FL - Jared Bridegan, 33, father of 4, ambushed & killed, Jacksonville Beach, 16 Feb 2022 *3 arrests, 1 guilty*

[Via Marple]

Murdered Microsoft exec's widow says he was targeted and shot multiple times | Daily Mail Online

"The grief-stricken widow of a Microsoft executive who was gunned down in the middle of the road in February in an unexplained murder has revealed to DailyMail.com that he was shot multiple times in a targeted, assassination-style killing.
..."

Some more details revealed in this interview, such as..

Jared had just dropped off his nine-year-old twins A and L with their mother, S, when he was killed. He shared custody of the kids with his ex-wife and took them out for dinner every Wednesday near their home on the weeks that they were staying with their mother

And there is map with timeline


It is not just a one way street with trees and no Ring doorbell, as widow KB describes, but the spot is mere yards away from a highway (202) (sorry if I am not well versed in local terminology... But I did live in the area for a few months years ago)

After that it would have been fast driving for an hour all the way to St Augustine, quite impossible to ambush him.

It looks really well planned and executed.

 

[worm]

Some more details revealed in this interview, such as..

Jared had just dropped off his nine-year-old twins Abby and Liam with their mother, Shanna, when he was killed. He shared custody of the kids with his ex-wife and took them out for dinner every Wednesday near their home on the weeks that they were staying with their mother

And there is map with timeline
View attachment 340052

It is not just a one way street with trees and no Ring doorbell, as widow KB describes, but the spot is mere yards away from a highway (202) (sorry if I am not well versed in local terminology... But I did live in the area for a few months years ago)

After that it would have been fast driving for an hour all the way to St Augustine, quite impossible to ambush him.

It looks really well planned and executed.

Thanks for posting that. So he was killed 2.2 miles from a golf course? There has to be a bunch of cameras in this neighborhood so maybe one could catch a vehicle going to or from this scene?

 

[TGIRecovered]

I noticed that it’s reported that he dropped off the twins at 7:30 PM and was gunned down 2 miles from the home where he dropped them off. He was on the route to head directly home and he had his baby in the car. I am puzzled as to why his body wasn’t discovered until 9:50 PM?
He was reportedly shot multiple times from just a few feet away as soon as he exited the vehicle, leaving the vehicle in the roadway. I wonder if any cars drove around him and kept going. It just doesn’t seem likely that the road to the highway, close to a residential neighborhood, would be that deserted between 730 and 10 PM.

My take:
I see two couples sharing custody of two adorable twins. Four adults. One is dead, two have spoken publicly. I could be mistaken but unless there’s an interview I missed there’s one person who isn’t talking.
Please correct me if I’m wrong. MOO

 

[TGIRecovered]

Thanks for posting that. So he was killed 2.2 miles from a golf course? There has to be a bunch of cameras in this neighborhood so maybe one could catch a vehicle going to or from this scene?

Someone could have preemptively hidden the tire in the brush near the road, left their car somewhere in the neighborhood where it wouldn’t look out of place and walked to the location of the ambush. Or it could’ve been a vehicle that belongs in the neighborhood. Could be a resident, delivery vehicle or frequent visitor. MOO

 

[Mauig’ma]

Is there a reason why the ex wife hasn’t said a word? Why wouldn’t the older kids(the twins) be at the funeral for their own dad? Many questions imo

 

[vls12345]

https://twitter.com/BrianEntin/status/1515097330789371907?s=20&t=-mXjkNr2e4VKpGRsZz93kA

“She knows Daddy was on the ground. Daddy got hurt. She asks questions about why.” Jared Bridegan’s 2-year-old daughter watched as he was savagely murdered in Florida. Now his widow is demanding justice for the father of four.

 

[SteveP]

I just learned of this case, but after catching up, my initial thoughts were that surely LE have to have a good idea who did this, but do not have enough evidence at this time to charge anyone. Maybe they need to get the blue truck in their possession first. I am very surprised that there is apparently not at least a POI at this point. JMO

 

[Curious_in_NC]

Murdered Microsoft exec's widow says he was targeted and shot multiple times | Daily Mail Online

"The grief-stricken widow of a Microsoft executive who was gunned down in the middle of the road in February in an unexplained murder has revealed to DailyMail.com that he was shot multiple times in a targeted, assassination-style killing.
..."

This article included this poster about the truck. I would have to assume the top picture is a very similar model from a dealer lot, and not the actual truck, although there's not the usual disclaimer. And the bottom pic is the actual truck. The F-150 is still one of the most popular US vehicles out there. But how common is this color/option package? Do those look like factory option, or like aftermarket, running boards and wheels?

I'm wondering as I had a somewhat similar but slightly older Ford truck. You wouldn't think the model/color/options were unique, but I've only ever seen just one other one that was like it ( it was only made for half a model year). If this poster gets widely distributed in the area, and it's an uncommon truck model/color, I hope they can get some good leads from it.

