Man convicted in murder-for-hire killing of Microsoft manager on Florida road

Key Points:

• Mario Fernandez Saldana was convicted of first-degree murder and solicitation of murder in the fatal shooting of Jared Bridegan, a Microsoft design manager, in a murder-for-hire scheme linked to a contentious child custody dispute.
• Bridegan was shot four years ago while removing a tire from a road in Jacksonville Beach, with his daughter nearby, in an attack prosecutors say was orchestrated due to ongoing conflict with his ex-wife, Shanna Gardner.
• The alleged gunman, Henry Tenon, a former tenant of Fernandez Saldana, had no personal connection to Bridegan but received $10,000 in checks after the homicide and was identified through DNA evidence on the tire placed in the road.
• Tenon initially pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against Fernandez Saldana but later withdrew his plea and will face trial next year; Gardner’s trial is scheduled for September.
• The case highlights the bitter post-divorce relationship between Bridegan and Gardner, who is married to Fernandez Saldana and is the daughter of a prominent Utah business co-founder.