The new husband of slain Microsoft executive Jared Bridegan’s ex-wife shot his neighbor’s cat dead — and threatened to whack other local felines, neighbors told The Post.
Mario Fernandez, who is married Bridegan’s ex-wife Shanna Gardner-Fernandez, was contacted by local police about the disturbing claim several years ago, but refused to hand over a pellet gun allegedly used in the incident and the case went cold.
The 33-year-old father-of-four was shot dead last February after dropping off his two kids at Gardner-Fernandez’s home in Jacksonville Beach amid a prolonged and increasingly bitter custody war.
A homeowner who lived across the street from Bridegan’s ex and Fernandez said their cat, Apollo, came home limping one day in 2018 — and that a veterinarian found he had been shot twice with a pellet gun. He died shortly after.
The grieving family put up flyers asking for clues about their beloved pet’s killer, and they were later contacted by local animal control officials about the case.
The agency alerted them that Fernandez, who lived directly across the street, had threatened several local residents because they were feeding feral cats, the neighbor told The Post.
He also told department staffers that he would shoot or poison cats that wandered onto the property he lived in with Gardner-Fernandez, the neighbor said.
The stunned pet owners admitted they even asked Fernandez if he knew anything about Apollo’s killing, but he told them that it was likely some local kids.
Police then paid several visits to Fernandez after the incident and asked him about a pellet gun with a scope that neighbors had spotted him with on several occasions, a source told The Post.
He refused to produce the weapon and the case withered.
“The whole thing was very, very frightening,” the neighbor said. “It was very disturbing.”
Neighbors said Fernandez abruptly left the home he still owns with his wife in July, telling them that he was going to travel across the country in an RV.
However, Gardner-Fernandez stayed behind with the kids. The pair have now reportedly split.
The departure came roughly five months after Bridegan was murdered in front of his 2-year-old daughter, one of two kids he had with his new wife Kirsten Bridegan.
Henry Tenon, 61, a former tenant of a property owned by Fernandez and his occasional handyman, was arrested for the killing on Wednesday.
Police have pointedly noted that they believe Tenon conspired with others to murder the doting dad and that they expect additional arrests.
Gardner-Fernandez, who comes from a wealthy Mormon family, left the Jacksonville Beach home in November and moved to Richland, Washington, with the two children she shared with the slain Microsoft manager.
The 35-year-old’s family owns the multimillion-dollar paper-craft company Stampin’ Up!, according to Fox News.
Gardner-Fernandez has denied any involvement in her ex-husband’s death.
The mother was also accused of having an affair with her former personal trainer that led to the end of her marriage with Bridegan.
The fitness instructor and alleged one-time lover previously told the outlet that Gardner-Fernandez didn’t want to be a part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints anymore — while Bridegan remained a devout member.
She has denied having an affair.
Fernandez, meanwhile, has decamped to a relative’s home in Orlando, Fox News reported.
The Jacksonville Beach property — now sitting empty on a quiet cul-de-sac — was put up for sale but has not yet found a buyer, residents said.
A local school district wanted to purchase the home to house administrative offices but neighbors petitioned against the attempt and it was withdrawn.
Meanwhile, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office this week descended on a local pallet company where Tenon worked to search for a Ford F-150 truck that police have been looking for since Bridegan’s slaying.
Authorities believe it was used in the commission of the crime.
Employees told The Post this week that Tenon owned a Ford truck with a trailer, and that police suspect that he may have hidden the vehicle somewhere on their sprawling, pallet-covered property.
