by Scott Butler
Guardianship of the twin children of slain Jared Bridegan has been awarded to the parents of his jailed ex-wife in the state of Washington, according to court documents.
The children, now 12, had been living with Sterling and Shelli Gardner since 37-year-old Shanna Gardner's arrest in what authorities have called a murder plot during her and Bridegan's ongoing legal battles and contentious relations. Her parents are co-founders of the highly successful Stampin’ Up! arts and crafts company and fixtures in the Mormon community in Utah.
Bridegan's parents, the twins' paternal grandparents, filed a lawsuit asking for unsupervised visitation rights and contested the Gardners' petition for guardianship. In their objection, Gaylord and JoAnne Bridegan asked the court to appoint them as guardians.
They said the Gardners deny their daughter's involvement both publicly and to the children and have obstructed them from having a relationship with their father's family.
"Petitioners aided the mother in fleeing the state of Florida after the murder," their objection said. "... Petitioners will not allow any contact between the children and their stepmother or half-siblings."
Bridegan's parents said they've been involved in the children's lives since birth and can provide a healthier environment for them.
At the news conference following Gardner's arrest, widow Kirsten Bridegan said the twins had been kept away and isolated from them.
"Despite my constant requests to see or speak to them, I have been denied and continuously ignored," she said tearfully. "... I plead with the Gardners to put the emotional and mental well-being of Liam and Abby above all else and allow them to reconnect with us. We are their family, we love them... Let our children be siblings again and put them first and do what's right."
In a story by Times-Unon news partner First Coast News in late January, Bridegan's sister said the family has only had one supervised visit with the twins since he died, and the loss of contact with them is devastating.
"There was this deep sorrow within our family to not only lose him, but to lose that connection to his kids, and so it was extremely important to us, because we know that that's what Jared would want, you know, is to have us in their lives," Ashley Bridegan said.
In a declaration filed Oct. 18 by Rachel Woodward, an attorney in the guardianship, called it a "simple" case. She stated the maternal grandparents have had custody of the children for over a year and have been living with them for almost two years. And Shanna Gardner has consented to appointing her parents as guardians.
The court agreed in its order Monday, stating it "is in the best interest of the children" that Sterling and Shelli Gardner be appointed guardians. It concludes with the parties signing a confidential agreement.
A source close to the case confirms part of that involves visitation rights for the Bridegans.
The Times-Union reached out to both sides for comment.
Timothy Burton Anderson, representing Sterling and Shelli Gardner, said the Gardners forwarded the request to him as their counsel.
"We anticipate a joint comment by the parties to the guardianship matter in the state of Washington by the end of the week," he said.
What happened to Jared Bridegan?
Bridegan, 33, was gunned down in the street in Jacksonville Beach after dropping off the twins at Gardner and her her new husband Mario Fernandez Saldana's home on Feb. 16, 2022. He was on his way home to St. Augustine with his 2-year-old daughter when he was ambushed. Gardner later moved to Washington state and took the twins with her while Fernandez Saldana went to Orlando.
The first arrest was Henry Arthur Tenon, now 63, on Jan. 25, 2023, on charges of conspiracy to commit murder, second-degree murder with a weapon, accessory after the fact to a capital felony and child abuse. He rented a home from Fernandez Saldana, and court records show he received payments from him and had contact with him several times prior to the shooting.
Tenon pleaded guilty a couple of months later on March 16 and agreed to testify against Fernandez Saldana, who was arrested that same day in Orlando. The 36-year-old is charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, solicitation to commit a capital felony and child abuse.
On Aug. 17, 2023, Gardner was indicted on the same charges. She was arrested in the state of Washington where she was living. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against her and Fernandez Saldana.
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Parents of jailed Shanna Gardner get guardianship of Jared Bridegan's twins across country
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