LIVE UPDATES: Closing arguments take court into overtime in Mario Fernandez Saldana trial

The murder trial for Mario Fernandez Saldana is underway in Jacksonville, Florida, for the 2022 shooting death of Jared Bridegan, a 33-year-old Microsoft senior design manager and father of four. Prosecutors allege Fernandez helped orchestrate a murder-for-hire plot targeting Bridegan and that Henry Tenon, Fernandez’s former tenant and handyman, was the gunman. Prosecutors say Bridegan was ambushed and shot after stopping to move a tire deliberately placed in the road in Jacksonville Beach. Fernandez has pleaded not guilty. His wife, Shanna Gardner, is also charged with first-degree murder, and her trial is scheduled to begin in September. The following are live updates from the courtroom. Tenon faces the same charges. Time notes are Eastern Daylight Time. Please forgive typos.

5:56 p.m. Court is adjourned until tomorrow at 9 a.m. EDT.

5:55 p.m. Mizrahi asks whether the judge can hold the alternates or must pick which ones to leave. She says she’s thought of this and believes she can hold them because of the case type. She will call them all back tomorrow and then dismiss those who don’t need to stay prior to deliberations.

5:53 p.m. Judge says she will give jury instructions in the morning, tells jurors she is trusting them to continue to keep their vow not to look up anything on this case or talk to anyone about it. Asks them if they agree to this; they say yes.

5:50 p.m. Mizrahi says these truths about this case, about how Fernandez turned Jared Bridegan into a medical examiner’s number, are so important to Jared and his family. Do you know in your heart and in your mind that this man is involved in this case? Is he held to account, or does he just get to walk away because Henry Tenon has a Fifth Amendment right? Does he get to walk away because he paid someone to do it for him? “This defendant is not the unluckiest man on the face of the earth; he’s just guilty.” I’m confident that you will find that, Mizrahi says.

5:45 p.m. This is what we call a “rock solid case,” the prosecutor says. We have both circumstantial and direct evidence. (judge notes Mizrahi’s microphone is off, and he turns it back on). Mizrahi tells jurors the defense told them they must have no doubt, but that’s not true — that’s not “the real world,” he says. If you have reasonable doubts, they must go to the elements of the crime; the piece Fernandez is accused of is a principal role in the crime.

5:38 p.m. Mizrahi asks: How does Fernandez forget to tell his friend about the Kickstarter investment he gave to Tenon? And why is Tenon evicted if Fernandez is allegedly paying him thousands of dollars for work he was doing? Mizrahi goes through several other things Fernandez said in his interview with police that don’t quite make sense with what he should and shouldn’t know.

5:31 p.m. The judge reminds the jury that what the attorneys say in closing arguments is not evidence and that they are not to consider it as such. Mizrahi continues, but his microphone is off and it’s hard to hear what he’s saying.

5:28 p.m. Mizrahi begins listing places where Fernandez could have invested the money he received from the postnuptial agreement. (Judge calls sidebar)

5:23 p.m. Mizrahi begins talking about Fernandez’s connection to the murder weapon. He points out that the only connection prosecutors can find between the gun’s potential owner (Biggerstaff) and Henry Tenon is Fernandez. Mizrahi asks: Why on earth would Biggerstaff not sell the firearm for a couple of thousand dollars if he has to get rid of it? This doesn’t make sense, he says.

5:20 p.m. Mizrahi says of Fernandez: “He’s either the unluckiest man on the face of the earth, or he’s guilty.” He points out that Fernandez’s phone usage rate shows that he should have been using his phone during the time of the murder, but records show it was turned off. Remember, he also deleted a bunch of information from his phone before meeting with police, Mizrahi says. … I can’t show you what the deletions are because they’re deleted.

5:12 p.m. Mizrahi talks about how Fernandez’s motive was to get $75K from the Gardner family after he split from Shanna, due to the postnuptial agreement. … then moves on to talk about video of the F-15O doing a “dry run” for the killing. Mizrahi suggests that there’s no way Tenon would have known the location was the darkest place in the area without Fernandez’s help. The prosecutor also talks about how uncanny it is that the murder happened away from the kids’ house after the kids had been dropped off and were safe.

4:59 p.m. Mizrahi talks about Fernandez’s interview with police, saying that it was “not even an interview.” He says detectives asked 4 or 5 questions, and then Fernandez went on and on, sharing all kinds of information. Mizrahi says Fernandez is the one who offers up the information that he and Shanna got married because “otherwise he could not help with the kids.”

