.

Jared's widow Kristen, who shared two children with him, spoke of her “satisfaction” at Shanna’s arrest, 547 days after the father-of-four was killed. She said she will support the death penalty if his ex-wife is convicted.

Joe Smith