Jared Bridegan, a 33-year-old father of four, was heading home after dropping off two of his children from a previous marriage when he came upon a tire obstructing the road.
Police have arrested the man they believe gunned down a Microsoft executive in front of his toddler daughter.
Jared Bridegan, a 33-year-old father of four, was heading home after dropping off two of his children from a previous marriage when he came upon a tire obstructing the road.
With his 2-year-old daughter buckled up in her car seat, Bridegan stopped his vehicle and got out to move the tire.
That is when Henry Tenon, 61, allegedly ambushed Bridegan and shot him dead according to police, who believe the tire was placed in the road to lure the victim out of the car.
Tenon is now facing one count each of murder in the second degree with a weapon, conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree, accessory after the fact in a capital felony, and child abuse.
Jacksonville Police Chief Gene Paul Smith and State Attorney Melissa Nelson announced the arrest at a news conference but did not share any information about a possible motive or evidence that led to the arrest.
The pair also declined to take questions, but did say that Tenon "did not act alone.'
His grieving widow told Inside Edition shortly after Bridegan's death that she could not think of any reason why someone would want her husband dead.
“Honestly Jared is such a great man, through-and-through good husband, colleague ... it would take someone totally evil to do this,” Kirsten Bridegan, 30, told Inside Edition.
The killing took place in the upscale Florida community of Jacksonville Beach minutes after he had gotten off the phone with his wife.
“I actually talked to him on the phone right after he dropped his twins off,” she said. ”My daughter in the back said, ‘I got ice cream mom.’ He said OK, see you soon.”
The sound of gunfire was captured on a neighbor’s camera. And Bridegan’s young daughter bore witness to her father’s killing.
“Mostly it’s sounds she refers to,” Kirsten Bridegan said. “’Boom’ is how she describes the gunshots. She says, ‘Boom, boom, boom,’ and then she says, ‘Daddy on the ground.’
“It’s excruciating. I'm so grateful she wasn’t hit by a stray bullet. I can’t imagine how evil it is for someone to do that with a child in the car,” she continued.
Now she struggles with how she’ll raise her children without their father.
“He was an awesome dad. He loved babies, snuggling with them,” she said
She also had a message at the time, saying: “I want people to know the murderer is out there. The murderer is watching this. That is not OK."
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