Showdown in mom's murder trial. Verdict in Microsoft employee murder. Plus, what is postpartum psychosis?

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1:23I hope everybody's having a good morning. You're listening in to the Dateline Morning Meeting. They have dropped the case on basically the eve of trial. Our producers are catching up on breaking crime news. It's all over social media. The DA is joining in on the investigation as well. Welcome to Dateline True Crime Weekly. I'm Andrea Canning. It's August 27th, and here's what's on our docket. In Florida, a verdict has been reached in the trial of the man accused of hiring a hitman to murder father of four and Microsoft employee Jared Bridegan. In the defense, please rise and hearken to the jury's verdict.

2:01In Dateline Roundup, we'll check in on the trial of Keefe D. Davis, the former gang leader accused of masterminding the murder of rap legend Tupac Shakur. And Donna Adelson, the Florida grandmother convicted of murdering her former son-in-law, FSU law professor Dan Markell, is demanding a new trial. According to the appeal, Donna was repeatedly warned by the judge to not show emotions during the trial. Plus, postpartum psychosis. We've been hearing a lot about it at the murder trial of former labor and delivery nurse Lindsay Clancy. But what exactly is it? At some point, you may start to lose touch with reality.

2:40But before all that, we're in Massachusetts, where the Clancy trial is winding down. But not without some legal fireworks in the courtroom. For the past five weeks, we've watched Lindsay Clancy stand trial for the murders of her children. Dozens of witnesses have talked about what might have driven her to kill them. Prosecutors say it was planned, the act of a woman who didn't want to be a mother anymore. The defense says she was not in her right mind. She was over-medicated and suffering from undiagnosed postpartum psychosis. Now, in the final days of the trial, the prosecution has done its best to undermine that theory with three rebuttal witnesses, who spent hours evaluating Lindsay Clancy.

3:24Here to tell us what they had to say is Nate Eaton of East Idaho News and the host of the podcast, Courtroom Insider. Nate, welcome back. Thanks for having me. Good to be here. Yeah. So, Nate, as the trial winds down, fair to say this has been maybe the most contentious week of testimony we've seen yet? For sure. You know, this is the final stretch and the defense really has to nail its arguments home while the prosecution has to land their case. It's a battle of the experts. That's what we're seeing play out in court. Which expert is right? Nate, before we get into their testimony, we should warn listeners that some of what we're going to be talking about is distressing and includes discussion of suicide.

4:04So the first rebuttal witness the prosecution called was Dr. Avram Mack, a forensic psychiatrist who met with Lindsay in April of this year. Nate, what did he have to say? Well, he evaluated Lindsay over the course of two days. He observed her behavior and went through her medical records. from immediately before and after the deaths, and he reached this diagnosis for her. Her description of her experience, in my view, that, sorry, matched a major depressive episode. Did he explain what that meant? Well, he said that the diagnosis means that an individual displays problems with their mood, experiences guilt or worthlessness, can't sleep, and has a preoccupation with death or suicide.

4:51These were all things that Lindsay suffered from, according to the doctor and other doctors who have testified. But Dr. Mack made it clear that he did not believe Lindsay was suffering from psychosis or was overmedicated. He also said that she was very aware that killing her children was wrong. So this is a complete rejection of the defense's theory. How did the defense handle this expert on cross-examination? Kevin Reddington, Lindsay's attorney, really questioned Dr. Mack's experience. He was quick to point out that during his direct testimony, the doctor incorrectly described what an episiotomy is.

5:32That's a medical term for a surgical incision used during childbirth, the doctor referred to it as a tear. Did somebody tell you that you were way off base on that testimony Friday, sir? I'm not sure what you're referring to. I'm referring to you saying that an episiotomy is a tear. And it's not. And, Your Honor, is there a question before the witness? I already asked the question. I'm looking at him staring back at me. So, Dr. Mack is a forensic psychiatrist. I'm just curious, Do we know why they were even asking him about episiotomies? You know, that's something in the delivery room. I'm sure he probably learned about it in med school, but that was probably a long time ago.

