She Planned an Ambush Attack on Her Ex-Husband: The Murder of Jared Bridegan 42:42

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Hello, everyone, and welcome back to True Crime with Kendall Rae. I'm so happy to have you here with me today to discuss yet another case. And if you are new, then welcome. Be sure to hit subscribe. So today we're going to be talking about another case that is ongoing. So I'm going to be telling you everything that we know as of now, but this will be

be developing in the upcoming months. This case has been heavily requested and there were quite a few requests in my members only form for this one as well, which if you didn't know, I recently relaunched membership and I now have a private request form for members, which makes it a little easier to request a topic because my general case suggestion form currently has 90,000 submissions. So as you can imagine, it's

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Big thank you to all of my members. Today we're talking about the murder of Jared Breidegen, which occurred in February of 2022. And over the last little over a year and a half at this point, there have been three arrests made in the case.

And the most recent of which occurred in August. So very recently. But before I explain all of that, let's talk about Jared and who he was. Jared Galen Breidegen was born on June 28th, 1988 in Warrensburg, Missouri to his parents Gaylord and Joanne. He had one sister named Ashley and two brothers named Justin and Adam.

And although they were born in Missouri, their family ended up moving to Jacksonville Beach, Florida, which is where Jared spent the majority of his life. In 2007, Jared graduated from Douglas Anderson School of the Arts and then went on to attend Utah Valley University, where he received his bachelor's degree in digital media with an emphasis in cinema production.

From what I can tell, Jared seemed to be a pretty driven person from a very young age, and that landed him some pretty cool jobs and a career in user experience design. He worked as a senior designer, a director of experience design, and a chief technology officer for a handful of companies, and lastly, as a senior design manager for Microsoft. Jared was also a member of the Mormon church and was deeply devoted to his family.

In 2009, while he was living in Jacksonville, Florida, he ended up meeting his future wife.

Shanna Gardner. Now, Shanna was born and raised in Utah and was also a member of the LDS Church. She was actually in Jacksonville visiting a friend when they met, and from everything I've read online, it seemed like she tried really hard to pursue him. And her efforts worked because in 2010, they got married in a temple in Utah. They spent the early parts of their marriage living in a beautiful home in Highland, Utah, and eventually they got pregnant with twins, Liam and

But it doesn't seem like either of them were working at this time. And I'm sure you're wondering how they supported themselves and two children and lived a very nice lifestyle without working. Well, it turns out that Shanna's parents, Shelly and Sterling, were millionaires and they were giving them a monthly allowance of $8,500.

And on top of the $8,500 allowance, they were both given access to credit cards. They got a $100,000 business loan and they both drove Mercedes. Now, I'm not 100% certain if Shanna's parents bought them their cars, but I'd imagine it's not out of the realm of possibility. Shanna's parents became wealthy through their business, which is called Stampin' Up, which apparently is an arts and crafts company based out of Utah. And personally, I had never heard of it, but...

This business was very successful, much more than I would have expected for an arts and craft company. But the reports online say that their revenue exceeds over $100 million a year, which would definitely make sense as to how they were able to support their daughter and her family. So like I said, they spent the first parts of their marriage living in Utah. And they were able to support their daughter and her family.

And eventually they had to move because their son sadly had a heart condition that made living at high elevation very difficult and dangerous for him. So they needed to move somewhere at sea level. So they made the decision to move to Connecticut shortly after the twins were born. And from everything that I've read, it seems like once they made this move to Connecticut,

the cracks in their relationship really started to show. And Shanna became increasingly upset with Jared for several reasons. One of those reasons being that he was gaining weight. She also felt like he was just spending too much time starting a business. And it didn't help that the two of them eventually started to feel differently about their religion. Obviously, when faith is a big part of your relationship and then one of the people in the relationship starts to have doubts or different feelings,

