[Florida Files] The Murder of Jared Bridegan: A Tire in the Road and a Father Who Never Made It Home
Who Was Jared Bridegan?
Jared Bridegan was, by every account, exactly the kind of person the world needs more of. A devoted father of four, a senior design manager at Microsoft, and a man of deep faith, Jared built his life around the people he loved. He was the dad building laser tag arenas in the garage and wooden beams for the bedroom ceiling. He was the guy who would loan you his tools and then show up to help with the project. On February 16, 2022, that life was taken from him in a matter of seconds on a dark stretch of road in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, while his two-year-old daughter Bexley sat strapped in the backseat just feet away.
The Divorce, the Custody Battle, and Seven Years of Conflict
Jared's first marriage to Shanna Gardner, heiress to the Stampin' Up crafting fortune, ended in 2015 after Jared discovered what he described as an emotional relationship between Shanna and her personal trainer. What followed was one of the most contentious and exhausting custody battles imaginable. Over the next seven years, the court file between Jared and Shanna accumulated nearly 300 entries, covering everything from elementary school enrollment disputes to accusations of financial manipulation, surveillance devices hidden in the children's rooms, and a bitter fight over a medical oxygen machine their son Liam needed for air travel. One attorney who reviewed the case said the two could never resolve anything on their own. Every disagreement ended up in front of a judge.
Despite all of it, Jared never walked away from his kids. He moved back to Florida from Utah just to be closer to them. He drove hours every weekend to maintain his relationship with his twins, Abby and Liam. And he never stopped fighting for them, even when the legal battle became overwhelming.
A New Life, a Growing Family
In 2017, Jared matched with Kirsten on a dating app. He drove six hours to meet her for their first date. Within months, Kirsten relocated to Florida and the two were married in October of 2017. Together they welcomed daughters Bexley in 2019 and London in 2021. By all accounts, Jared had built exactly the life he had always wanted, even as the custody battle with Shanna continued to drag on in the background.
The Night Everything Changed
On the evening of February 16, 2022, Jared and two-year-old Bexley took the twins out for their regular Wednesday date night — dinner and dessert near Jacksonville Beach. At 7:45 PM, Jared dropped the twins back at Shanna's house and called Kirsten to let her know they were on their way home. He never made it.
Just minutes later, Jared was driving through a quiet residential neighborhood when he spotted a tire sitting in the middle of the road on a narrow, tree-lined on-ramp to J. Turner Butler Boulevard. There was no way around it. He put the car in park, turned on his hazard lights, and stepped out. At that exact moment, an unknown assailant approached and fired at least four shots at close range, striking Jared multiple times and killing him. Bexley sat alone in the backseat for three minutes until a passing motorist found her, still strapped into her car seat, unharmed.
The Investigation
Investigators quickly determined that the tire had been intentionally placed in the road to force Jared to stop. Police stated they believe Jared was targeted by someone familiar with his routine and that specific route. A 2004 to 2008 dark blue Ford F-150 with brown or tan trim running boards and a silver toolbox was identified as a vehicle of interest and is believed to have been directly involved in the murder. It has not been found.
Only three people were said to know Jared's regular route home: Kirsten, Shanna, and Shanna's husband Mario Fernandez. Authorities have not publicly named a suspect, but a law enforcement source told Fox News Digital that Shanna and Mario remain persons of interest. Neither has been charged. Both maintain their innocence.
The Fight for Justice
Since Jared's murder, his wife Kirsten has become one of the most relentless advocates for justice in recent true crime memory. She has spoken to Fox News, People, Inside Edition, and dozens of other outlets. She launched the Justice for Jared B social media pages to keep the case in the public eye. She has worked with the Jacksonville mayor and police chief to have a streetlight installed at the murder site, which sits in a surveillance camera blind spot surrounded by trees. And she created Bexley's Boxes, a program that provides comfort items for children who find themselves in police stations during traumatic events — inspired by the night her two-year-old daughter sat alone in a station waiting for her mother to arrive.
A combined reward of over $110,000 is available for information leading to an arrest and conviction. The case remains open.
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If you have any information about this case, please contact Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS (8477) or ATF at 1-888-ATF-TIPS (1-888-283-8477). Tips may remain anonymous.
Research by Haley Gray with Haley Gray Research. Without Haley this episode would not be possible, and we could not ever thank her enough for her tireless research and the energy she has put into this.