4:52 p.m. A few points about Henry Tenon, Mizrahi says … he’s a poor man who sees his big-spending landlord driving around in fancy cars and having all sorts of money. This defendant turns Tenon “from a desperate handyman into a hired hitman,” he says. About having no physical or visual evidence that Fernandez was at the crime scene, Mizrahi says: “Newsflash!” Nobody saw Henry commit this crime either. The prosecutor says there’s a lot of arguing that no one saw Fernandez there, no one saw video of him there — guess what? Nobody saw Henry Tenon either, he says.

4:49 p.m. Mizrahi says there’s been a lot of talk about a “shoe drop” that never came in this case … but he argues the “shoe drop” did come. He said it began with the happenstance of finding the tire that matched the one at the scene, propped up against the residence; then they found Henry Tenon’s DNA on the murder weapon (tire). Mizrahi points out that Tenon is a man who is so poor he can’t afford the rent, then in the weeks after he kills the victim, Fernandez pays him $10K. Mizrahi says the “shoe drop” is that Fernandez’s tenant, with whom he had contact over and over, was the murderer. And Fernandez is the only connection between Jared Bridegan and his killer.

4:45 p.m. Assistant State Attorney Alan Mizrahi will be presenting the rebuttal. He first takes issue with the defense criticizing Kristen Bridegan for “not showing the grace” to allow “the people who murdered her husband” to come to his funeral. “This defendant took this man (Jared Bridegan) and turned him into a medical examiner number on a slab,” Mizrahi says. “We don’t tell you this to inflame you, but to inform you.”
Mizrahi tells jurors their decision does not need to be based on whether there’s a text saying “please kill this person for me” or “please show me how the truck was in the gravel for 36 minutes.” That’s not the question. The question is whether or not this defendant is a principal to the first-degree murder of his wife’s ex-husband.

4:41 p.m. Court is back in session.

4:35 p.m. The judge calls for a 5-minute recess while the prosecution sets up for a rebuttal to the defense’s closing argument.

4:33 p.m. Dreicer goes over some of the jury instructions that he says the judge will soon give them and explains what they mean. He asks them again to look for evidence and reminds them that they have to be convinced of Fernandez’s guilt. Dreicer asks jurors to return a verdict of “not guilty” on all counts because … “We believe that Mr. Fernandez is innocent and he got wrapped up in something he knew nothing about.” End of closing argument.

4:30 p.m. Dreicer reminds jurors that prosecutors told them “two people can keep a secret if one is dead” at the beginning of the trial. Then he tells jurors: Henry Tenon is not dead. He’s alive and well. You just didn’t hear any evidence from him. Prosecutors just didn’t put that evidence on in this trial.

4:24 p.m. Dreicer turns to the prosecution’s theory that Fernandez had to be in Tenon’s truck because he doesn’t trust anyone else to commit this crime with him. Then they later say Fernandez is the architect of the crime, and architects hire people to commit crimes. Which is it? Dreicer says both theories can’t be true. He asks: Why did they tell you two separate theories? He suggests the answer is that prosecutors don’t know what happened. They don’t know who is involved in this homicide with Tenon.

4:20 p.m. Court is back in session. Dreicer tells jurors he almost fell out of his chair when, during her closing argument, he heard the prosecutor say: “A week after Jared Bridegan’s death, the defendant transferred $50K from Shanna Gardner’s account to his own personal account.” Dreicer says, “We all know that is not true. It did not happen.”
Dreicer then reminds jurors that he spent time reviewing with a witness the money transfers in detail to show them that no $50K transfer occurred. Detective Johns agreed there were only two small transfers, he says. Driecer says he asked Johns: Do you know that the money went to Fernandez? The detective said “no” — but Driecer says Johns has all of Fernandez’s financial records, so he should know.

4:05 p.m. Judge says jurors need another break. She says court is in recess until jurors buzz that they’re ready to come back.

4:02 p.m. Dreicer mentions the prosecution’s closing argument and attempts to replay a portion of it for the jury. Prosecution objects; judge calls a sidebar.