It can make things very difficult. And it was actually Shanna that started to lose interest in the Mormon church, even though she had grown up in it. And so this made them drift apart. And even though things weren't great between them, they were still trying to make it work. And at one point, Jared was able to convince Shanna that they should all move to Jacksonville Beach, where he used to live. And

And I imagine this was some sort of fresh start for them in his mind. And it's been reported that when they made the move to Jacksonville Beach, that Jared was currently pursuing his master's degree at the Savannah College of Art and Design. And I'm guessing that must have been through online classes. And if this move was meant to be a fresh start for them, things seem to only get worse in their relationship from this point moving forward. ♪

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In 2014, Christmastime, Jared buys Shanna a package of personal training lessons. And he became suspicious after reading some emails of hers that maybe she was having an affair with her trainer. He confronts her and she says that she wasn't having an affair, but she did want to end the relationship because she just didn't love him anymore. So she files for divorce on February 23rd, 2015. So their marriage came to an end, but their fighting and disagreements continued.

definitely did not. And they ended up fighting over alimony, custody, and their property for the next five years. And over those five years, things became incredibly toxic. And both Jared and Shanna accused each other of some pretty serious things. In May of 2015, Jared accused Shanna of spying on him by placing hidden baby monitors around the house and invading his privacy.

He also claimed that she installed a tracking device in his car as well as a voice-activated recording device inside the home. And this is another one of those cases where the two of them were still living together during divorce proceedings. I don't know if that was because of financial reasons or because they wanted it to be a more stable transition for the children. Either way, though, this was very toxic for them. And Jared said that Shanna had put a...

lock on their master bedroom door, even though he was still living there as well. He claimed that she wouldn't give him a key. And lastly, he accused her of lying about some important financial records about her income, which, if true, could be really bad. And Shanna accused Jared of some pretty terrible things as well. She claimed that he was threatening to take money from the children's trust funds and use it for his own personal benefit.

and that he was also acting in an abusive and disturbing way towards the children. And not only that, she also accused him of actively coaching their children on what to say about her and recording their statements and then using those recorded statements against her during the divorce proceedings. It's time for today's Lucky Land Horoscope with Victoria Cash.

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And I'm pretty confident that this only...

scratches the surface of what was being said back and forth because sources say that their divorce file had nearly 300 entries and motions and is over 800 pages long. When it comes to custody, they did end up coming to a civil agreement for the sake of the kids and

And they had a 50-50 split. They also agreed on a Wednesday date night. So whichever parent didn't have the kids that week would come over, pick up the kids, and then take them out on a little date night before dropping them back off at the end of the night. And I'm guessing this was to establish some type of normalcy for the kids, which I think is really cool. I know people who had this same setup when they were kids and dealing with divorce. And

And I do admire that. However, things were definitely not sunshine and rainbows between these two by any means. In 2021, there was actually a pretty big dispute where Shanna accused Jared of refusing to give her their son's breathing machine for an upcoming trip that she was taking with the kids.

Of course, she did have a machine of her own, but she said the one that Jared had was a lot smaller and easier to transport. So she wanted to take that one instead. This whole situation was actually brought in front of a judge and Jared ended up having to hand over the machine and also pay Shanna $571. But eventually, the two of them did end up moving on and both found love.

In 2018, Shanna was still doing CrossFit and she ended up meeting a maintenance worker named Mario Fernandez-Saldana. And the two of them must have really hit it off because they got married that same year. Shanna said that Mario became a big part of the twins' lives and integrated well into their family. Mario would eventually go on to manage rental properties

And that'll be important later on. So try to remember that. As for Jared, he also moved on and found the love of his life. In early 2017, Jared met Kirsten on a dating app, and the two of them quickly fell in love and got married as well. They lived together in St. Augustine, Florida, where they had two beautiful daughters, one in 2019 and the other in 2021. And so it seemed like Jared was finally getting his happily ever after.

