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

[airportwoman]

I wonder if one of them filed some kind of abuse charges against the other one?

(I have a Facebook friend who lost custody of her toddler son, and given only supervised visitation, a couple years ago. Of course, she said on Facebook that his family had paid off the lawyers, yada yada yada - and I seem to be the only person who told her that posting this on social media was not a good idea - but the public court docket said otherwise. I also worked with a woman many years ago who, at the time, was in a custody dispute herself, and she was telling everyone that he was doing this so he wouldn't have to pay child support, which is one of the dumbest excuses ever and one that doesn't usually last very long if they use it. She "lost" - and guess what? That, too was justified.)

 

[airportwoman]

Kinda points toward motive.....hmmmm. JMO. Sounds like there was a severe case of parental alienation, psychological abuse, etc. The sad thing is while parental alienation can be subtle and go on for years, it eventually catches up to the one doing the alienating. When the kids figure out which parent is vindictive and hateful, they exile them.

It may take decades, but if a parent has lied about the other one, about anything, and the child looks up the other parent and gets their side of the story, you are correct - it's not uncommon for a child to declare permanent estrangement upon finding out the truth.

 

[Cryptic]

Kinda points toward motive.....hmmmm. JMO. Sounds like there was a severe case of parental alienation, psychological abuse, etc. The sad thing is while parental alienation can be subtle and go on for years, it eventually catches up to the one doing the alienating. When the kids figure out which parent is vindictive and hateful, they exile them.

Maybe, but maybe not.

Rather, an accusation was made of "X". I dont think a judge granting such a motion means that those things have been established. Rather, the motion just means that there are grounds to believe that its possible that those things happened.

I have a strong suspicion that a certain number of motions for "A", "B" and "C" during a divorce are simply the result of one party having more resources to spend on attorney billing hours.

The attorneys they hire know what "blocks to check" regarding the presentation of a motion that will lead to its approval. Of course, the motion cannot be totally baseless- but supporting circumstances can be exaggerated and "sexed up". Likewise, some judges maybe inclined to grant easy motions needing therapists etc. to support the divorce proceedings "industry".

The opposing ex spouse is then left facing a documented accusation- and fighting that accusation with their own attorneys costs money that they may not have.

 

[cattlekate]

Seems my link above to the divorce and custody records has some issues. Here is a better link. Search by name = Bridegan or case# DR15-0307. If it asks, make sure to say you're not a robot or it won't work.

Thank you scriabina for birddogging this and providing a link!

We can’t read the motions themselves but some of the items seem very routine for divorcing parents splitting a household and moving to new households, as well as 2 year olds (2015) transitioning from expensive day care to cheaper public schools.

But some of it does not seem routine.

 

[airportwoman]

Most of the divorces posted on the Illinois or Missouri websites have an entry for filing, entries for when the parents attended the "Children First" seminar (or whatever it's called) if they have minor children, maybe a few entries about financial division, and a few months later, it says "Grounds found, dissolution granted." There may be an entry or two later on regarding child support and/or alimony amendments, and that's pretty much it.

 

[scriabina]

There was a vigil for Jared yesterday, but no new info released or reported thus far.

 

[nocturnes]

Per this article the wife said this week at the vigil that she thinks multiple people were involved, which is interesting.

Did anyone find the pacing of the gunshots interesting? If you were randomly shooting someone to kill them, I feel like you’d pop pop pop real quick and get out of there as fast as possible. Like rattle off the gunshots as fast as possible without even thinking about it. These were slower than I would have expected. Makes me think that they either were caught up in watching him suffer after each one, or wanted to be sure he was dead before leaving.

If I were the family, I’d be hiring a private investigator. This seems like it’s going cold. No briefs, no POIs, no updates, nothing. I know hiring a PI is easier said than done because of the expense, but I just don’t think I’d be able to move on - it would consume your every moment, especially if it seemed no progress was happening. We all know it gets harder and harder to prove the further out it goes. Look how fast they solved that other Florida case of the custody drop off - was it Cassi? And they didn’t even have a body and the ex had taken her hundreds of miles away. Much less diligence in this case.

Also, I’ll try and find the link, but early on there was a news report saying the police were no longer looking to speak with the driver of a black SUV in the area at the time, because they realized that was the victim’s car. My jaw dropped. I don’t know if that was a mistake in the reporting, but if the police were really looking for the car to ask about what they saw that night without realizing it was the victim’s car then you didn’t have the A team on this in the early days.