4 p.m. Dreicer turns to the teachers the defense brought in to testify, saying they did so to show jurors that the marriage between Shanna Gardner and Mario Fernandez was not a fake marriage. Fernandez was very involved in the family’s lives, he says. Driecer says Fernandez and Gardner would not get married, have Fernandez integrate himself into the family and community, with the sole plan of orchestrating this crime 4 years later. “That’s ludicrous,” he says.

3:58 p.m Driecer reminds jurors that he asked John Biggerstaff “every way (he) knew how” whether he gave that firearm to Fernandez. I even tried to trip him up, and Biggerstaff continued to say “no,” Driecer says. He wasn’t even my witness. Prosecutors are trying to fault me for trusting the answers of a “non-credible” witness, but he was their witness, not mine. Prosecutors also brought Biggerstaff’s son in to testify, but the only evidence the son provided was that Fernandez helped him set up for a wedding.

3:53 p.m. Dreicer tells jurors that prosecutors wanted them to believe there was evidence that he mysteriously wiped his phone. He says the defense found evidence that Fernandez got a new phone at that time — and everyone wipes their phone when they get a new phone. This is not mysterious or suspicious at all, he says.

3:51 p.m. Dreicer returns to testimony that Fernandez’s phone was turned off on the night of the homicide. He says whoever had Tenon’s other phone was with Tenon that night — there is no evidence suggesting it was Fernandez, nothing to prove that Fernandez left his home that night. Prosecutors are “just asking you to fill in gaps because they can’t do it,” Dreicer says.

3:48 p.m. Dreicer goes through the testimony, reviewing T-Mobile phone records, and points out that the records have unexplained gaps. T-Mobile knows these records aren’t reliable, he says, “That’s why T-Mobile isn’t in here testifying for you.”

3:45 p.m. Dreicer says, “This is a first-degree murder case; they’re (prosecution) trying to put my client in prison for the rest of his life.” (objection/sustained). … Dreicer rephrases to “this is the most serious crime you can be charged with in Florida.”

3:44 p.m. Dreicer reminds jurors of the call between Carlos Fong and Fernandez — “Please listen to it as many times as you want, because it never says anything they (prosecutors) tell you it says.” Dreicer points out that Fernandez tells Fong $3K is too much to pay for landscaping, then talks about all the work he paid Tenon for:
– First check: $3K for roof work — plenty of evidence that Tenon did this work.
– Second check: $2K for landscaping — On the call with Fong, which Fernandez didn’t know he was being recorded, 11 months after the homicide, Fernandez praises Tenon for his hard work. Dreicer says this call is the most consistent piece of evidence to show that Tenon did work for Fernandez.
– Third check: $5K for Kickstarter — not mentioned in the call, but Dreicer says that means nothing.

3:35 p.m. Dreicer reminds jurors there is no DNA linking Fernandez to this homicide. He also reminds them that there is no gun evidence that connects Fernandez to this homicide — the prosecution’s witness testified to Biggerstaff having garden tools in a gun cabinet on his back porch; that’s it. Dreicer says the worst mistake by investigators was when they found the F-150 truck at Jimmy Jones’ house and never interviewed him about it or searched his house.

3:30 p.m. Dreicer mentions a “flurry of phone calls” that happened after Henry Tenon’s arrest. He reminds jurors of Jeremy Orwall, Tenon’s friend who lived with him for a time, and says he is the connector between Tenon and Mario Fernandez — “Of course, they would call each other after Tenon’s arrest; they both know him,” Dreicer says.
The attorney continues to question why prosecutors would give jurors certain pieces of evidence and not others — Why didn’t they tell you his former female “friend” who testified for them was also a former romantic interest? Why did they suggest to you that Fernandez tried to flee the area after Jared’s death when he’s actually just going on a trip to see friends? “I don’t know who flees to Pittsburgh!” Dreicer says. He adds that there’s no evidence in this trip to connect Fernandez to the homicide.

3:23 p.m. As defense attorney Dreicer continues his closing argument. He turns to the box of boots brought in as evidence and says: We can all agree that this box of boots has no importance to the murder of Jared Bridegan, so why do I want you to see it? He says it’s an example of how prosecutors are trying to force evidence on the jury and get them to connect dots that do not exist.

3:19 p.m. Court is back in session.

2:59 p.m. Judge interrupts Dreicer and asks if this is a good place to stop and give jurors a break. Judge orders short break; court is in recess until 3:15 p.m.

