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The grieving widow of a slain 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 after her husband Jared was shot in front of their two-year-old daughter.
Tenon pleaded not guilty when he attended Duval County court wearing glasses and a face mask covering his white beard.
Bridegan, 33, was murdered on February 16 last year in Jacksonville, Florida, shortly after dropping off his then-nine-year-old twins at his ex-wife’s home.
On his way back, he came across a tire in the middle of the road, and when he got out of the car to inspect it, he was shot multiple times at point-blank range.
Kirsten Bridegan sobbed outside court today as she came face to face with her husband’s accused murderer for the first time.
Suspect Henry Tenon, 61, appeared wearing glasses and a white haircut for his hearing Monday, which lasted less than five minutes.
Her young daughter, Bexley, whom she shares with Kirsten, was tied up in the back of the car.
Court documents seen by foxnews they allege that Tenon carefully planned the murder for at least six weeks and had at least one accomplice.
Prosecutors have yet to say whether Tenon pulled the trigger.
Kirsten, 31, was flanked by family and friends as she attended the hearing on Monday, which lasted less than five minutes.
“Honestly, I think it’s still sinking in,” he said in an out-of-court statement.
“To think that I might have been one of the last people my husband saw is a hard pill to swallow.”
He then pleaded with Tenon directly, adding, “Henry, if you hear this, choose now to do the right thing.”
‘Please help us receive justice sooner rather than later.
Tenon is charged with plotting to murder Bridegan for up to six weeks. Authorities believe he had an accomplice.
‘Please help us in this nightmare that we live every day.’
He added of Tenon’s own family: “We can only imagine the pain and pain you must feel as well.”
The suspect has been charged with conspiracy to commit murder, accessory to crime, 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 house owned by Fernández at the time of the murder and also worked for him as a handyman.
Both remain suspects in the murder, police said.
Jared Bridegan was shot in front of his daughter Bexley, pictured, on February 16, 2022.
Bridegan married Kirsten in 2017. He shared twins Abby and Liam, pictured here, with ex-wife Shanna Gardner-Fernandez. The two became embroiled in a bitter custody battle over the twins.
Details of Bridegan and Gardner-Fernandez’s messy divorce have continued to emerge throughout the case.
The two separated in 2015 and became involved in a bitter custody battle over their twins, Abby and Liam.
During the process, Gardner-Fernandez demanded exclusive occupation of the family home, as well as custody of the twins.
Much of the argument centered on Gardner-Fernandez’s wealth. Her family owns the multi-million dollar Stampin’ Up paper craft company.
He accused Bridegan of threatening to withdraw cash from his children’s trust funds for his own use.
Meanwhile, Bridegan, a devout Mormon, told the court he deserved custody, alimony and child support payments, and ownership of the home since she had the means to live elsewhere.
He also accused her of spying on him by hiding baby monitors in the twins’ room, one under Abby’s dresser and one under Liam’s bed, as well as attaching a tracking device to their car.
‘This is enough!!! I should have every damn right to my property so I’m not constantly under Shanna’s control,” she wrote to her divorce attorney 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, remain suspects in Bridegan’s death.
I want the gates of hell to open for this.
Although they agreed to share custody in 2015, the couple continued to fight in court for six years.
During the ongoing legal battle, Fernández brought his own set of allegations against Bridegan, claiming in 2019 that he was coaching his sons to make statements against him and recording their testimony for the court, Fox reported.
She demanded a social investigation into the matter, which was denied, and then, in June 2021, she filed another motion accusing her ex-husband of not lending her a respirator for their son.
During that time they both remarried.
Bridegan married Kristen in 2017, with whom he has two children, while Gardner-Fernandez married Mario in 2018.
Bridegan had a daughter, Bexley, and one-year-old London with Kirsten.
Melissa Nelson, state’s attorney for the Fourth Judicial District, earlier suggested at a news conference that more arrests would be made.
“We know that Tenon did not act alone,” he said at the time.
Tenon is being held without bail.