Prosecutors seek death penalty over Jared Bridegan murder

Florida prosecutors will seek the death penalty for the man accused of orchestrating the brutal murder of Microsoft executive Jared Bridegan in front of his daughter last year.

Mario Saldana-Fernandez allegedly masterminded the shooting death in a “cold, calculated and premeditated manner without any pretense of moral or legal justification,” prosecutors said Wednesday.

Bridegan was gunned down after dropping off two of his children at the Jacksonville Beach home of Shanna Gardner-Fernandez, his ex-wife, who had gone on to marry Saldana-Fernandez.

Bridegan and his ex were in the midst of an increasingly bitter custody fight at the time.

Henry Tenon, a former tenant at one of Saldana-Fernandez’s rental properties, was also arrested in connection with Bridegan’s death.

Authorities said they discovered several payments from Saldana-Fernandez to Tenon and they corresponded frequently in the months leading up to the murder.

Saldana-Fernandez has been charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation to commit a capital felony and child abuse.

Tenon co-operated with authorities after his arrest and in March took a plea deal on a second-degree murder with a weapon charge. As part of the plea he agreed to truthfully testify about any co-defendants in the case.

Gardner-Fernandez — who moved to Washington after the murder, without her current husband — remains a suspect in the case, according to law enforcement sources.

Hailing from a wealthy Mormon family in Utah, she has denied any involvement in her ex-husband’s demise.

Her family, which runs the lucrative Stampin’ Up paper company, announced that she has separated from Saldana-Fernandez and they are no longer a couple.

In an interview with the Florida Times-Union in the months after her ex-husband’s slaying, Gardner-Fernandez acknowledged once asking a tattoo parlor employee if he knew someone who could make Bridegan “disappear.” However, she later said it wasn’t made as a serious remark.

Father of four Bridegan, 33, was driving an SUV with his then 2-year-old daughter Bexley on board when he stopped because his path was blocked by a tire, which cops say was intentionally placed in the middle of the street.

He was shot dead after exiting his vehicle to move the tire, as his daughter looked on from the backseat. She remained at the scene near her father’s body for several minutes until a passerby called police.

In addition to the two children he shared with his ex, Bridegan shared Bexley and another daugher, London, with his new wife, Kirsten Bridegan.

The devastated widow has repeatedly demanded justice for her husband, calling on Tenon to reveal all of his accomplices and information in the case.