Opening statements began Monday morning in the first trial related to the killing of St. Johns County father of four, Jared Bridegan.
The first suspect on trial is Mario Fernandez Saldana, who is the estranged husband of Bridegan's ex-wife, Shanna Gardner.
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Last week, lawyers finished the work of screening the jury pool for Fernandez Saldana's trial.
The final panel includes twelve jurors and four alternates.
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Fernandez Saldana is accused of hiring the hitman who killed Bridegan.
You'll also be able to watch the trial by streaming it on the Action News Jax website (click on the link below), mobile and connected TV apps, and on our YouTube channel.
2:45 p.m.: There was back and forth between the two sets of co-parents over the fact that Bridegan's oldest daughter wanted to be baptized in the Mormon faith, Kirsten Bridegan said.
2:53 p.m.: Kirsten Bridegan resumes testimony, saying that she and Bridegan were preparing for the possibility that Gardner would make a move to increase her time with her kids. This included consulting with a lawyer and gathering documentation.
2:47 p.m.: Attorneys are having a sidebar with Judge Kite.
2:44 p.m.: Kirsten Bridegan said after she and Bridegan had their own kids, "I personally felt that it made it worse. I felt like after that, the things that my stepkids would come home saying was intensified," as to the negativity they were hearing from Fernandez Saldana and Gardner.
2:42 p.m.: "When it was something where all four of us were at, it was very tense," Kirsten Bridegan said of her, Bridegan, Gardner, and Fernandez Saldana.
2:42 p.m.: Kirsten Bridegan said of discussions with the twins, "Sometimes they would bring up things to us," she said. " … We tried to keep that stress off of their shoulders."
2:40 p.m.: "There was absolutely no trust, so everything was in writing," Kirsten Bridegan said of the co-parenting relationship between Gardner and Bridegan.
