The 61-year-old felon arrested in the brutal murder of Microsoft executive Jared Bridegan has a direct connection to the slain father's ex-wife and her new husband, according to reports. Records reveal that Henry Tenon, 61, who is charged with murder for allegedly killing Jared Bridegan, lived in a home once owned by Mario Fernandez.
Tenon is being held on charges of second-degree murder and conspiring to murder in connection with the death of Bridegan on February 16. Since his arrest warrant is sealed, many facts in the case are still unknown. However, police said during a press conference on Wednesday that they are still looking into the incident and that Tenon did not act alone.
Chilling Link With Killer
Records indicate that Tenon lived at 5239 Potomac Ave. in Jacksonville, Florida, which is reported as being owned by Fernandez. Fernandez married Shanna Gardner-Fernandez in 2018, two years after splitting from Bridegan, with whom she had been at odds over who would get custody of their two children long after their divorce.
Law enforcement officials specifically stated at a press conference that Tenon did not commit the crime alone and that their investigation is still underway.
Gardner-Fernandez and Mario Fernandez had previously been mentioned as suspects in Bridegan's death. However, neither Shanna nor Mario, who moved cross country from Florida to Washington state, have been arrested.
Tenon, a convicted felon, has raps for violence and burglary in the past. Gardner-Fernandez and her new partner hired prominent Jacksonville lawyer Henry Coxe III shortly after the murder.
Records from the sheriff's office show that Tenon was arrested in August on unrelated gun-related allegations. Tomorrow, he will appear before a judge on murder charges. "We know Henry Tenon did not act alone," said State's Attorney Melissa Nelson at a press conference today.
Big Conspiracy
Gardner-Fernandez allegedly cheated on Bridegan, which led to the end of their marriage. Nevertheless, despite their legal battle, Gardner-Fernandez vehemently denied any involvement in the death of her ex-husband in an interview with the Florida Times-Union.
Bridegan was murdered on February 16, 2022, while traveling from Jacksonville Beach, Florida, to St. Augustine after dropping off his nine-year-old twins with their mother. Bexley, his two-year-old daughter, was riding along with him at the time.
Gardner-Fernandez admitted asking a tattoo artist whether he knew somebody who could silence Bridegan once, but she afterward brushed it off as a joking comment.
Gardner-Fernandez, who comes from a wealthy Mormon family, recently moved from Florida to a house her parents had bought in Richland, Washington.
According to reports, she and Fernandez are no longer together, and he chose not to move with her.
Police have categorically said that the shooting death of Bridegan in front of his 2-year-old daughter Bexley was a planned murder. The doting father had four children—two with Gardner-Fernandez and two with Kirsten Bridegan, his second wife.
Tenon is now facing a life sentence for second-degree murder. Prosecutors today announced the case would go to a grand jury, and that they hope it will be elevated to a first-degree murder charge.
Tenon has been charged with child abuse in addition to second-degree murder and conspiracy to murder. It stems to the fact Bridegan's two-year-old daughter was in the vehicle when he was killed.
Tenon was arrested by the same police agency in August of last year on charges of driving without a license and possessing a weapon while a felon. His prior offenses include misdemeanor assault and domestic abuse charges as well as criminal traffic violations including repeatedly operating a vehicle with a suspended license.
His lengthy arrest history began in the middle of the 1990s.