2:58 p.m. Dreicer points again to Fernandez’s interview with police, saying his client didn’t deny that the custody relationship between him, Shanna and Jared Bridegan was not a good one. Dreicer says Fernandez knew the children’s therapists and medications, as a good parent would. Says Fernandez didn’t try to hide anything.

2:50 p.m. Dreicer says prosecutors have to show jurors that Biggerstaff’s 10mm Glock was used in the crime and “they can’t do that.” He says evidence shows that Biggerstaff bought the gun in 2016 and had many other guns, but he got rid of all of them — including the 10mm — when he lost the right to own guns. It’s not just this gun that’s missing.
Dreicer says prosecutors say this gun is so rare that it has to be the one involved, but then questioning showed that investigators went to one pawn shop and found that 6 guns of the same type were sold there at the time of the killing. Dreicer reminds jurors that detective Johns said investigators didn’t follow up to see if any of those guns were connected to Fernandez or Tenon.

2:48 p.m. Dreicer points out that when Fernandez is interviewed by police, he goes in voluntarily and submits to a DNA swab. Says the prosecution suggests this is because he was so smug he thought he wouldn’t get caught; Dreicer suggests it’s because he knew he was not there when Jared was killed and had nothing to do with it — none of his DNA was in the truck. We’ve established there was another person in the truck at the time of the killing, Dreicer says, but we don’t know who that person is. He says the prosecution has to tell you who that was, and alleges they don’t know.

2:45 p.m. Dreicer says John Biggerstaff testified that he didn’t talk to Fernandez about a gun. He says video evidence shows why Fernandez was at Biggerstaff’s house — a sexual relationship with Biggerstaff’s wife. Says prosecutors want you to put aside that evidence of “a different lifestyle” and decide he was plotting a murder, instead — you can’t do that.

2:43 p.m. Prosecutors gave you a string of half-truths and are asking you to believe they point to Fernandez’s connection to the murder, Dreicer says. He then goes to phone evidence for Fernandez, says prosecutors don’t have any evidence that it moved anywhere on the night of the homicide. Why would Fernandez go to Tenon’s home on the day before the murder? Dreicer reminds jurors that he showed them evidence that Fernandez made multiple visits a day, multiple times prior to that, when he was doing work at the property. Prosecutors say there’s no evidence that work was done by Fernandez at the house, but Dreicer says a surveillance camera clearly shows changes to the residence because of somebody’s work on it.

2:36 p.m. Dreicer points to a Jan. 4 phone call between Fernandez and Tenon, and that had prosecutors believe the call had something to do with the murder. But could Fernandez have been asking for past-due rent? Dreicer says there’s no evidence for either scenario and admonishes jurors: You don’t have to believe their version any more than you have to believe any other suggestion as to what the call was about. The attorney continues this line of thought, casting doubt on the prosecution’s theory regarding several key events and meetings for which there is little to no evidence that they have to do with a murder plot.

2:30 p.m. Dreicer criticizes detective Johns’ testimony, suggesting he would answer all the prosecutor’s questions but dodge all questions from the defense. He also points out that this was Johns’ first time being the lead investigator on a homicide case, and that he doesn’t even do the job full-time anymore; Johns is working in finance while finishing this case as a “part-time” investigator.

2:24 p.m. Dreicer goes over more testimony about how investigators could not follow the F-150 for the whole night; says there are holes in their case they can’t fill. Talks about how the investigators found video of the killer and the widow in the same frame on the night of the homicide, but they cannot give you evidence that shows Mario and Tenon together that night.

2:20 p.m. Dreicer says that, in her closing argument, Stifler “was like Oprah Winfrey handing out cars” in saying “you get to believe this” and you get to believe that” to members of the jury. He says that is not true; that’s not how the law works. He suggests prosecutors just want jurors to guess and fill in the gaps in their minds. “They didn’t meet their burden in this case,” the attorney says.

2:18 p.m. Dreicer talks of a detective who testified that he worked “with great care” to put this case together and connect the crime back to Mario Fernandez — but then the defense pointed out that the time was wrong on a video, and that police don’t know where the truck in question was for 36 minutes. Dreicer also points out that while Fernandez didn’t report Tenon’s F-150, and neither did anyone else. He suggests that’s because there are thousands of these vehicles out on the streets, and the surveillance video police released to the media wasn’t clear. “There is no evidence that (this truck) was anywhere near the Fernandez residence” that day, nor at other key locations in the case, he says.