 

[scriabina]

My take:
I see two couples sharing custody of two adorable twins. Four adults. One is dead, two have spoken publicly. I could be mistaken but unless there’s an interview I missed there’s one person who isn’t talking.
Please correct me if I’m wrong. MOO

I was only aware of one speaking publicly (the current wife). Could you link to quote the other party? Thanks!

 

[KaylynnCouture]

Where was the grainy surveillance picture of the truck taken at?

 

[Via Marple]

Thanks for posting that. So he was killed 2.2 miles from a golf course? There has to be a bunch of cameras in this neighborhood so maybe one could catch a vehicle going to or from this scene?

LE must have tracked down nearby security cameras and made the clearest shot of the truck public.

I don't see any more information being disclosed, where it was taken, how they know that one was the suspect etc.

MOO

 

[TGIRecovered]

I was only aware of one speaking publicly (the current wife). Could you link to quote the other party? Thanks!

I think we have the same question, scrabina. I wote my post based upon my recollection of the overall msm coverage. I think there were statements from both women in some form, (maybe they spoke to a repoter or made a public sm post mentioned by msm) but I marked it MOO, (my opinion only) and asked to be corrected if I am wrong because I'm not local and haven't followed the case closely.
If you have followed closely and seen statements from the wife only, I will defer to your knowledge of the case and thank you for sharing!

 

[cattlekate]

Thank you scriabina and via maple for the maps. And Moxie Vi for the reporter link. These are so helpful.

The maps and video tell me:
1) Jared probably didn’t have 50/50 physical custody. Just guessing but Jared probably had custody 1/3 of the year at the most. He is most-likely the main breadwinner for his first two kids. Child support to the ex might’ve been reasonably fair - maybe 1500/mo plus health insurance coverage. And there should’ve been temporary alimony after the divorce. When did it expire?

2) This was a total set up. The wheel must have DNA, hair, fibers. Whether it was a set up by people who knew Jared or random psychos, who knows at this point.

3) The obit’s mention that the current wife is Jared’s “eternal companion” makes me sad and on alert, as a former Utahan. I guess we can’t ruminate about if first wife and Jared were Sealed in the Temple.

 

[cattlekate]

Good point.

There can be many variations in divorce settlements and not all divorces involve child support. As you stated, a 50/50 joint custody could reduce the probability of child support as he would be providing for the children while they lived with him.

If the settlement did not include child support, I wonder if there was a strong expectation by the other party that the settlement would have included child support? And..... that given his income, the amount should have been pretty substantial?

Public records show Jared and ex-wife have been divorced for a while.

Maps indicate it was not 50/50 physical custody. People get confused about “joint custody” vs “physical custody.”

The distance between parents indicate Jared Bridegan was not the primary care giver.

 

[vls12345]

The secularization of society has hit the Mormons to the same degree as it has every other religious group- hard, and getting harder.

Over the years, I have known three divorced Mormons, including one who had temple status (I am not familiar with Mormonism, but I believe that status shows extra devotion).

Though there are undoubtably Mormon families, as with some say, Catholic families where a divorce causes more shame stress etc than average, my suspicion is that divorce is no longer a "show stopper" amongst Mormons.

Even still, there is plenty of room for anger in divorces, whether they are between mormons or atheists.

It looks like the divorce was 3.5 years ago, time for initial tempers to cool off.

The fact that the victim had remarried and had a rewarding, demanding career would probably reduce post divorce disputes from his side. Both of these elements are good incentives to move on.

I wonder if his former wife had equal incentives to move on?

Or, could she be more likely to make additional demands, become jealous, or be just plain bored and prone to start, for lack of a better term, "screwing with the ex" via frivolous complaints etc. ?

I agree that whoever killed him knew him. Beyond that, I don't think his ex would be involved, because even if she was greedy, he was young and worth more alive than dead. Plus, his ex would not likely have life insurance on him. The kids might have been beneficiaries, though, which would indirectly make her a beneficiary.

His obituary listed that he taught Sunday School classes for 11- and 12-year-olds. In the divorce, I wonder which parent was given final say over religious teachings? (Assuming that FL has a standard for one parent to be listed as the final decider on certain areas of each minor child's life, like education, extracurriculars, medical, religious, etc....) His twins would soon be approaching the age of the kids he taught in Sunday School. I wonder if there was any strife or problem between him and his ex in relation to religion for the kids? Are there any big milestone/ceremonies for kids in that age range in the LDS church? (I don't know because I know little about the LDS faith tradition.)

(I'm kind of thinking along the lines of Katie Holmes divorcing Tom Cruise before their daughter became old enough to really get enmeshed in Scientology. I realize Scientology and LDS are **not the same at all**. I say this only to illustrate how parents can be diametrically opposed about their child's or children's religious path.)