Lastly, especially if this was multiple people involved as the current wife suspects, people around them MUST notice that things seem off. The missing Irion girl out of Nevada was solved because a coworker felt the guy was acting odd. No suspicion is too small, and if it’s nothing then the police will clear it. I hope anyone who feels like something is off and has concerns will move past their desire to be loyal and report those things to the police.

 

[nocturnes]

Here’s the YouTube reporting that police were no longer looking for the black SUV because they found out it was the victim’s car. They probably saw the black SUV on local CCTV feeds around the time of the shooting. Wasn’t this two days after the shooting? Seriously took them that long to realize “oh, wait boss, that’s his car”?! This seems like a pretty big blunder. I would have hired a PI right then. Or am I missing something?

 

[Via Marple]

Read earlier that LE was waiting for forensics to come back. That is why it has taken a long time. Hope more clues can be uncovered there.

 

[scriabina]

Here’s the YouTube reporting that police were no longer looking for the black SUV because they found out it was the victim’s car. They probably saw the black SUV on local CCTV feeds around the time of the shooting. Wasn’t this two days after the shooting? Seriously took them that long to realize “oh, wait boss, that’s his car”?! This seems like a pretty big blunder. I would have hired a PI right then. Or am I missing something?

Wow, I hadn't seen that video before. Interesting to see the area where JB was killed which is indeed so close to the highway -- real good view of the cars whizzing past nearby.

I agree that it is very strange that they didn't realize it was the victim's car for 2 days. All this was over 2 months ago and it seems not much progress has been made since. I've had the bad feeling that this case may never be solved. I feel like the perps knew the area well and probably had the idea that "as long as they can't prove we did it, we're good." Some killers love the attention they get when others are suspicious of them but no one can prove anything. I'm getting that sense in this case. I hope I'm wrong.

Edited to add: forgot that LE is still waiting on forensics. Really hope that sheds major light on the case.

 

[scriabina]

Per this article the wife said this week at the vigil that she thinks multiple people were involved, which is interesting.

"Something K made clear is that she believes multiple people were involved and she wants the message out there so answers can be found." Wow, I wonder what makes her think that? Perhaps she is thinking of a pair of people bonded together with a common goal, like a married couple?

Did anyone find the pacing of the gunshots interesting? If you were randomly shooting someone to kill them, I feel like you’d pop pop pop real quick and get out of there as fast as possible. Like rattle off the gunshots as fast as possible without even thinking about it. These were slower than I would have expected. Makes me think that they either were caught up in watching him suffer after each one, or wanted to be sure he was dead before leaving.

Yes, the pacing of the gunshots was chilling. Whoever killed him seemed quite calm and not in any rush to escape. Had to be very confident. Why so confident? Was there an accomplice waiting nearby to help them escape the scene of the crime? Or were they just filled with so much hatred that their desire to kill overtook any sense of fear for being caught? I also wonder where Jared was shot; that is, was he shot in the back, or did Jared lock eyes with his killer as he was shot? Was the killer staring him down and relishing in the kill?

 

[griss]

Did anyone find the pacing of the gunshots interesting?

RSBM - I must be missing something. Where are you seeing/reading about the pacing of the gunshots? Thank you.

 

[FULLOFHOPE]

RSBM - I must be missing something. Where are you seeing/reading about the pacing of the gunshots? Thank you.

You can listen to them if you search for the video online. A nearby camera caught audio of the shooting.

 

[worm]

Per this article the wife said this week at the vigil that she thinks multiple people were involved, which is interesting.

Did anyone find the pacing of the gunshots interesting? If you were randomly shooting someone to kill them, I feel like you’d pop pop pop real quick and get out of there as fast as possible. Like rattle off the gunshots as fast as possible without even thinking about it. These were slower than I would have expected. Makes me think that they either were caught up in watching him suffer after each one, or wanted to be sure he was dead before leaving.

If I were the family, I’d be hiring a private investigator. This seems like it’s going cold. No briefs, no POIs, no updates, nothing. I know hiring a PI is easier said than done because of the expense, but I just don’t think I’d be able to move on - it would consume your every moment, especially if it seemed no progress was happening. We all know it gets harder and harder to prove the further out it goes. Look how fast they solved that other Florida case of the custody drop off - was it Cassi? And they didn’t even have a body and the ex had taken her hundreds of miles away. Much less diligence in this case.

Also, I’ll try and find the link, but early on there was a news report saying the police were no longer looking to speak with the driver of a black SUV in the area at the time, because they realized that was the victim’s car. My jaw dropped. I don’t know if that was a mistake in the reporting, but if the police were really looking for the car to ask about what they saw that night without realizing it was the victim’s car then you didn’t have the A team on this in the early days.

