The woman accused of orchestrating the murder of her ex-Microsoft executive husband has hired Casey Anthony’s former lawyer, according to court documents.
Shanna Gardner, 36, from a wealthy Utah family, turned to Miami-based attorney José Báez to defend her against charges that she planned the cold-blooded murder of Jared Bridegan, the father of her children. two children.
Baez rose to prominence after securing a shocking not guilty verdict for Anthony, who went on trial for the murder of her 2-year-old daughter Caylee more than a decade ago.
He represented the late New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez in 2017, obtaining an acquittal on double murder charges in that case.
Báez also counts disgraced former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein as a former client.
José Báez represented Casey Anthony when she was acquitted of murder charges in 2011.REUTERS Gardner faces the death penalty for his role in the death of Jared Bridegan.Duvall County Jail
Gardner, who was recently extradited to Florida from Washington state, faces charges of first-degree murder and a possible death penalty.
Baez entered a not guilty plea for his new client and requested a waiver of appearance for a proceeding scheduled for Friday in Jacksonville, court documents show.
Bridegan had just dropped off the twins she had with Gardner at the home she shared with her new husband, Mario Fernandez, when she found a tire sitting in the middle of the road.
Kirsten and Jared Bridegan Instagram / @justiceforjaredb
With his 2-year-old daughter Bexley in the back seat, Bridegan was shot and killed after exiting the vehicle to clear the way.
Several bullets nearly hit the traumatized girl, who remained in the car near her loving father’s lifeless body until a passerby saw the scene and called the police.
Suspicions immediately turned to Gardner, who at the time was locked in a custody dispute with Bridegan, despite their 2015 divorce.
Gardner was locked in a custody war with Bridegan over their two children. West Richland Police Department
Those speculations skyrocketed after a tattoo parlor owner came forward and said Gardner once asked him if he knew anyone who could make his spouse disappear.
Gardner later said he made the comment in jest, adamantly denying any involvement in the crime before leaving Florida and moving into a million-dollar home his parents bought him in West Richland, Washington.
But the walls began to close in on Gardner with the arrest of triggerman Henry Tenon, a former tenant of a run-down Jacksonville property owned by her new husband.
Henry Tenon was the trigger for Bridegan’s death. Jacksonville Beach Police Department
Investigators revealed that Fernandez allegedly paid Tenon to murder Bridegan and that he agreed to cooperate with authorities.
Fernandez was the next suspect to be handcuffed and was charged with first-degree murder in March for his role in the crime.
Gardner was the last to face arrest, being detained at her Washington home in August and escorted to a police car while the children she shared with Bridegan watched.
Mario Fernandez, Gardner’s new husband, is accused of paying Tenon to murder Bridegan. Bob Self/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK
His parents, Shelli and Sterling Gardner, are prominent members of Utah’s Mormon community and founded the lucrative Stampin’ Up paper company.
They have supported their daughter since Bridegan’s death, taking her, Fernandez and the twins on a vacation to Florida just weeks after the shocking homicide.
The victim’s widow, Kirsten Bridegan, has maintained that the Gardners “isolated” her husband’s children from their half-siblings and paternal relatives.
Báez did not immediately respond to a request for comment on her new case.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn