A murder trial began this week in Jacksonville, Florida. The man on trial is accused of planning the ambush killing of a Microsoft manager. The state says the killing came from a bitter divorce fight. They say it was not a random attack.

Mario Fernandez Saldana, 38, faces two charges. One is first-degree murder. The other is asking someone else to commit murder. Jury selection and opening statements happened this week in a Duval County courtroom. Fernandez Saldana is the first of three people to stand trial in this case.

The case has drawn national attention. Jared Bridegan, 33, worked as a design manager for Microsoft. He was shot to death on a dark road in Jacksonville Beach. It happened in February 2022. His young daughter was in the car when it happened.

The state says Bridegan had just dropped off his 9-year-old twins at his ex-wife's house. He was driving home to St. Augustine. His 2-year-old girl from his second marriage was with him. Someone had left a tire in the road. Bridegan got out to move it. He was shot twice and killed.

Prosecutor Christina Stifler spoke to the jury. Her full title is Assistant State Attorney. She said the killer was a stranger to Bridegan. "The murder was personal," she said. She said the tire was placed on purpose. It was left in a dark spot. She said it was a place where "no one would see and no one would know."

Stifler said the real motive goes back further. It traces to Bridegan's divorce from his ex-wife, Shanna Gardner. The two split in 2015. They shared twins. Stifler told jurors the former couple "fought over everything." She called the fights "nasty" and "petty." They fought over custody, faith, and parenting.

Gardner later married Fernandez Saldana. He worked as a gym repair man. The state says Fernandez Saldana is the one who found someone to kill Bridegan. Police found a tire at a rental home tied to Fernandez Saldana. It matched the tire left in the road. DNA on the tires led police to a man. His name is Henry Tenon. He is 65. The state calls him the hired gunman.

Records show Tenon got 10,000 dollars after the killing. The checks said the money was for landscaping and roof work. They did not say murder. Tenon first pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 2023. He agreed to testify. He later took back that plea. Now he waits for his own trial. It is set for 2027.

Defense attorney James Hill spoke for Fernandez Saldana. He told the jury his client had no reason to want Bridegan dead. He said Fernandez Saldana paid Tenon for real work. Not for a killing. "Mario Fernandez has hired him to do work, not murder," Hill said. Fernandez Saldana took a road trip to Pennsylvania after the murder. Hill said that trip does not prove guilt.

Bridegan's second wife, Kirsten, sat in the courtroom. She was there for the opening statements. She has said she suspected Gardner right away. She pushed police to look into her. Gardner moved to Washington state after the killing. She got full custody of the twins. Police arrested her there in August 2023.

Gardner faces her own charges. They include first-degree murder, plotting to kill, asking someone to kill, and child abuse. She has pleaded not guilty. Her trial is set to start in September 2026. That is right after Fernandez Saldana's case wraps up.

The state had wanted the death penalty for Fernandez Saldana. They later took it off the table. Two other charges against him were dropped in late July. Those were plotting to kill and child abuse. He now faces only the murder charge and the hired-killing charge.

The trial in Jacksonville is now underway. For now, the case is a warning. It shows how far a custody fight can go when it turns deadly.