{"id":396404,"date":"2025-11-22T07:13:16","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T07:13:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/396404\/"},"modified":"2025-11-22T07:13:16","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T07:13:16","slug":"state-no-longer-seeking-death-penalty-for-shanna-gardner-mario-fernandez-104-5-wokv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/396404\/","title":{"rendered":"State no longer seeking death penalty for Shanna Gardner, Mario Fernandez \u2013 104.5 WOKV"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 dbPNdY body-paragraph\">JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 Prosecutors have taken the death penalty off the table for the estranged couple accused of hiring a hitman to kill a St. Johns County father of four.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 dbPNdY body-paragraph\">That\u2019s according to court documents filed on Friday.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.actionnewsjax.com\/live-breaking\/\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.actionnewsjax.com\/live-breaking\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>&gt;&gt;&gt; STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 dbPNdY body-paragraph\">Action News Jax has been following the murder of Jared Bridegan since he was shot and killed in Jacksonville Beach in 2022.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 dbPNdY body-paragraph\">Bridegan\u2019s ex-wife Shanna Gardner and her estranged husband Mario Fernandez Saldana have both been arrested for Bridegan\u2019s murder.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Shanna Gardner (left) and Mario Fernandez Saldana\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/https:\/\/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com\/cmg\/GMJB7XCL65A23GE2ZIT3FT3E6I.png\" width=\"1440\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"ImageMetadata__MetadataParagraph-sc-1htor29-0 lnDeWE image-metadata\">Shanna Gardner (left) and Mario Fernandez Saldana Shanna Gardner (left) and Mario Fernandez Saldana (Jacksonville Sheriff&#8217;s Office)<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 dbPNdY body-paragraph\"><b>[SIGN UP: <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/membercenter.actionnewsjax.com\/newsletters\/\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter<\/b><\/a><b>] <\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 dbPNdY body-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DRVMYr-iUqZ\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DRVMYr-iUqZ\/\"><b>In a social media post<\/b><\/a>, Bridegan\u2019s widow Kirsten Bridegan said she supported the decision. Read her statement in full below:<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 dbPNdY body-paragraph\">\u201cToday the State of Florida officially withdrew the death penalty. This is a decision we unanimously support and stand behind. As a family it is something we have considered and weighed for quite some time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 dbPNdY body-paragraph\">\u201cFrom the beginning, our greatest responsibility has been to advocate for Jared and for all four of his children. They have already endured unimaginable pain. Prolonging their suffering through years of appeals or forcing them to relive this trauma during an extended, grueling trial would only deepen their wounds.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 dbPNdY body-paragraph\">\u201cOur decision to support the withdrawal of the death penalty is rooted entirely in our love for Jared\u2019s oldest two children. It is not an act of mercy for those who took Jared\u2019s life; it is an act of mercy for the children who must live with the consequences.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 dbPNdY body-paragraph\">\u201cThe people who murdered Jared showed no mercy, no compassion, and no regard for the lifelong pain their actions would inflict on his children. We are choosing a different path &#8211; one that honors Jared\u2019s legacy and the man he was.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 dbPNdY body-paragraph\">\u201cThis choice does not diminish the gravity or the evil of what was done. We remain steadfast in our pursuit of justice for Jared and believe it will be seen in this life and the next. That belief brings us strength.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 dbPNdY body-paragraph\">\u201cThank you for standing with us and for supporting us as we continue this difficult journey. #justiceforjaredb #justiceforthekids #news\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 dbPNdY body-paragraph\"><b>[DOWNLOAD: <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.actionnewsjax.com\/mobile-apps\/\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks<\/b><\/a><b>]<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 dbPNdY body-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.actionnewsjax.com\/mobile-apps\/\" title=\"\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>Click here<\/b><\/a><b> to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.actionnewsjax.com\/mobile-apps\/\" title=\"\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>click here<\/b><\/a><b> to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.actionnewsjax.com\/video\/\" title=\"\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>click here<\/b><\/a><b> to stream Action News Jax live.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 Prosecutors have taken the death penalty off the table for the estranged couple accused of&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":396405,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5136],"tags":[7320,5229,7323,3188,723,7324,7310,7327,68773,187988,187987,7325,68774,7326,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,7322,7321],"class_list":{"0":"post-396404","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville","8":"tag-action-news-jax","9":"tag-america","10":"tag-cbs47","11":"tag-fl","12":"tag-florida","13":"tag-fox30","14":"tag-jacksonville","15":"tag-jacksonville-fl","16":"tag-jared-bridegan","17":"tag-kirsten-bridegan","18":"tag-mario-fernandez-saldana","19":"tag-northeast-florida","20":"tag-shanna-gardner","21":"tag-southeast-georgia","22":"tag-united-states","23":"tag-united-states-of-america","24":"tag-unitedstates","25":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","26":"tag-us","27":"tag-usa","28":"tag-wfox","29":"tag-wjax"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115592116353617893","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=396404"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396404\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/396405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=396404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=396404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=396404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}