Shanna Gardner's Lawyer Just Accused Prosecutors of WHAT?!

Mario Fernandez is going to prison for killing Jared Bridegan. What happened one day later changed the case against his co-defendant entirely. 
Fernandez was convicted of first-degree murder and solicitation after a jury deliberated less than four hours. He's facing life without parole for the 2021 shooting staged to look like a carjacking outside Bridegan's Jacksonville Beach home. Then, one day after the verdict, prosecutors filed two new felony charges against Fernandez — both involving children, both unconnected to Bridegan's murder, one tied to a girl who was around eight when the alleged conduct began. 
Shanna Gardner's trial was set to start days later. Instead, Judge London Kite granted a continuance, pushing jury selection to May 2027 so her defense can dig into whether the new charges point to a motive of Fernandez's own. Fernandez had already told police the twins were "better off" with Bridegan "out of the picture" — a comment that predates the new allegations by years and raises the question of whose plan this really was. 
None of that erases the evidence prosecutors already built against Gardner: her own text messages, which prosecutors say read as intent rather than venting. A friend texted a contact about finding Gardner "a guy" who "performs permanent disappearing acts on certain people." A detective testified the plot traces to 2015. Gardner still faces murder, conspiracy, solicitation, and a fourth charge tied to her twins. 
Her attorney, Jose Baez, got Casey Anthony acquitted on every major count, and he's already accusing the state of mischaracterizing evidence. The jury pool has been doubled to 500. May 2027 feels far away — and this case keeps proving nothing about it is settled. 
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This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice. 
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