[ad_1]
The grieving widow of a murdered Microsoft executive sobbed outside court today after coming face-to-face with her husband’s accused killer.
Kirsten Bridegan urged suspect Henry Tenon, 61, to ‘do the right thing’ nearly a year to the day after her husband Jared was gunned down in front of his two-year-old daughter.
Tenon entered a not guilty plea as he attended Duval County Court wearing glasses and a face mask which covered his white beard.
Bridegan, 33, was killed on February 16 last year in Jacksonville, Florida, shortly after he had dropped his then-nine-year-old twins off at his ex-wife’s home.
On his way back he encountered a tire in the middle of the road and, as he got out of the car to inspect it, was shot multiple time at a close range.
Kirsten Bridegan sobbed outside court today as she came face to face with her husband’s accused killer for the first time
Suspect Henry Tenon, 61, appeared in glasses and a white court for his hearing on Monday which lasted less than five minutes
His toddler daughter Bexley, whom he shares with Kirsten, was strapped in the back of the car.
Court papers seen by Fox News allege that Tenon carefully plotted the killing for at least six weeks and had at least one accomplice.
Prosecutors are yet to say whether Tenon pulled the trigger.
Kirsten, 31, was flanked by her family and friends as she attended the hearing on Monday which lasted less than five minutes.
‘Honesty, I think it’s still sinking in,’ she said in a statement outside court.
‘To think that might have been one of the last people my husband saw is kind of a hard pill to swallow.’
She then pleaded to Tenon directly, adding: ‘Henry, if you get to hear this, please choose now to do the right thing.
‘Please help us receive justice sooner than later.
Tenon is accused of plotting Bridegan’s murder for up to six weeks. Authorities believe he had an accomplice
‘Please help us in this nightmare that we are living every single day.’
She added of Tenon’s own family: ‘We can only imagine the hurt and the pain you must also be feeling.’
The suspect has been charged with conspiracy to commit murder, accessory after the fact and child abuse.
Tenon had connections to Bridegan’s ex-wife Shanna Gardner-Fernandez, 36, and her new husband Mario Fernandez, 34.
Tenon lived in a home owned by Fernandez at the time of the murder and also worked for him as a handyman.
They both remain suspects in the slaying, law enforcement said.
Jared Bridegan was gunned down in front of his daughter Bexley, pictured, on February 16 2022
Bridegan married Kirsten in 2017. He shared twins Abby and Liam, pictured, with ex-wife Shanna Gardner-Fernandez. The two were embroiled in a bitter custody battle involving the twins
Details of Bridegan and Gardner-Fernandez’s messy divorce have continued to emerge throughout the case.
The two split in 2015 and engaged in a bitter custody battle over the custody of their twins, Abby and Liam.
During the proceedings Gardner-Fernandez demanded exclusive occupancy of the family home as well as custody of the twins.
Much of the arguments centered on Gardner-Fernandez’s wealth. Her amily owns the multi-million-dollar paper-craft company Stampin’ Up.
She accused Bridegan of threatening to withdraw cash from their children’s trust funds for his own use.
Meanwhile Bridegan, a devout Mormon, told the court that he deserved custody, alimony and child support support payments and ownership of the home given that she had the means to live elsewhere.
He also accused her of spying on him by hiding baby monitors in the twin’s bedroom, one under Abby’s dresser and another under Liam’s bed, as well as attaching a tracking device to his car.
‘This is enough!!! I should have every damn right on my own property to not constantly be under recording or monitoring by Shanna,’ he wrote to his divorce lawyer on May 17, 2015.
Gardner-Fernandez is pictured with her son Liam on April 18 2022, shortly after her ex-husband’s death
Fernandez and her husband Mario, right, both remain suspects in Bridegan’s death
‘I want the flipping gates of Hell released on her for this.’
Although their agreed to share custody in 2015, the couple continued to fight in court for six years.
During the on-going legal battle, Fernandez filed her own set of accusations against Bridegan, claiming in 2019 that he was coaching their children to make statements against her and recording the testimonials for court, Fox reported.
She demanded a social investigation to the matter, which was denied, and then in June 2021, she filed another motion accusing her ex-husband of not letting her borrow a breathing machine for their son.
During that time both remarried.
Bridegan married Kristen in 2017, who he has two children with, while Gardner-Fernandez married Mario in 2018.
Bridegan went onto have daughter Bexley and one-year-old London with Kirsten.
Melissa Nelson, State Attorney for the Fourth Judicial District, has previously suggested in a press conference that more arrests were forthcoming.
‘We know that Tenon did not act alone,’ she said at the time.
Tenon is being held without bail.
[ad_2]
Source link