Even though he was still having issues with his ex-wife, he was now married to an incredible woman who he loved and who loved him. And from just looking at the photos and videos of their new blended family, you can really see how incredible of a father Jared really was. Kirsten says that spending time with his children was one of Jared's biggest passions in life. He would build them playhouses in the yard,

And if he wasn't building something for the kids, then he was working on home improvement projects. He just loved being a family man. And Kirsten describes him as funny, happy-go-lucky, and even a little shy sometimes. And in this new stage of his life, he was still a devoted member of the LDS church and

and he even spent his Sundays as a Sunday school teacher for 11 and 12-year-olds and really treasured his relationship with the church. Overall, it seems Jared was described as a really wonderful person, and that makes what happened to him even more devastating. So that brings us to February 16th, 2022. Jared was driving his two-year-old daughter and his nine-year-old twins back to Ponte Vedra Beach, where Shanna lived, to drop the twins off after a date night.

So he says goodbye to the twins, drops them off with Shanna, and then turns around with his two-year-old daughter still in the car in his Volkswagen Atlas. And he starts making the 45-minute drive back home. And he talks to Kirsten on the phone, and she said everything seemed fine. Nothing seemed even remotely out of the ordinary. But after that phone call was made, everything changed completely.

On his way home, Jared was driving through Sanctuary Boulevard when he noticed a spare tire lying in the middle of the road. And rather than driving around it, he did what any good person would do and he got out of his car to move it.

But that decision to get out of the car and move the tire was a life-changing one because as soon as he did, he was ambushed by a gunman who just came out of nowhere and shot him multiple times, ultimately ending his life. And God, it is just so upsetting thinking that his two-year-old daughter Bexley is in the car when all of this occurs.

she's strapped in her car seat in the back of the car crying for three whole minutes as any baby would thankfully though she wasn't in the car for very long someone came across the scene at around 8 p.m and called 911 and they actually pulled her out of her car seat and held her until ems came and this is also really sad but kirsten had been trying to call jared and had a feeling that something was wrong because he wouldn't have ignored her calls especially when he's just in the car

and police actually ended up answering one of those calls and told her that something happened and she needed to come down to the station. This just truly came out of nowhere. She had no idea what could have happened. Like I said, she knew something was wrong, but she just never could have guessed that

News 4 Jack starts right now with a breaking news alert.

And that breaking news alert comes from Jacksonville Beach. Police investigating a deadly shooting tonight. This is a live look at the scene. Police still out there right now. The shooting happened in the Sanctuary neighborhood, which is right off Butler Boulevard. News for Jax reporter Anne Maxwell joins us live. At least a dozen police cars were at the scene earlier. How is it looking now, Anne?

Well, Stacey, we're at the intersection of Sanctuary Boulevard and Jacksonville Drive. Still an active police presence here. That section of Sanctuary Boulevard totally blocked off. A neighbor tells me he heard three gunshots. He says it was one gunshot followed by a pause and then two more. He says this area is wooded. There aren't any houses on that street right there. He says it goes right on to JTB. So if anything like this happened, it'd be really easy for somebody to just get off,

right there. So the investigation into Jared's murder began right away, but it began slowly. It actually took several weeks for the first legitimate lead, which ended up being a vehicle of interest. After several news releases were sent out asking people to check their security cameras, police announced that they were looking for a dark colored Ford F-150 with a silver toolbox in the trunk. Based on the footage that they recovered, investigators believed that the

tire had not been in the road long before Jared came upon it. So it seemed as if it was put there specifically for him. And again, the question came up, who would want Jared dead? I mean, he was a loving father. He was a member of the community that

No one seemed to have any issues with. He didn't have any obvious enemies, which made finding a person or persons of interest very difficult. Weeks and then months went by without any answers. And I can't imagine how painfully

painful and scary that must have been for Kirsten and the kids. Well today marks six months since the murder of a local father of four, Jared Brattigan. And his murder has attracted national attention, even international attention, with investigators saying he was targeted on a Jacksonville Beach road just outside the sanctuary neighborhood.