If so, would that be enough of a motive?

(Or strong disagreement on any of those areas, really. Like medical treatments. Or school. There could be motives other than money....)

Just musing/MOO.

 

[BoyThatsWeird]

Although they're unrelated, this crime reminds me of one I heard about on a podcast. I believe it was a cop driving home who stopped to remove debris out of the road so other motorists wouldn't hit it. While out of his car he was ambushed and killed. It's driving me nuts that I can't think of what podcast/case I'm thinking of. Any of you true crime connoisseurs know what I'm talking about? Searched all my past played podcasts and couldn't find it...am I going nuts?

 

[scriabina]

Although they're unrelated, this crime reminds me of one I heard about on a podcast. I believe it was a cop driving home who stopped to remove debris out of the road so other motorists wouldn't hit it. While out of his car he was ambushed and killed. It's driving me nuts that I can't think of what podcast/case I'm thinking of. Any of you true crime connoisseurs know what I'm talking about? Searched all my past played podcasts and couldn't find it...am I going nuts?

Jason Ellis. Was the exact same age as Jared too.

Very similar indeed:

Ellis had just finished his shift and was headed home. He veered right, exiting the highway but stopped on the ramp when he saw something blocking the road.

He stepped out of his vehicle to remove the tree debris, which police say was deliberately placed there. Out of the moonlit sky, bullets flew, killing Ellis. He was 33.

I wonder if Jared's killer(s) were familiar with this case and used it as a model for their own plan. Perhaps they have an interest in true crime.

 

[vls12345]

Some more details revealed in this interview, such as..

Jared had just dropped off his nine-year-old twins A and L with their mother, S when he was killed. He shared custody of the kids with his ex-wife and took them out for dinner every Wednesday near their home on the weeks that they were staying with their mother

And there is map with timeline
View attachment 340052

It is not just a one way street with trees and no Ring doorbell, as widow KB describes, but the spot is mere yards away from a highway (202) (sorry if I am not well versed in local terminology... But I did live in the area for a few months years ago)

After that it would have been fast driving for an hour all the way to St Augustine, quite impossible to ambush him.

It looks really well planned and executed.

I just spent some time looking at the Google street view for where the map says the shooting took place. It really does look like a very precise place as it was where the road split (which is a very short area) and there are houses all around that area (though blocked by plants). There's basically one very small area where this could have occurred while being obscured from houses.

I wonder where the person parked their truck or had a driver waiting for them? To the right of where Jared's truck would have been was a neighborhood (which has a sign that it is a private neighborhood/for residents only). To the left were various residential streets.

I find it amazing that he wasn't found for a couple of hours. (Is that the correct timeframe?) I would have thought that road would have gotten plenty of traffic because of all the neighborhoods and residential traffic around there. Or even just people riding bikes or going for a walk.

 

[scriabina]

I wonder where the person parked their truck or had a driver waiting for them? To the right of where Jared's truck would have been was a neighborhood (which has a sign that it is a private neighborhood/for residents only). To the left were various residential streets.

Feels like maybe a two person job. Perhaps one person followed in the Ford and tracked Jared while the gunman lay in wait? Then the tracker let the gunman know when it was time to roll the tire. Or maybe someone put a tracking device on Jared's car and the killer drove the truck to the crime scene. But in that case I don't know where they would park it. Seems like it would be easier if the gunman was on foot and didn't have a vehicle to deal with.

I find it amazing that he wasn't found for a couple of hours. (Is that the correct timeframe?) I would have thought that road would have gotten plenty of traffic because of all the neighborhoods and residential traffic around there. Or even just people riding bikes or going for a walk.

Yeah, if he wasn't found for 2 hrs, then it seems the street is not frequently traveled around that day/time, and whoever planned to ambush knew this.

 

[BrownRice]

Thank you scriabina and via maple for the maps. And Moxie Vi for the reporter link. These are so helpful.

The maps and video tell me:
1) Jared probably didn’t have 50/50 physical custody. Just guessing but Jared probably had custody 1/3 of the year at the most. He is most-likely the main breadwinner for his first two kids. Child support to the ex might’ve been reasonably fair - maybe 1500/mo plus health insurance coverage. And there should’ve been temporary alimony after the divorce. When did it expire?

2) This was a total set up. The wheel must have DNA, hair, fibers. Whether it was a set up by people who knew Jared or random psychos, who knows at this point.

3) The obit’s mention that the current wife is Jared’s “eternal companion” makes me sad and on alert, as a former Utahan. I guess we can’t ruminate about if first wife and Jared were Sealed in the Temple.

What happens if a couple marries in temple and divorces? What does sealed in the temple mean?