Swinger ex-cop John Biggerstaff is implicated in death of Microsoft exec Jared Bridegan, gunned down in murder-for-hire-plot for which ex-wife and two others have already been charged

Police in Jacksonville, Florida believe a swinger ex-cop may have played a part in the conspiracy to murder Florida Microsoft executive Jared Bridegan, DailyMail.com has learned.  

John Biggerstaff, 56, a disgraced former reserve officer with Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, is one of two additional suspects in the 2022 murder of the father-of-four. 

Bridegan's  ex-wife, Shanna Gardner, 36, her husband, Mario Fernandez Saldana, 35, and his former tenant, Henry Tenon, 62, -  have been charged in what investigators say was a coordinated murder-for-hire plot.

It was February 16, 2022 when Bridegan, 33, was driving home after dropping his twins from his first marriage at their mother’s home in Jacksonville Beach when he stopped to move a tire that, police believe, was deliberately placed on the road to lure him from his vehicle.

He was gunned down at close range while his infant daughter Bexley – then just two years old and one of two children from his second marriage – was strapped in her child seat in the back of the car.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for both Gardner and Fernandez Saldana, who have pleaded not guilty. Tenon, meanwhile, is cooperating with prosecutors having pleaded guilty to second degree murder and is facing a sentence of at least 15 years.

Biggerstaff, who was convicted and served time for sex trafficking and drug related offenses and described by police as a 'long term associate' of Fernandez Saldana. has not yet been charged in the murder.

John Biggerstaff, 56, is named as one of two additional suspects in the murder of father-of-four Jared Bridegan 

Bridegan was shot multiple times at close range in what police described as an 'ambush' and 'targeted' attack on February 16, 2022, in front of his then two-year-old daughter in Jacksonville Beach, Florida

Biggerstaff, seen in exclusive DailyMail.com photos, served time for sex trafficking and drug related offenses. He has not yet been charged in the murder case

Biggerstaff and his wife Maria (pictured), who is not implicated in the crime, are allegedly swingers. Images of Fernandez Saldana with Biggerstaff's wife were recovered from his home computer, according to a police report 

But recently released court documents and hundreds of pages of police records, reviewed by DailyMail.com, show that investigators identified five people as having been 'likely' involved in the conspiracy to kill the father-of-four - one of them being Biggerstaff.

And while prosecutors and police have declined to comment on the status of the investigation sources close to the case have told DailyMail.com that it remains very much 'active and open.'

Court documents filed by investigators in January and February of 2023 show that they asked for continued access to wiretaps and to intercept calls made by the five alleged co-conspirators.

In those documents Biggerstaff's name is redacted but a host of biographical details are given.

It is noted that the suspect referred to as 'Target #5' has known Fernandez Saldana for many years, that Fernandez Saldana dated his daughter in high school, that he had a military background and is a former reserve police officer and convicted felon.

Police interviewed Biggerstaff in connection with the murders on Monday August 22, 2022.

Records from that interview note that Biggerstaff served with the Navy for 22 years. He told officers that Saldana dated his daughter in high school and that he and the younger man became work out partners for years before Saldana left for the Army.

The court records also note that the suspect identified as Target #5 'admitted [that]he owned a 10mm caliber gun but said he did not know where it was. A 10mm gun was used to murder Bridegan.'

Records from Biggerstaff's 2022 interview show that he both admitted to owning such a weapon and claimed not to know of its whereabouts. The report also shows that police believed he 'lied' to them.

Biggerstaff told his interviewers that he and Fernandez Saldana had reconnected when the younger man returned to Jacksonville Beach following his brief stint in the Army.

At the time Biggerstaff was running a handyman business and did some work at the rental property at which Tenon was tenant. He told officers he had not seen Tennon for 'a year or two' and that he 'did not really know' him.

Police interviewed Biggerstaff in connection with the murders on Monday August 22, 2022. DailyMail.com obtained the report which states, 'Biggerstaff stated the conversation (with Fernandez Saldana) was of a personal nature. Biggerstaff advised he and his wife are swingers'

Jared's ex-wife Shanna is seen in her mugshot after she pleaded not guilty to multiple charges relating to her ex-husband Jared Bridegan's murder 

Suspected gunman Henry Tenon, 62, (left) has said he is willing to testify that Mario Fernandez Saldana, 35, (right)and his wife hired him to kill Jared

Biggerstaff's was one of several cell phones subpoenaed by investigators and court documents reflect investigator's assertion that 'cellular telephone records connect the conspirators.'

When police downloaded the contents of the phone which Biggerstaff surrendered to them they found that all text messages between him and Fernandez Saldana had been erased up until May 2022.

But according to court documents, 'Toll records show a significant increase in contact [between suspects] immediately before and after the murder compared to the otherwise sporadic contact between them in the six weeks before the murder.'

They note that the suspect, 'had frequent phone and in-person contact with Fernandez Saldana on the day before, day of and day after the homicide.'

When interviewed by police officers Biggerstaff was specifically asked about his communications with Fernandez Saldana on the days before, day of and day after the murder.

When asked what he and Fernandez Saldana spoke about on the night of the murder itself Biggerstaff made a shock claim.

According to the report, 'Biggerstaff stated the conversation was of a personal nature. Biggerstaff advised he and his wife are 'swingers.'

His claims appear to be backed up by the fact that intimate images of Fernandez Saldana with Biggerstaff's wife, Maria, 53, who is not implicated in the murder, were recovered from Biggerstaff's home computer.

Biggerstaff told police that Fernandez Saldana was a swinger, but that Gardner was not.

Jared is seen with his widow Kristen, their two daughters, and the twins he shared with Shanna

Bridegan was embroiled in a bitter and protracted legal battle with Gardner over custody of their now 13-year-old twins when he was murdered.

According to the agreement in place at the time of his death the children stayed with their mother and father on alternating weeks and went on a 'date night' with the parent who didn't have them each Wednesday.

Bridegan was returning home after dropping the twins back at their mother's following such a 'date night,' when he was forced to stop by a tire deliberately placed in the road to lure him from his vehicle.

When he got out to move the obstacle he was shot. His infant daughter, Bexley, was strapped into her child seat in the back of the car.

Bridegan left behind a grieving family, including his parents, two brothers, widow, Kirsten, 32, whom he married in 2017, and their two young daughters, Bexley, now 4, and London, now two.

Biggerstaff did not respond to DailyMail.com's approaches for comment.

Police records show that he 'continued to advise he has no knowledge of the murder.'