Police believe after dropping off his twins at his ex-wife's home, he stopped to move this tire in the road. And that's when he was shot to death in front of his two-year-old daughter, strapped in her car seat until help arrived. - We want it to be safe, so I will protect my mom. - For Kirsten Bright again, it's these moments.

LISA DESJARDINS: That dig into her heart, already hurting from grief. Her daughter now worried about her mother's safety, after she witnessed her father's murder six months ago. She was only 2 1/2 at the time. And Breidigen says, some days, she understands her father is gone, but other days, she talks about looking forward to seeing him come home.

That's excruciating because I have to go back and explain

No, honey, like dad's not going to be there. His body got hurt. Dad died. And then it just like starts all over. Now, as we know, the court of public opinion works fast. And that was definitely the case here because pretty much right away, people became very sus of his ex-wife, Shanna. Word started to spread about their less than friendly divorce. And people began to speculate that maybe Shanna was involved in Jared's murder.

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But speculation and evidence are two very different things, and investigators needed hard evidence. But luckily, it wasn't too long until they had just that. In August of 2022, investigators started to concentrate their efforts on a 61-year-old man named Henry Tennon, who happened to be a man with a criminal record.

Henry, who'd previously been arrested nine times in Jacksonville for minor offenses, was already in jail pending felony charges when investigators wanted to question him in connection to Jared's murder. And their instincts paid off because on January 25th, 2023, after gathering the evidence they needed, Henry was officially charged with murder.

In total, he was charged with second-degree murder with a weapon, conspiracy to commit murder, accessory after the fact to a capital felony, and child abuse. And just to clarify, the child abuse charge comes from the fact that Bexley was in the vehicle when the murder occurred and that projectiles were found just feet away from her. And when his arrest was announced, it was especially emphasized that this was not an

a case closed situation because investigators were confident that Henry did not work alone. Tonight, Jacksonville Beach police have a suspect in a local father's murder. 61 year old Henry Tennant faces several charges for the murder of Jarrett Bright again. This was a planned and targeted ambush and murder.

This is Action News Jax at 6. I'm Tanika Hughes. I'm John Bachman. We're taking you through every aspect of this murder that shook Jacksonville Beach and made headlines nationwide. This is our team coverage now live from the other potential arrests and the link between the suspect and the victim. We start with Action News Jax. Robert Grant live at the Jacksonville Beach Police Department. Robert, the state attorney's office says Henry Tennant did not act alone in this.

Yeah, and John, that's why the suspect has also been charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Today, the Jacksonville Beach police chief had a press conference at the department here asking anybody with information about Henry Tennant to come forward. This was a planned murder.

and targeted ambush and murder. And now this man, Henry Tenen, is in jail for second degree murder in connection to the case. Jared Breidigan was gunned down nearly a year ago. His widow, Kirsten, in tears at today's announcement. The ruthless homicide has pained our community.

But the search for answers isn't over. State Attorney Melissa Nelson says they're keeping most information under wraps, even sealed the 61-year-old suspect's arrest warrant. Now, you're probably wondering how investigators found this guy and how they determined that he was involved. So let me explain. Henry not only drove the same make, model, and color of the Ford that they were suspicious of, but he was also a tenant of a

property managed by none other than Mario Fernandez Saldana. Remember him? That's Shanna's second husband. Now, of course, it is not illegal for Henry to have been renting a property from Mario, but it sure as hell was suspicious and connected him to the victim. And of course, I want to be clear, once again, that suspicion isn't evidence. But the thing is, they didn't arrest him based on suspicion. They actually had

undeniable evidence that he was connected to the murder. In a status hearing in February of this year, not long after being charged, Henry pleaded not guilty on all charges. And I can't imagine how emotional all of this was for Kirsten, finally seeing this man and knowing that the road to justice was going to be long. But she was actually there, and I really commend her bravery for that and continuing to fight for her husband, all while trying to raise her two young children.

