JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The lawyers for Shanna Gardner are asking a Duval County judge to order a review of all communications between her and her estranged husband, Mario Fernandez.
Gardner and Fernandez are charged with conspiracy to commit murder in the death of Gardner’s ex-husband, Jared Bridegan, who was ambushed, shot, and killed just moments after he dropped off the twins he shared with Gardner in early 2022.
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The admitted gunman, Henry Tenon, was arrested and charged a year later.
Later on, Gardner and Fernandez were arrested and charged. They could face the death penalty if convicted.
A new motion filed by their attorneys said Gardner and Fernandez are invoking spousal privilege and asked the judge to appoint a special master or taint team to review their communications to determine which are confidential under state law, and thus excluded as evidence.
In May, Judge London Kite threw out contested communications that the State Attorney’s Office intercepted through a search warrant. Kite ruled that the SAO inadvertently reviewed some communications protected under attorney-client privilege.
Kite said she would be very involved in ongoing case management of the discovery material “to make sure there will be no further errors in exposing attorney/client privilege.”
Gardner and Fernandez are being held without bond and have a status conference on June 25.