JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Court TV) — Attorneys for a man accused of plotting and funding a murder-for-hire that killed a Microsoft executive said that the prosecution failed to prove its case as they asked the jury to find him not guilty.
Mario Fernandez Saldana, 38, is charged with murder and conspiracy in the death of his wife’s ex-husband, Jared Bridegan. Bridegan, a Microsoft executive, was shot and killed after dropping off the two children he shared with his ex-wife at Fernandez’s home after a scheduled “date night.”
Mario Fernandez Saldana appears in court on Aug. 25, 2026. (Court TV)
“There is no question that the facts of this case are sad,” Fernandez’s defense attorney, Jesse Dreicer, told the jury in his closing argument on Tuesday. “There is no question that an innocent man was gunned down on a dark street on a night on which he least expected it. We concede that fact.”…