From the beginning, she knew that her husband's death was intentional and getting some answers must have been very bittersweet, very overwhelming. Today is a day we have prayed for for almost a year. We are grateful we're here today to see this. This first step happening in the fight for justice for Jared. While we're glad we've made it this far, we know that the road ahead is hard and we have a long road in this fight. Henry Tennant is only one piece, only one

And I think it goes without saying that it must have been terrifying knowing that this was a conspiracy, but not knowing how big it was or who else was involved. And I think it goes without saying that it must have been terrifying knowing that this was a conspiracy, but not knowing how big it was or who else was involved.

And why? And keep in mind, when Henry was arrested, the public didn't know about his connection to Mario. Even Kirsten had no idea how he was involved, how he had known Jared, or why he would want to kill Jared, and said that Jared definitely didn't know him. She said that this confirmed her suspicions from the beginning that this was a conspiracy, but was still equally as confused that

because she had no idea who he was. This was a man with an extensive criminal history and seemingly no connection to Jared. - Honestly, it's really scary. I think that's the best way to describe it is you learn that you have an answer, but as soon as they announced that there was a conspiracy,

And even after Henry's arrest, the investigation was held pretty close to the vest. There

There was no information released about his alleged co-conspirators, and so online speculation was running wild. That was until March 16th, when a second arrest was made, and all the pieces seemed to come together more clearly. Because guess who was arrested?

none other than Shanna's husband, Mario Fernandez Saldana. He was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, accessory after the fact to a capital felony, and child abuse. In late January, we announced the arrest of Henry Tennant on several charges, including conspiracy to commit murder and second-degree murder. Today, we announce the additional arrest.

of Mario Fernandez Saldana for several charges related to Jared's murder. But that wasn't the only shocking announcement of the day. That morning, before Mario's arrest, Henry agreed to a plea deal where he would testify against his co-conspirators in exchange for a lesser sentence.

And as part of his plea, Henry named Mario as a co-conspirator, which is ultimately what led to his arrest. By pleading guilty, the prosecutors dropped all the charges except for the second-degree murder with a weapon, and he is now facing 15 years to life for that. So now let's get into more concrete evidence that investigators found implicating these two in the murder. First of all, investigators found three handwritten checks

that Mario paid to Henry, allegedly associated with the murder. Not only that, but phone records show that the two of them contacted each other 35 times in February of 2022, 30 times in March of 2022, and several more times in May and June of 2022. Now you might be thinking, maybe it had to do with the fact that Henry was renting a place from Mario. Well, that couldn't be the case because that lease ended in February of 2022. And even if it didn't,

Who is talking to their landlord that much? I mean, I'm sure in some cases you are, but it's not very reasonable. There's really no reason for the two of them to be talking after the lease ends. And how come Mario was writing Henry checks after the lease ended? The landlord writing the renter checks? None of this is adding up. Investigators believe 34-year-old Mario Fernandez hired a hitman to ambush Jared Bright again in an attack

on Sanctuary Boulevard in Jacksonville Beach 13 months ago. According to an affidavit, Fernandez paid three handwritten checks to Henry Tennant, who rented a house from Fernandez but didn't have any direct ties to the victim. The state attorney says Tennant admitted to shooting Bright again, pleading guilty to second-degree murder. So even though Mario's arrest in this case was huge,

huge, it definitely wasn't the end of the investigation. It was made clear in news conferences that this was an active and ongoing investigation, and I'm sure you can guess where this is going. On April 4th of 2023, Mario attended an arraignment hearing during which he entered his plea of not guilty. He remained, and still remains, in Duval County Jail without bail.

Mario had his next court appearance on May 3rd, and it was at this hearing that the prosecution announced that the state would be seeking the death penalty. And by this point, there's probably one big question on your mind, and that is, what about Shanna? I mean, she had to have been involved too, right?