2:10 p.m. Dreicer reminds jurors that Kristen Bridegan testified that Mr. Fernandez never had any fights with her late husband, Jared Bridegan. He says that after Jared died, Kristen asked to go to Shanna and Mario’s residence so all the parents could deliver news of Jared’s death to the children, together. He says Shanna and Mario agreed and invited them into their home. Dreicer says this shows Kristen wasn’t afraid of them, either. But says Kristen “didn’t extend the same grace” to them, when she would not allow Shanna to attend Jared’s funeral with her daughter.

2:08 p.m. Dreicer goes through the list of the state’s witnesses and explains why the defense either didn’t question them or countered their testimony. He points to one police witness who described how dark the area was where the crime occurred, but Dreicer reminds them that the witness also testified that there were streetlights in the area.

2:05 p.m. Sidebar ended. Objection overruled. Dreicer emphasizes that the law requires jurors to have specific details of how these crimes were committed in order to convict. No question, this case is sad, the attorney says, but you cannot use any emotion you may feel about the circumstances of the killing in making your decision. Dreicer says prosecutors alleged Fernandez’s “motive … is because they weren’t happy with the child custody arrangement in this case.” But he says there is no evidence presented that frustration with the arrangement led to murder. He says there is also no evidence that Shanna Gardner and Mario Lopez attempted to change that agreement.

1:55 p.m. Dreicer tells jurors to look for “one piece of evidence” that Mr. Fernandez committed this crime. (Dreicer pauses, apparently to fix a technical issue.) Continuing, he says prosecutors first “have to prove to you that there’s evidence of some meeting that took place that you’ve heard no evidence of, and then they have to tell you exactly what happened at that meeting …” (prosecutor objects/sidebar called)

1:50 p.m. Dreicer says prosecutors say the murder was caused by the act of Mario Fernandez — but this is “absolutely not true.” He says there was no premeditated effort to kill Jared Bridegan. Dreicer asks: What does prosecution have to prove to you with no doubt? What do you have to be convinced of? You have to know that Mario Fernanez intended for this crime to happen. He tells them to look through the evidence presented and ask yourself: What was said that is proof the defendant intended this crime to occur.

1:45 p.m. Attorney Jesse Dreicer will give the closing statement for the defense. He starts by telling jurors “three facts”: Jared Bridegan was murdered. Henry Tenon murdered him. Mario Fernandez Saldana had no motive to kill Jared Bridegan. Dreicer says Mr. Hill (his partner in the defense case) told you these facts at the beginning of this trial, and those facts are still true now.

1:41 p.m. Court is back in session; the jury is being brought in. The defense’s closing argument is next.

12:22 p.m. Jury is excused for lunch recess. The judge restricts their phone usage from here on out. Court is in recess until 1:30 p.m. EDT.

12:21 p.m. Stifler tells jurors there are some theories out there on what “could have” happened, but they can’t look at that. “You have to look at what the evidence here shows you. She says the law does not require microscopic evidence; it does not require an absence of all doubt. In this case, “it is unexplainable in any other way for all of these (the points of evidence) to add up together.” If you believe Mario had a part in any of it, you have a duty to find him guilty, she says. “The shooter was a stranger. The murder was personal,” she adds, arguing this defendant is “the thread that runs through this whole tapestry” of evidence, and he is the reason it all comes together.

12:19 p.m. Stifler tells jurors that in the defense team’s closing argument, they will say there is no DNA, no witness, no surveillance, to connect Mario to this crime — and no evidence to show Mario gave Henry the gun. That is because of the nature of this crime — almost the perfect crime, she says. Then argues: How can I show you evidence of texts between Mario and Henry, when the defendant deleted them? There’s no way Mario would write “for murder” on the check; if you outsource a murder, you’re going to do it in a way that will make sure no one can connect you to it, she says. “That doesn’t mean he didn’t plan it, want it, execute it — it doesn’t mean he’s not satisfied with the outcome,” she says.

12:16 p.m. Between Fred Barton, Juan Biggerstaff and John Biggerstaff, someone is lying to you. Ask yourself: who has the most reason to lie? Remember — John Biggerstaff chuckles and tells police, “I don’t know anyone who owns a 10mm Glock, other than myself.” If it’s that rare, why is the only other person who has that gun Henry Tenon? And she asks: how did John Biggerstaff write down the serial number and keep it forever, but then accidentally write down the wrong serial number on the police report?

