Estranged couple charged with murder-for-hire appear in court for hearing

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Shanna Gardner and Mario Fernandez, her estranged husband, were back in court Wednesday afternoon for a preliminary hearing in the murder-for-hire case against her.

Earlier this month, a judge set a trial date for 2025. Jury selection was scheduled for October 20, 2025 at 9 a.m

Gardner and Fernandez are accused of plotting the murder of Gardner's ex-husband Jared Bridegan in 2022.

Gardner and Fernandez are charged with first-degree murder in connection with Bridegan's killing, and both face the death penalty.

A former tenant of Fernandez's, Henry Tenon, admitted to pulling the trigger in the 2022 ambush shooting in Jacksonville Beach.

RELATED: Shanna Gardner's estranged husband's phone rang at the rental property of a man who shot Jared Bridegan, documents show

According to police, the father of four was shot as he tried to move a tire that had been dumped on the road as part of the ambush.

At her final court appearance last month, Judge London Kite rejected requests from Gardner's lawyers to release her on bail and drop the charges.

Kite said she was deciding “without prejudice” and told Gardner's defense team that they could raise the issues in her motion again if new information came to light.

Gardner's attorneys argued prosecutorial misconduct, saying the state “knowingly presented false evidence that was decisive in the court's denial of bond” and that Gardner's due process rights were violated.

READ: Motion by Gardner's attorneys to dismiss the case

During the most recent hearing, Judge Kite agreed to a motion by the defense to compel the prosecution to release a list of out-of-state documents/individuals it subpoenaed.

She did not rule on a defense request to request a transcript of a detective's grand jury testimony.