Well, following the murder of her ex-husband, Shanna refuted any statement saying that she was somehow involved. She claimed that despite their tumultuous divorce, she never would have wanted anything bad to happen to the father of her children. But despite making these claims, many people wondered if that was true. I'm Victoria Cash, and I want to invite you to a place called Lucky Land.

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A vigil was held for Jared just a few months after he passed, and friends, family, loved ones were all there to show their support and honor him. But Shanna and the twins were not there. They were, however, spotted in that same park next

that the vigil was held in just a day before it took place. Now, Shanna has said that they weren't invited to the vigil, and even if that's true, Kirsten has claimed that Shanna has done everything she can to keep the twins isolated from the rest of the family following Jared's murder. The twins lived with Shanna and Mario during this time, and they didn't get to see their half-siblings or stepmom at all. In an interview with the

In addition to this, many were suspicious because Shanna had hired an attorney in June of 2022 before any arrests were even made. Keep in mind, Henry was arrested in August. According to her own statements, she hired this attorney not because she had anything to hide, but because she said she was fearful for the safety of her kids after they were photographed one day at the park, which was the day before the vigil. But personally, what I think is most strange is how it had been months

since her ex-husband was killed and she hadn't spoke out publicly. It wasn't until the end of June that she finally said something. In her first public statement since the murder, she said that she wanted people to understand where she was coming from. As her innocence has come into question, Shanna Gardner spoke to me in the only TV interview she says she'll be doing to tell her side of the story. I do want people to understand that

where I'm coming from. ALI ROGIN: Almost five months after Jared Breidigan was murdered in the street in front of his 2-year-old daughter, we spoke with his ex-wife, who has not commented publicly so far. Our first question: Why have you stayed silent? JARED BREIDIGAN, I was asked to not talk to the media or give a public statement. But with the level of speculation, I felt that now it was necessary to

to speak out. Shanna Gardner revealed she was asked by Jared Breidigan's widow, Kirsten, not to speak publicly. But we wanted to know how the relationship could have gotten to that point. I'm sure they would say that we've had

happy moments. I mean, we share the two most beautiful children in the world. In 2015, Jared and Shanna divorced. Their court records, which we obtained from the St. Johns County Court System, revealed a long, complicated process lasting over five years. Anytime divorce comes into any situation, it's messy.

It just is. I will say that I think that we both love our kids. Jared and Shanna both wanted full custody. The court file details allegations of spying, deceit and more. In the end, Shanna and Jared reached an agreement. They shared custody and whenever the children were at one parents house, the other would come over Wednesday and have a date night. That's exactly what Jared and his twins did the night he was killed. It was actually one of the one of the things sorry.

I remember my son tucking him in and him saying that it was a good date night. I fell to the floor because I was devastated for what I was going to have to tell my kids. JARED DIED IN THAT STREET, LEAVING BEHIND FOUR CHILDREN AND A HEARTBROKEN FAMILY.

I think in shock later in a blog post, Shanna's mother said she was not invited to the funeral. I asked Shanna about the situation. His family did not invite me or want me there, but the day before a vigil hosted by Jared's widow at Celebration Park, Shanna was photographed at the park with her kids by the tabloid Daily Mail. Talk about a violation of privacy 'cause my kids know that they were photographed and.

They were worried. The tabloid presented the facts in a way that leave room for speculation about Shanna having a role in Jared's death, citing their rocky divorce papers and her absence from the funeral. Even though we didn't always get along, he was still the father of my kids. So I asked Shanna the question. Did you have anything to do with Jared's murder? No, I did not have anything to do.

with his murder. She really sat there and denied having anything to do with Jared's murder. But meanwhile, some pretty crazy accusations were being made. Turns out back in 2015, Shanna had gone to a tattoo shop and became pretty friendly with one of the artists. So friendly that she apparently felt comfortable enough to open up to him all about her divorce and how she just wished Jared would shut up.

