JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — On June 29, Kirsten Bridegan says the 29th Bexley Box is being delivered. The date is significant because June 29, 2023 would have been Jared Bridegan's 35th birthday.
The father of four was murdered in February 2022 in what Jacksonville Beach police have described as a "targeted" killing. Investigators say he was murdered while moving a tire from the road while his two-year-old daughter, Bexley, was in the back seat of the car.
To honor his memory, Kirsten Bridegan has been encouraging people to perform acts of kindness in his honor, as she and the family are donating more Bexley Boxes.
The creation of Bexley Boxes was an idea Kirsten Bridegan had after Bexley spent hours at a police station in the wake of her father’s murder. It is a box full of supplies, diapers, toys and comfort items for children if they have to spend time at a police station or sheriff’s office. There were a few items to comfort the toddler at the station, who had just witnessed the unimaginable.
Kirsten told First Coast News in an interview earlier this year, that the creation of the Bexley Boxes was a way for her to turn her grief into good works to honor Jared’s memory.
"He really genuinely enjoyed helping people and I think he would be really proud of this and we would have a part in something positive, that his death wouldn’t just be negative," Bridegan said. "It wouldn’t be the tragedy, there is something good coming from that. I think that would give him some peace."
Bexley Boxes have been donated to law enforcement agencies throughout the First Coast and Florida, along with police departments in Utah and one in the state of Washington. Bridegan says with the creation of The Bridegan Foundation, they will continue efforts to make sure every police office or sheriff's department that wants one, will get one. The latest going to West Valley Police in Utah to honor Jared's birthday.
If you would like to learn more about Bexley Boxes or the Bridegan Foundation, click here.
As for where the case stands in Jared Bridegan’s death, Henry Tenon plead guilty earlier this year to second-degree murder charges. The state attorney’s office has said they believe Tenon shot Jared Bridegan as he was moving the tire out of the road in February 2022.
Prosecutors also say Tenon has agreed to testify against others involved in Jared’s death. Mario Fernandez-Saldana was arrested in March 2023 and charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder, among other charges. Fernandez is married to Jared Bridegan’s ex-wife, Shanna Gardner-Fernandez, with whom Bridegan shared two children with.
Fernandez has plead not guilty and will be back in court for another pre-trial hearing on July 11.
