ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — It was the murder that rocked the First Coast.
18 months after Jared Bridegan was gunned down in a Jacksonville Beach street, 3 people have been arrested and murder charges have been filed.
Friday afternoon Jared's widow Kirsten Bridegan and his brother Adam Bridegan sat down for an interview with First Coast News reporter Rich Donnelly and discussed the pain and fear they've felt since Bridegan's murder as well as the good deeds that they hope come from this tragedy.
Their life was forever altered when Jared Bridegan was gunned down on February 16, 2022.
On Thursday Shanna Gardner became the 3rd and final suspect to be officially charged in the murder of her ex-husband, Jared Bridegan. Jared's brother Adam calls the latest arrest a step towards justice.
"It's a weird sense of peace knowing these individuals are now behind bars," said Adam Bridegan.
It was also the news Jared's widow Kirsten had been waiting for since her husband was murdered.
"Honestly, from the night that I knew Jared had been killed and it wasn't in an accident I knew in my soul that she [Gardner] was behind it"
Kirsten Bridegan says her interactions with Gardner always made her uneasy immediately after the shooting.
"When she asked for the death certificate I was not surprised," said Kirsten Bridegan, "she asked for a lot of things and I think from my perspective it was just to further cause more harm."
Jared Bridegan was murdered after he dropped off his 2 oldest children at their mother's house. Normally Kirsten and their 2 youngest children would join them, but Kirsten stayed home with their baby that night; a decision that she says may have saved her life.
"Part of me wonders if it would happen if I was there," said Kirsten Bridegan, "if that would have been too much for them or made them nervous about doing it or if our kids would be orphans right now."
The trial will be difficult and force the Bridegans to relive Jared's murder, but both Adam and Kirsten hope something positive can come from this.
"He would want us to take this tragedy, as evil and gut-wrenching as it is, and turn it into something positive," said Adam.
So far that has been the case. Kirsten Bridegan accepts donations for Bexley Boxes, which help police stations interact with children who experience trauma. Bexley Bridegan was in the car and watched her father get shot in front of her.
A link for more information about Bexley Boxes can be found here: https://www.brideganfoundation.org/
"If people aren't able to donate the best way to honor Jared is to love your kids," said Kirsten Bridegan, "make those memories, spend time with them, genuinely show an interest in your children because that will have the biggest impact on their life."
So far 34 Bexley Boxes have been handed out to police stations with requests for more coming from across the country.
A trial date for Shanna Gardner, Mario Fernandez and Henry Tenon, the 3 people accused of murdering Jared Bridegan has not yet been set.
The state is seeking the death penalty for Gardner and Fernandez.