And then she allegedly asked this person if they knew anyone who could shut him up. Now, this tattoo artist has been interviewed by police and confirmed these statements to be true. Of course, Shanna, on the other hand, denies there being any meaning behind her words. Oh, and remember that personal trainer that Shanna denied having an affair with? Well, they came forward and said that they did, in fact, have an affair. But to his credit...

He was under the impression that she was separated, so just another lie. But with anything that would come out, she would deny it and say that she wasn't going to comment on it. That was sort of her strategy, it seemed. However, she did give one more statement, this time not on camera, but it is pretty vague. With all the accusations surrounding her tumultuous divorce, you would think she would want to clear the air, but apparently not.

Shanna said, I don't see any good in airing out our dirty laundry. Our relationship is pretty complicated and remains pretty complicated. Now, I will say in terms of the timeline, her denying everything wasn't unusual. I mean, by this point, Henry and Mario hadn't been arrested. But once they were, it became logical.

way harder for her to deny any involvement. And plus, as you probably remember, as part of Henry's plea deal, he had to out any other co-conspirators. And when he outed Mario, guess who he also outed?

You guessed it, Shanna. But of course, when it was time to arrest Shanna, she wasn't living in Florida anymore. Following the extensive media coverage on the case, Shanna decided to move to West Richland, Washington with her twins. Turns out her happy marriage to Mario wasn't so happy and they split up. And it also just so happens that she was planning to move right around the time that investigators are finding the connection between Mario and Henry. Coincidence?

I don't know. But in the end, it honestly doesn't matter where she was living. Her arrest was inevitable. Very recently, on August 17th, Shanna Gardner was arrested on the same four charges as Mario. In the indictment, it's believed that she conspired with Mario to solicit handouts

Henry to murder her ex-husband between November 1st, 2021 and February 16th, 2022. And it's actually believed that Shanna may have been conspiring against Jared as early as May of 2015, just months after filing for divorce. And this arrest must have been a major relief to Kirsten and Jared's entire family. It has been such a relief. I feel like a heavy weight has been lifted off my shoulders with this last arrest and

I know there's a lot still to come, but right now we're feeling good and we're feeling positive. I don't even know how to put it into words, the feeling that we have. You know, there's a sense of happiness that finally this is happening, something that we have felt would be coming, but also sadness for Liam and Abby and what that means for them. So very complicated emotions.

But overall, we are feeling good and we are looking forward to justice being served. I wanted them held accountable and I wanted my kids to know they are off the streets. They are not going to harm our family anymore. And so it's a very good feeling to know that there have been three arrests in this case. They can't tell us the evidence. So, you know, we just have to have faith that

It's by the book. They have enough evidence. It's a strong case. And we're holding to that hope and that belief, and hopefully that'll play out that way in court. For me, it's important to be there to show not only Jared that we're fighting for him, but to show the community, like, we're still here. Thank you for the support. We're still fighting. And to show those involved in his murder

we're not going anywhere no matter how tough it will get we will be here we will be looking you in your face and we will be um hoping for justice and just like mario the state will be seeking the death penalty against shanna many have wondered if either of them will be offered a plea deal like henry but

That's doubtful. Shanna has been held with no bond, and her latest hearing was very recently, September 14th. And prior to this hearing, her lawyer tried to prevent her extradition to Florida, but that doesn't surprise me. Washington does not have the death penalty. And as we know, that's what prosecutors are seeking against her. If she goes to Florida and is found guilty, chances are she will be put to death. And I can't stress enough that refusing to waive extradition isn't normal. A comment in the New York Post posted,

Put it best. Requests for extradition are rarely refused. Refusing or fighting interstate extradition may be fruitful in very limited circumstances, but often it only serves to prevent you from fighting your underlying case, delaying the process.

