A Florida mother whose Microsoft executive husband was executed in front of her young son nearly a year ago has launched a charity to help other children cruelly caught in the middle of crime.
Hoping to offer a measure of comfort to children in similar circumstances, Kirsten Bridegan created Bexley Boxes, a non-profit organization that provides care kits to law enforcement agencies containing diapers, toys, snacks, wipes and formula.
With the crime still unsolved, Kirsten said the campaign helped her cope with her grief.
“It’s been really hard to have had such a loss and seemingly no justice, to feel like I’m just floating on the water and there’s not much else I can do except try to help kids in similar situations,” Kirsten told Fox News Digital.
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A family portrait of Jared and Kirsten Bridegan with their daughters Bexley and London and Jared’s twin boys from his first marriage.
(Infinity Focus Photography/Madeline Insignares)
Jared Bridegan, 33, was shot and killed on February 16, 2022, after leaving the twins he shares with his ex-wife Shanna Gardner-Fernandez at their Jacksonville Beach home.
He was driving home with his 2-year-old daughter who he shares with his new wife, Kristen.
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The doting father saw a tire in the middle of a secluded stretch of road and stopped his car to remove it.
An unknown assailant opened fire with Bexley watching from her car seat.
Kirsten Bridegan and her daughters Bexley and London pose with St. Johns County Sheriff Robert Hardwick and other law enforcement officers.
(Kiara Talbot/St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office)
The terrified girl stayed in the car for a full three minutes near her father’s lifeless body until a passerby stumbled across the gruesome scene.
Kirsten was at home with London, the couple’s daughter who was then 7 months old.
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Police took the shaken girl to the Jacksonville Beach Police Department, where she waited for hours without a sippy cup or properly sized diapers while investigators interviewed her mother.
“They had nothing but a coloring book and a soft police car, and that stuck with me for months,” he said.
Jared and Kirsten Bridegan pose for an engagement photo.
(Courtesy of Courtney Fonda)
The first delivery was to Jacksonville Beach police, who are leading the investigation into her husband’s murder.
Kirsten visited the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office Thursday to drop off another Bexley box.
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Dozens of law enforcement officers, including St. John’s Sheriff Robert Hardwick, were there to greet the grieving mother.
“Kirsten and her family’s strength in the midst of a terrible tragedy is humbling,” Hardwick told Fox News Digital. “We look forward to partnering with her to further her mission to ensure that every police station or agency has a Bexley Box.”
Kirsten Bridegan poses with her daughters Bexley and London, who are standing in a Bexley box at the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office.
(Kiara Tolbert/St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office)
She effusively thanked the crowd of law enforcement officers for their support, telling them how her visits with the police helped her daughter heal.
“Bexley for a while, she would freeze when she heard sirens, she would panic,” Kirsten said. “Now, the police are good. She’s not always scary, she doesn’t just run into them when bad things happen. They’re there to help us.”
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It was the seventh refillable box Kirsten has given out, and all the contents were donated through her non-profit Bridegan Foundation.
He has also raised over $22,000 on givebutter.com to support his mission.
Shanna Gardner-Fernandez and her husband Mario Fernandez pose in a car. Her ex-husband, Jared Bridegan, was shot to death on February 16, 2022.
(Facebook)
The murder investigation, conducted by the Jacksonville Beach Police Department and State’s Attorney Melissa Nelson’s Office, is ongoing and no suspects have been publicly named.
Jared and his ex, Gardner-Fernandez, had a bitter divorce and custody battle that only ended in her death.
She and her husband, Mario Fernández, hired powerful criminal defense attorney Henry Coxe III shortly after the murder, but they denied any involvement in the crime. The lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A billboard advertises a $55,000 reward for information on the unsolved murder of Jared Bridegan.
(Jacksonville Beach Police Department)
As Kirsten spoke through tears at the St. Johns County sheriff’s office, Bexley walked up to her mother and gave her a hug before returning to her front row seat.
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“My dad died and is in heaven,” the little girl told the officer next to her. “That’s why my mommy is sad.”
Emmett Jones contributed to this report.