Lastly, especially if this was multiple people involved as the current wife suspects, people around them MUST notice that things seem off. The missing Irion girl out of Nevada was solved because a coworker felt the guy was acting odd. No suspicion is too small, and if it’s nothing then the police will clear it. I hope anyone who feels like something is off and has concerns will move past their desire to be loyal and report those things to the police.

All good points. ^^^^^^^^

I’m probably wrong but I think the police are on to something with this case. Just within this period of time the silence leads me to think they are untangling a big web. I think that last late gunshot was making sure they killed him.

 

[Curious_in_NC]

Jacksonville Beach police release new videos in murder investigation
I'm wondering about the "tire". Are there pictures or a detailed description of it? Was it a tire mounted on a wheel? In these videos you can see the truck that they're interested in has a mismatched right front wheel. Maybe the crime scene tire/wheel matches this truck's style? If a hired killer left such an obvious piece of evidence behind, that would be pretty sloppy.

Also, is it known whether Jared's wallet and phone were recovered? If so, a random robbery would seem less likely. MOO

 

[worm]

Jacksonville Beach police release new videos in murder investigation
I'm wondering about the "tire". Are there pictures or a detailed description of it? Was it a tire mounted on a wheel? In these videos you can see the truck that they're interested in has a mismatched right front wheel. Maybe the crime scene tire/wheel matches this truck's style? If a hired killer left such an obvious piece of evidence behind, that would be pretty sloppy.

Also, is it known whether Jared's wallet and phone were recovered? If so, a random robbery would seem less likely. MOO

I seen one pic of the tire I think. I’ve wondered about getting DNA from the tire. You are correct, if it came from the murderers vehicle that would be nice. And dumb on their part.

 

[Via Marple]

I seen one pic of the tire I think. I’ve wondered about getting DNA from the tire. You are correct, if it came from the murderers vehicle that would be nice. And dumb on their part.

This photo is from Jacksonville Beach police's FB page, early on in the case.

To my untrained eye it does look like the tires on the suspected Ford truck.

 

[cvaldez1975]

According to Glassdoor, "the typical Microsoft Senior Design Manager salary [Jared's position] is $181,635 per year." Wow! That's a lot.

But do we know if he was even making payments to the ex? Aren't some divorce cases where child custody is split 50/50 and the exes are not financially obligated to one another?

if one makes more then there is generally still child support.

i wonder if there was any upcoming court for custody.

 

[LeBlack]

I know that many, or most here, seem to think this was not random and was done by someone very close to the situation, and we are probably all thinking the same person. I do too, honestly. But would someone close to the ex-wife really be stupid enough to do it two miles from her house at the very time it was easily established that Jared had just left her house? Is it possible that it was NOT someone close to the ex, that picked that time and location because they assumed it would throw suspicion in the ex'es direction?

There's already a case for 'beneficiaries'

 

[cvaldez1975]

That last sentence tho..... heartbreaking.

Florida mom wants answers after Microsoft exec husband gunned down in front of 2-year-old (msn.com)

Snip:
Jared was from Jacksonville and graduated from the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts before earning his college degree at Utah Valley University.

He was working as a manager of user experience at Microsoft when he was killed. Kirsten had also worked for the software giant as an account manager but quit a few months ago to become a full-time mom.

"He was a good neighbor, a good friend, a good colleague," Kirsten said. "He was a very loved man."

Kirsten declined to discuss Jared’s relationship with his ex-wife, but a source told Fox News that it was strained. Though invited, Jared’s twins from his prior marriage did not attend their father’s funeral. His ex-wife couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

Snip:
Kirsten said the shocking murder has taken the greatest toll on Bexley.

"She talks about the sound a lot. She says, ‘I had to cover my ears,’" Kirsten said. "When she talks about what happened she calls it 'The boom.’ She says, ‘Boom! Boom! Boom! Daddy on the ground.’"

Kirsten said that Bexley asks about her dad a lot but she also misses her older siblings who she has barely seen since the slaying. "I miss them too," said Kirsten. "We didn’t just lose Jared, we lost our family structure."

Every night, Bexley sleeps with a blanket her dad gave her. Kirsten was tucking her in, and she asked if God has blankets. "I asked her why, and she said, ‘I want daddy to have a blanket in heaven.'"

IMO this is pretty telling. things were not civil w the ex IMO.