JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The state attorney's office announced Thursday a new arrest in the shocking murder of Florida father of four Jared Bridegan, who was gunned down in front of his toddler more than a year ago.
Melissa Nelson, the state attorney for Florida's Fourth Judicial District, said at a press conference Thursday that the husband of Bridegan's ex-wife has been charged in his slaying.
Mario Fernandez, 35, the second husband of Bridegan's ex-wife, Shanna Gardner-Fernandez, was arrested by agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Thursday morning in Orlando, Florida, on conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and other charges.
Gardner-Fernandez, 35, remains a suspect in the killing, according to law enforcement sources.
FLORIDA POLICE, STATE ATTORNEY ANNOUNCE ARREST IN MURDER OF MICROSOFT EXECUTIVE JARED BRIDEGAN
In another major development in the case Thursday morning, Henry Tenon, a handyman for Fernandez, pleaded guilty to murdering Bridegan.
Tenon admitted his role in the killing in exchange for cooperating against Fernandez "as part of the plea agreement to testify truthfully against those he worked with to murder Jared Bridegan," Nelson said.
He had been charged two months earlier with second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, accessory after the fact and child abuse for his role in the slaying. He was the first suspect arrested in the case.
"Henry Tenon has admitted he was in fact the shooter," Nelson said.
Fernandez was indicted on second-degree murder with a weapon, conspiracy to commit firs-degree murder, solicitation to commit a capital felony and child abuse charges.
Nelson said the "investigation remains active and ongoing and has not stopped today with the arrest of Mario Fernandez."
FLORIDA MAN MYSTERIOUSLY MURDERED IN FRONT OF HIS TODDLER DAUGHTER, NOW HIS WIDOW WANTS ANSWERS
Bridegan, 33, a software developer for Microsoft, was shot to death Feb. 16, 2022, in an affluent suburb of Jacksonville Beach, Florida.
He was ambushed in front of his then-2-year-old daughter Bexley when he stepped out of his car to move a tire in the road.
Charging documents allege that Tenon, 61, conspired with at least one accomplice for six weeks to plot the cold-blooded killing that left four children without a father.
"We have fought hard for the truth and the world knows nows what we have known all along, that Jared truly was an innocent victim," Bridgen's widow, Kirsten Bridegan, said Thursday. "Justice for J will not be stopped and we will not be silenced."
At the time of the shooting, Tenon did odd jobs for Fernandez and lived in one of his rental homes in Jacksonville, which was later sold.
Gardner-Fernandez and Bridegan divorced in 2016 – but they continued to battle over custody of their 10-year-old twins and finances until his death.
A tattoo parlor staffer said that, shortly before the divorce, Gardner-Fernandez asked if he knew anyone who could "shut him up." Gardner-Fernandez, the scion of a wealthy Mormon family who own a multimillion-dollar papercraft company, later admitted to making the statement in an interview with a local newspaper.
FLORIDA EX-WIFE OF SLAIN MICROSOFT EXECUTIVE HIRES CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYER
Amid mounting public scrutiny and after hiring a prominent criminal defense lawyer, Gardner-Fernandez moved 2,800 miles to the Pacific Northwest late last year.
Fox News Digital exclusively reported that her parents used an LLC to secretly purchase a $1 million home for her in West Richland, Washington.
Meanwhile, Gardner-Fernandez appears to be estranged from Fernandez, who has been living in Orlando and did not join her for the cross-country move.
Fernandez was spotted in January squatting in front of his home and shaving his beard with an electric razor.
FLORIDA PERSONAL TRAINER CONFIRMS ALLEGED AFFAIR WITH EX-WIFE OF SLAIN MICROSOFT EXEC
Kirsten Bridegan, with whom he shares Bexley, 3, and London, 1, made a plea directly to Tenon after his arrest.
"Henry, if you get to hear this, please choose now to do the right thing. Please help us receive justice sooner than later," she tearfully told reporters at a press conference in January. "Please help us in this nightmare that we are living every single day."
Kirsten Bridegan told Fox News Digital that she would continue fighting for justice until every single person involved in her husband's murder was held accountable.
"There are more people," she said. "This was orchestrated, this was planned and this was specific to Jared."