12:10 p.m. Stifler points out that when the police announce their arrest of Henry Tenon on the media, what is the first thing you think he would do? Wouldn’t he call Shanna and say, “Oh, my gosh! They caught the man who killed your ex-husband!” Mario even knows Tenon. But he never calls her. Stifler argues that this is because he already knows who killed Jared, and he wants no more contact with Shanna.

12 p.m. Stifler plays a phone call of Mario talking with his friend and Mario says Jared was a jerk. People were coming up to him and saying, “I get it,” he said on the call. Stifler says jury needs to consider the totality of what Mario said – and didn’t say – on the calls.

11:52 a.m. Mario Fernandez is the connecting thread between Henry Tenon and Shanna Gardner, Stifler says. Mario Fernandez wiped his phone on Aug. 26, 2022 – a week after Tenon was arrested and Mario was told he’s being looked at for murder. Mario then listed his house for sale and tries to put as much difference between himself and Teton, Stifler says.

11:47 a.m. Stifler says police solved the “unsolvable crime” when they found the tire and they went door-to-door, knocking on doors and boots on the crowd. “They spoke to people who had a motive against Jared Bridegan,” she says. It was good detective work and a little bit of luck. If it wasn’t for the tire, the defendant wouldn’t be sitting here today, Stiffler says.

11:40 a.m. On Feb. 17, Mario spends the whole day with John Biggerstaff. On Feb. 28, Mario transfers $50,000 to First Choice Bank. Stifler continues to walk through a timeline and discusses email. She shows checks that were deposited, including the three that were given to Henry Tenon.

11:30 a.m. Stifler says nobody wanted Jared Bridegan more than Mario and his wife. Henry Tenon had very few close associates – his girlfriend, his roommate, and Mario Fernandez Saldana. Prosecutor shows photos of the scene, the school and the retirement community nearby.

11:15 a.m. Stifler reviews further video from the police interview and says Mario pre-planned the execution of Jared Bridegan. She shows maps and cell phone data showing his movements. Stifler says Mario and Henry Teton got into his truck and Mario showed Teton where to go. The day before the homicide, Mario meets with Tenon at the Potomac home. Then he goes to Biggerstaff’s home, the man who owns the firearms. Mario has sex with Biggerstaff’s wife.

11:06 a.m. Stifler says she doesn’t care if Jared Bridegan was the worst person, he didn’t deserve to die. Stifler walks through Tenon receiving large amounts of money from Mario. She plays clips of Mario talking to police and Stifler says Mario knew about date night. She talks about John Biggerstaff remembering Google searches and his fall at the Circle K, but he can’t recall details about his guns, cases, or ammunition.

10:58 a.m. “The law doesn’t require us to prove the why, but in this case, the why proves the who,” Stifler says. She lays out a timeline of the case and Mario’s actions.

10:55 a.m. Stifler says the plan was designed to never track back to Mario. She explains what criminal solicitation means. She says while they are separate, independent charges, Mario is guilty of both.

10:53 a.m. Motive, means, opportunity — Stifler shows the words on the screen. Says Tenon didn’t have any of these, but Mario Fernandez Saldana did. Stifler says it makes no sense that Teton would commit the crime independently and alone.

10:50 a.m. Stifler says a real man was wiped off the face of the earth on a dark road on Feb. 9 for no good reason. “Lying on the pavement dying while his two-year-old daughter is panting in his car seat, wondering if the police are going to help her daddy, ice cream still sticky on her mouth.”

10:46 a.m. Stifler explains what premeditated murder is and says this crime was premeditated. She tells the jury to listen to the judge’s instructions. Stifler says the evidence relates to each other and should be viewed in its totality. Saldana is charged with first-degree murder and solicitation. Stifler says there is no doubt that Henry Tenon pulled the trigger and shot Jared Bridegan. “But in this case, not just one person is guilty because this crime is not a crime committed by just one person.”

10:40 a.m. Stifler tells just their decision must be based on the law, not emotion. “We have proven our case and this defendant is criminally responsible for the planning and preparation of the death of Jared Bridegan.” She explains what reasonable doubt is.

