She found courage in catastrophe.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier honored the widow of slain Microsoft manager Jared Bridegan Thursday for a charity initiative she launched in the wake of his murder.
Bridegan was driving home to St. Johns County from Jacksonville Beach in Feb. 2022 when he was shot dead in front of their 2-year-old daughter Bexley.
The father of four’s former wife, Shanna Gardner, is now facing capital murder charges for conspiring to kill her ex-husband with her new spouse, Mario Fernandez, and triggerman Henry Tenon.
Kirsten — who had two children with Bridegan — said she was all but paralyzed by the violent loss of her soulmate. But she started to clamber out of her pit of grief with the launch of a charity in her daughter’s name.
After hearing the shots that killed her father, Bexley sat in the backseat of his SUV in a state of terror for several minutes until a passer by approached the disturbing scene and called police.
The tot spent several hours in the care of police officers after the incident — an ordeal that spawned Kirsten’s idea for Bexley Boxes.
The initiative supplies law enforcement agencies with packages filled with comforting items for kids. When officers find themselves caring for traumatized children, the boxes provide a measure of reassurance.
“The Bexley Boxes and being able to help other kids who might be in a similar situation has really been therapeutic,” Kirsten Bridegan said after struggling to compose herself at Thursday’s ceremony at the St. Johns County Sheriffs Office. “And when I’m able to hear from other law enforcement about the children this has helped, that makes us want to keep doing it even more.”
She held Bexley as she spoke, and the brave girl threw her arms around her mother as she finished her remarks.
Bexley Boxes are now available in precincts across 17 states, and Uthmeier said he wants the items in every law enforcement office in Florida by the end of the year.
He officially bestowed Florida’s “Back the Blue” award to Bridegan for her efforts.
St. Johns County Sheriff Robert Hardwick lauded Bridegan for spearheading an innovative effort that continues to help law enforcement agencies console youngsters in their care.
“Kirsten, we thank you for what you did,” he said. “You educated us on something we were missing here.”
