Mario Fernandez Faces 2022 Jared Bridegan Murder Trial as 12 Jurors Are Seated

Q: Who is the mysterious redacted person in the cellphone records, and what role did they play in this ruthless murder-for-hire plot?

The identity of the redacted person in the cellphone records has not been publicly established in court filings or reporting now available, and no additional suspect has been publicly charged. What is known is that investigators found communications among Henry Tenon, Mario Fernandez Saldana and an unnamed, redacted individual before and after Jared Bridegan’s killing, along with gaps in phone activity that prosecutors say may indicate devices were turned off or placed in airplane mode. That redacted person matters because prosecutors have now publicly said Tenon was not alone at the murder scene. In a pretrial hearing, Assistant State Attorney Alan Mizrahi said the evidence shows one person fled on foot and another drove Tenon’s pickup truck away. Security video and supplemental reports cited by local media support that theory. But prosecutors have not publicly identified who they believe was driving, and they have not said whether the redacted person in the phone data is the same person as the getaway driver. So, based on the public record, the safest answer is that the redacted individual remains unidentified and their precise role is still unconfirmed. The strongest inference from the available evidence is that this person may have been part of the conspiracy’s communications network and could potentially be linked to logistics or escape from the scene, but that remains allegation and inference, not a publicly proved fact.

3 articles · Updated · WJXT News4JAX · Aug 14

Opening statements begin Monday in Jacksonville after a 12-member jury and four alternates were selected for Mario Fernandez’s trial in the 2022 killing of Jared Bridegan.
Prosecutors say Fernandez and his now-estranged wife, Shanna Gardner, hired tenant Henry Tenon to ambush Bridegan after a custody dispute, using a tire left in the road to stop him.
Tenon’s DNA was found on the tire, and prosecutors say a second person drove a pickup from the scene while Tenon fled on foot, evidence they argue points to a broader conspiracy.
At least two prospective jurors were dismissed for discussing the case outside court, and the seated jurors’ identities will remain anonymous until 60 days after trial because of the case’s high profile.
Fernandez is the first of three defendants to be tried; Gardner’s trial is set for September 2026, while Tenon is scheduled to go to trial in March 2027.