This may potentially inhibit your local lawyer from preparing a good defense to underlying charges. At the time of refusing extradition, she was considered a fugitive of justice. Her latest hearing just happened on September 14th, and here's what we learned.

At this hearing, we learned that Florida's governor, Ron DeSantis, signed a warrant asking for Shanna's extradition back to the state where the crime took place. In this warrant, he is asking that Washington state governor, Jay Inslee, approve his request so that the case against her can move forward. And I do wonder, if she pleads not guilty, what is she going to say happened?

In my mind, chances are she will try to say something along the lines of, you know, I had said some things that Mario misinterpreted and took too far, took literally, and he killed him, but I had nothing to do with it, and it's not what I wanted. You know, we've heard it before. But I mean, beyond that scenario, I don't really see...

what she could possibly say to claim that she wasn't involved. There's pretty concrete evidence of Mario paying Henry and the two of them communicating multiple times during a very suspicious timeframe. And I wonder if there's more concrete evidence against Shanna. My guess is there probably is.

I am very curious to know if investigators have already accessed their messages and have found any agreement, any plans for the murder, although it's possible they did all that over the phone and that there's no, you know, text trace of it. Like I said, this is an ongoing case and there will be more information coming out, hopefully soon. It's been said that during the discovery process, cop

Copies of the indictment are going to be released and more evidentiary details. So hopefully we will have a much clearer picture in the future. But what I can say is this case is tragic. It's heartbreaking thinking about how those kids are going to have to grow up without Jared. He was definitely a beloved member of his community, a loved father and husband, and

It's just so unnecessary and so very sad. And for him to die in such a violent way, especially in front of his two-year-old daughter, just...

God, it's heartbreaking. But speaking of his daughter, I do want to mention something incredible that Kirsten is doing as a result of this tragedy. On the night of her father's murder, Bexley was brought into the police station to wait for her mother to arrive. And when she was there, there were minimal resources for her. There were no real toys besides a coloring book and a squishy police car. There were no diapers, no nothing. And that's why Kirsten has launched Bexley Boxes.

Bexley boxes provide law enforcement the resources they need to care for a kid experiencing trauma who have to spend time at a police station. They include things like diapers, sippy cups, snacks, toys, blankets, formula, and more. I thought this was just such a cool idea and so selfless of her to want to create something to help other children after they have been through so much trauma themselves. But it's really a cool way to honor Jared as well. And I'm

I think it is such a useful idea and that so many kids will benefit from Bexley boxes. So if you would like to make a donation, I'm definitely going to. So I will have all that information in the description box. It would be really cool if we could send her a bunch of support with this project and help other children in need.

Kirsten also created an Instagram account called Justice for Jared B. That was mainly for when questions were still looming. And she also created the Bright Again Foundation, which you can also donate to. I will have that linked below as well. Now, I'm sure you guys are wondering about the twins. They have remained in Shanna's mother's care at this point. And unfortunately, Kirsten has made several requests to see them, and those have all been denied.

I really hope that they reconsider. I can imagine that would probably be pretty good for their mental health. Kirsten has also somehow managed to explain to her two very young children what happened to their father, especially to Bexley, who witnessed the entire thing. Ultimately, Kirsten feels that the harshest punishment

is justified in this case, which is the death penalty. And I definitely want to hear your thoughts on that because I know the death penalty is a tough one and people have very mixed opinions, but what do you think is the right punishment for Shanna, for Henry, for Mario, if they are found guilty? And I'm also curious to see how everything's going to pan out in the next couple of months. All I can say is I hope that justice, whatever that looks like, is just around the corner for Jared and for this family.

That is going to be it for me today, guys. Thank you for joining me for another episode and make sure you follow the show on Spotify and Apple podcasts. It really does help me out. If you want to watch the video version of this show, you can find it on my YouTube channel, which will be linked, or you can just search Kendall Ray. I will be back with another episode soon, but until then stay safe out there.

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