10:38 a.m. Court is back in session. Jury is being brought in. Judge tells jurors that the closing arguments are not evidence, but they should listen closely. Each side will have equal time. Stifler will give closing argument for state. “Jared Bridegan never saw it coming. He was unarmed, unaware, exposed, vulnerable. He had no time to prepare for death. He couldn’t have known on that cold asphalt in February 2022 that the architects of his death had been making plans for months.”

10:26 a.m. Prosecutor is now setting up the courtroom for closing arguments.

10:20 a.m. Court is back in session. Judge going through jury instructions with the attorneys to make sure they agree with all of them before they are given to the jurors. The jury is not in the courtroom at the moment.

9:36 a.m. Defense says if the state can close this morning, the defense could close this afternoon. Before closings, they need to hold a charging conference lasting about 15 minutes. Defense renews all previous objections. Judge will go over jury instructions off-the-record until 10 a.m.

9:32 a.m. Judge asks Mario if he understands his rights and the positives/negatives about him testifying or not testifying. She stresses again that he is presumed innocent and he makes the decision about whether he testifies or not. “I don’t need to testify. I don’t need to prove anything.” Judge says, “I want to know what you want. Do you want to testify or not?” He says he does not want to testify and this is his decision and his alone.

9:26 a.m. Defense rests. No further witnesses. Fernandez Saldana is now called before the judge. Judge London Kite says she has some things to explain to Saldana and she wants him to interrupt if he doesn’t understand what she is saying. Judge tells Mario he is presumed innocent and that the state of Florida has the burden of proof. Mario understands that it’s his right to remain silent. Kite tells Mario it’s his life and he can decide whether to testify or not.

9:23 a.m. Prosecutor begins by asking if what Lauren says is her opinion. She says yes. Prosecutor asks if Lauren knew Jared lived quite a distance from the school – 40 miles away. She did not know at the time. She was unaware there was a nasty child custody dispute between the couple. When Shanna and Mario started to separate, Mario no longer did anything with the children. Shanna then pulled the kids out of school and moved them to Washington. On Feb. 16, Lauren saw a social media post of Shanna and her daughter doing gymnastics. No further questions from either side. Witness is excused.

9:20 a.m. Lauren says there was a Justice for Jared social media page that had some inflammatory comments. Lauren reached out to Kirsten and asked her if she would remove a post. She did. Lauren says the students were very happy at the school. Mario was present for most school events, came to pick them up, and attended parent-teacher conferences. Lauren learned Shanna and Mario were in couples counseling. They decided to move to Washington state and were sobbing on the last day of school before they moved. Lauren attended a memorial service for Jared that was put on by their children. They wrote letters to their dad and “it was very pleasant.” No further questions from defense.

9:17 a.m. Dreicer has a few follow-up questions, and Petra is excused. Next witness is Lauren Meredith. Lauren worked as a teacher at Discovery School. In 2022, she taught two of Shanna and Jared’s kids. Lauren met Jared during the school open house. She said he was “almost condescending,” and he asked what was so special about the Discovery School. “It kind of came off as a negative undertone.” Lauren had interactions with Kirsten Bridegan and they were always pleasant. After Shanna and Mario went on a trip to Hawaii, they told the school they were separating. Discovery School is a private school. After the homicide, the school blocked certain search terms on the computers and fences were put up around the school to protect against media because there was a lot of media coverage.

9:13 a.m. Assistant State Attorney Christina Stifler asks if there is a gravel parking lot behind the school. There is. Petra received an email on a Thursday night from Shanna letting the school know that the children’s father had passed away and the kids would not be coming to school the next day. Shanna did not say there was a criminal investigation. Petra is unaware that Maria and Shanna are still married. No further questions from the prosecution.

9:10 a.m. Before Jared was killed, Shanna said Mario was moving out during spring break. Then Jared died and Shanna said Mario was going to wait and move out in the summer. Mario and Shanna were caring parents, Petra says. They lived right next to the school and there was appropriate parent-teacher communication. Petra never met Jared Bridegan. No further questions from defense.

9:04 a.m. Back in the courtroom. Prosecution rested yesterday. Defense will now present its case. First witness called: Petra Obritzberger. Defense attorney Jesse Dreicer is questioning her. She works at the Discovery School in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. The first couple she met was Shanna Gardner and Mario Fernandez Saldana. Shanna told Petra that Jared Bridegan, her ex-husband, had died. Shanna shared with teachers and Petra before the murder that Mario was moving out. The school wants to know when there are changes with families or the home to understand the students behavior.