Major update in murder of Microsoft executive who was shot dead execution-style – as chilling emails from ‘killer’ ex-wife are released

Florida Microsoft executive Jared Bridegan, who was shot to death in an execution-style killing, and his “murderous” ex-wife exchanged heated emails prior to the horrific murder.

“You cannot bring us down as a family,” he said in a 2017 email obtained by Fox News. “You will not find happiness by tearing us down. I will not allow that.”

Bridegan was shot dead in front of his car in 2022 after he tried to move a tire that was lying in the middle of the road, all while his then two-and-a-half-year-old daughter was in the backseat.

Prosecutors believe the scene was staged by his ex-wife, Shanna Gardner, and her current husband, Mario Fernandez Saldana.

Cell phones, an Apple Watch, laptops and other electronic devices were found during a 2023 search of Gardner’s West Richland, Washington, home, which turned up chilling email messages between the two, which occurred between April and May 2017.

The documents obtained by Fox News Digital provide even more shocking insights into the volatile relationship between the two.

In an April 2017 email with the subject line “Child Therapy,” Gardner told Bridegan that their children were “between homes” and that she was sending them to therapy.

While Gardner agreed that their two children needed therapy, she criticized her ex-husband in another email for not prioritizing the sessions and their children’s mental health and not offering financial help.

Bridegan replied that he would not pay for anything they had not agreed upon beforehand.

As time went on, the emails became more personal and intense.

In another email, Gardner asked Bridegan to “get off that self-righteous pedestal and stand in front of a mirror,” to which he responded, “Why are you ashamed of who you really are, why do you cover up all your tattoos in court, why are you not proud of the person you have become?”

He also accused his ex-wife of mismanaging her money and called her a “backward” woman.

“Wowwwww Satan be careful, you really have to wait to show your cards this early. I know I do,” Bridegan wrote in another email response that included a smiley face.

He later added: ‘I’m shocked that you continue to underestimate me… or did you think that all those months during our separation, when you hung around in the dark so many nights and in so many places, that you had no one… again, it’s better not to show your cards this early.’

Bridegan and Gardner married in 2010, but divorced just five years later.

Although they shared custody of their twins, the divorce was a disaster and the two became embroiled in conflicts over custody and finances.

In 2018, she married her second husband, Mario Fernandez Saldana.

Bridegan was returning home to St. Augustine after dropping off their twin children with his ex-wife and her husband in 2022 when he was stopped in the middle of the road by a tire before pulling onto the highway.

The ambush resulted in the 33-year-old father of four being shot multiple times at close range while his infant daughter was still strapped into her car seat – witnessing her father’s murder.

When police arrived on the scene, they found Bridegan lying dead next to the open door of his Volkswagen Atlas, which still had its hazard lights on.

Police also said the bullets fired at Bridegan entered the car, just inches away from his daughter’s car seat, according to News 4 Jax.

His ex-wife came under immediate fire for their ugly divorce. Gardner initially remained silent about the murder and did not attend his funeral.

When her home was searched last year, one of her children, who was home at the time, found more evidence. According to Fox News, her mother kept “important” electronics in her “bedroom closet.”

The child then whispered to the officer, “up there,” as he pointed to the ceiling.

Gardner was not arrested until six months after the raid.

Additional evidence from the collected devices revealed that Gardner had been looking for a hitman for years before his murder.

Text messages from 2015 between Gardner and a close friend were discussed in court in which she used a series of “code words” and repeatedly wished Bridegan would just “disappear,” News 4 Jax reported.

“Stupid” was Bridegan’s nickname in the messages, and “casserole” and “funeral potatoes” were words used to refer to his death.

The text messages also mentioned a desire to find someone “who can shut people up” and perform “permanent disappearances,” referring to them as a “magician.”

Gardner and Fernandez Saldana are charged with first-degree murder in Bridegan’s death and have pleaded not guilty. Both face the death penalty, The Daily Mail reported.

They are accused of hiring Fernandez’s former tenant, Henry Tenon, and paying him $150,000 to carry out the scheme.

The 250-page document from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms showed that Fernandez’s phone was emitting a signal at the rental property where Tenon was staying.

Tenon has cooperated with prosecutors and has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for pulling the trigger. He faces up to 15 years in prison.

He also agreed to testify against the other suspects.

Declassified court documents and hundreds of pages of police files seen by DailyMail.com show investigators have identified five people who were “likely” involved in the plot to kill Bridegan.

While sources close to the matter would not comment on the status of the investigation, they told DailyMail.com the investigation remains “active and open.”