Florida widow begs for help finding her husband’s killer

A Florida widow is imploring the public to come forward with information after her Microsoft executive husband was shot dead earlier this year in a North Florida suburb, within view of their two-year-old daughter.

Police still have no leads after Jared Bridegan, 33, was gunned down on February 16 when he got out of his family’s black Volkswagen Atlas in Jacksonville Beach to move a tire obstructing the road as they drove south toward their home in St. Augustine.

His two-year-old, Bexley, looked on from a car seat – her mother, 30-year-old Kirsten Bridegan, said the toddler now refers to the traumatic incident as ‘the boom.’ The father-of-four had just dropped off his nine-year-old twins, Abby and Liam, at his ex-wife’s home around 7:30 p.m. 

Now, the Jacksonville Beach Police Department is investigating whether the tire was placed in the roadway to lure the father out of his car – they have not identified a motive or a suspect in Jared Bridegan’s killing. They believe the shooting may have been targeted.

Sergeant Tonya Tator told Fox News that in typically quiet Jacksonville Beach, an upscale neighborhood just 15 minutes from famous golf courses like TPC Sawgrass where the PGA Tour is held, ‘a murder of this nature is highly unusual.’

Bridegan’s bereaved wife called the murder ‘pure cowardice and evil.’  

‘To have that done where he didn’t even have a chance to fight back, and it was done in front of his daughter,’ she told Fox News. ‘I would ask anyone who knows anything to come forward.’   

Jared Bridegan, 33 (right), was gunned down on February 16 – his wife, Kirsten (left), is imploring anyone with information to come forward 

Bridegan’s bereaved wife called the murder ‘pure cowardice and evil.’ ‘To have that done where he didn’t even have a chance to fight back, and it was done in front of his daughter,’ she told Fox News 

Jared Bridegan’s two-year-old daughter, Bexley, looked on from her car seat as her father was shot down outside their car when he was moving a tire obstructing the road 

Kirsten, Jared’s wife, told News 4 JAX that she still ‘has hop that we’re gonna catch the people who did this,’ but said that it’s ‘frustrating that it’s been two months and whoever did this is still out there doing whatever they want’

‘I still have hope that we’re gonna catch the people who did this but it’s frustrating that it’s been two months and whoever did this is still out there doing whatever they want and we’re still here searching for answers,’ she told News 4 JAX.

Although Bridegan’s wife declined to speak about her husband’s relationship with his ex-wife, sources told FOX that it was tenuous. Although they were invited, the nine-year-old twins reportedly did not attend their father’s funeral. 

Kirsten, who was home with their 7-month-old London when her husband was shot, panicked when Jared didn’t come home as scheduled. 

‘He wasn’t answering my texts or my calls,’ she recalled. ‘I was thinking maybe he got in a car accident. I had a gut feeling something wasn’t right.’

As she and her mother drove around looking for Jared, Kirsten continued calling his phone – until a police officer picked up.

‘A police officer answered but wouldn’t tell me if he was okay,’ she told FOX News. ‘He said, “Please come to the Jacksonville Beach Police Department.” I told my mom “Jared is not okay.” I just knew. My whole body, my spirit, I knew he wasn’t okay.’

Bridegan’s two-year-old daughter now refers to her father’s killing on February 16 as ‘the boom,’ her mother said

Jared Bridegan’s two-year-old daughter, Bexley, looked on from her car seat as her father was shot down outside their car when he was moving a tire obstructing the road

Police have not found a suspect or a potential motive for killing the father-of-four – a $25,000 reward has been offered for information. He is pictured with his seven-month-old daughter and nine-year-old twins

The father-of-four had just dropped his nine-year-old twins off at his ex-wife’s home in Jacksonville Beach around 7:30 pm, and was driving home to St. Augustine when he was shot

At the Jacksonville Beach police station, Kirsten took her shaken two-year-old into her arms. A detective took the mother aside and told her that Jared had been killed.

‘I started crying, my hands were shaking – I looked for a trash can because I felt like I was going to throw up. I kept saying “This isn’t real, this can’t be real.”‘

Sgt. Tator urged the public to come forward with information that could help solve the father’s murder. Previously, the department released video stills of a dark Ford F-150 that they believe may have been involved. 

‘Somebody out there knows what happened or knows somebody that was involved in this, and we’re asking them to do the right thing,’ Tator said.

There is a $25,000 reward for information leading to the shooter’s arrest – private donors levied $17,000 to match authorities’ $8,000. 

‘We’re waiting on forensic evidence to come back and when we receive that information, we will go from there in our investigation.’ 

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Jacksonville Beach Police Department at 904-270-1661 or First Coast Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS. 

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

He and Kirsten, who was living six hours away in Charleston, first met on a dating app and immediately hit it off. On weekends when he didn’t have custody of his twins from his first marriage, he would drive over six hours to see his future wife.

‘What first struck me was his profile picture. It was of him with his twins,’ Kirsten told FOX. 

She moved to Jacksonville four months later, and they married in 2017. 

‘He was just a good guy through and through,’ she said. ‘Whenever we got into an argument he was always the first to say I’m sorry, even if it was my fault.’

When he was killed, Jared was working as a manager of user experience at Microsoft. Kirsten previously worked for the company as an account manager, but quit to become a mom full-time a few months ago.