4 years after alleged murder-for-hire of Microsoft executive involving his ex-wife, suspect goes to trial in Florida

A man charged with arranging the fatal ambush of a Microsoft design manager is headed to trial Monday in Florida, more than four years after the victim was repeatedly shot outside his vehicle while his 2-year-old child was strapped in a car seat.

Investigators say a tire was placed in the road in a plot to distract and kill Jared Bridegan, 33, in Jacksonville Beach in 2022. They allege it was a murder-for-hire scheme involving his ex-wife and her current husband.

The husband, Mario Fernandez Saldana, 38, is charged with first-degree murder in Duval County court.

Bridegan’s former wife, Shanna Gardner, 39, was arrested in August 2023 in Washington and is facing charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation to commit murder, and child abuse, CBS affiliate WJAX-TV reported. She has pleaded not guilty and her trial will start in September.

Bridegan and Gardner were granted a divorce in 2015. But it was followed by years of acrimony over the parenting of…