6:13That's right, Andrea. And that may actually be Reddington's point, that he's arguing a psychiatrist meeting with Lindsay, weighing in on her mental health after having a baby, should have the expertise dealing with patients who have given birth or experienced postpartum. Now, Reddington made a huge point to the jurors when he went through Dr. Mack's resume that he really didn't have the experience. Where in here does it say that you ever came within breathing distance of a pregnant woman and your practice and your interest in your writings? Dr. Mack responded that he did have experience with pregnant women, saying he had treated around 10 patients who experienced postpartum psychosis since 2001.

6:59So the prosecution not only had Dr. Mack evaluate Lindsay, but they also had another expert who happened to be their second rebuttal witness, a forensic psychologist named Dr. Kirk Halbrin. They did. And Andrea, the new doctor, Dr. Halbrin, said that Lindsay experienced bipolar 2 disorder. So a different diagnosis than Dr. Mack. And this is just indicative, perhaps, of how subjective all of this is. even the prosecution experts can't agree. But one thing they did agree on is that Lindsay knew what was right and what was wrong when she killed her children. And because of that, she should be criminally responsible.

7:39What's he basing that on? Well, remember how Patrick, her then husband, went out to pick up some food and visit the CBS? Dr. Halbrin talked about the moment Patrick returned home. He found Lindsay on the ground outside of that second story window. She was semi-conscious after she had jumped from that window following the killings of her children. This expert said something Lindsay told Patrick at that moment was inconsistent with psychosis. He said his first question was, what did you do? And her response was, I tried to kill myself. He went on to testify that someone experiencing hallucinations would have instead said something like this.

8:22I did what I had to do. I did what the voice said or something like that. Nate, the doctor then went on to talk about something that brought the trial to a screeching halt. Tell us about that. Yeah, Dr. Halbrin's testimony veered into a topic that shouldn't be brought up in court, and that's religion. One of the things that she said when asked about what happened is that in the course of strangling each child, she said, go to God, baby, go to God. She was raised as a Catholic, and this, as I understand, Catholic considerations, that's not necessarily what happens, but when I asked her about that, when I said, isn't suicide a mortal sin?

9:13Yeah, can I see counsel over here? Now, the jurors were sent out of the courtroom, and the defense immediately filed a motion for a mistrial, claiming intentional misconduct on the part of the prosecution, saying that they injected religion into the case and that this is completely inappropriate. What did the judge decide? Well, he was clearly angry, agitated, irritated, but he didn't grant the motion for a new trial. He said, I'm not going to give a new trial. instead. He told the jurors to completely disregard that, that it was inappropriate and they should not consider it. At the time we're taping this, the state's third rebuttal witness is on the stand and closings will likely be taking place when this episode airs.

9:56And we'll be covering those and maybe a verdict on next week's episode. But I think the big question in all of this, as we head into deliberations, is how effective do you think the prosecution has been in proving their case that Lindsay deliberately planned these murders. It has people torn, Andrea. If you look at the prosecution's case, they've had a lot of witnesses, over 70, including these rebuttal witnesses. And what's fascinating is that some of them contradict each other. We talked about the two rebuttal witnesses with the two different diagnoses. And in their opening arguments, the prosecution suggested that Lindsay staged her suicide.

10:36But one of the experts they called said that it was actually not staged, that it was a serious matter. And it seems like sometimes the prosecution has been throwing every theory at the jurors other than psychosis. So you have to wonder if it's going to work in their favor. Lindsey Clancy's defense attorney has presented very strong arguments that she was indeed psychotic. And that's why they are asking the jury to find her not criminally responsible for committing these alleged crimes. Yeah. Nate, thank you so much for being on this. We will see you next week for what will very likely be the last chapter of this trial.

11:15Thanks for having me, Andrea.

11:19Coming up, a verdict in the trial of the man accused of hiring a hitman to murder father of four, Jared Bridegan.

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12:57For our next story, we're heading to Florida, where we're at the trial of Mario Fernandez Saldana, one of three people charged in connection with the murder of 33-year-old Microsoft employee Jared Bridegan. Back in February 2022, Jared was driving home through Jacksonville Beach with his two-year-old daughter in the back seat when he stopped to move a tire blocking the road. When he got out of the car, he was ambushed by a gunman. Prosecutors allege Fernandez and his wife Shanna Gardner, who had previously been married to Jared and shared twins with him, hired a hitman to murder Jared. Fernandez is the first of the three defendants to go to trial and has pleaded not guilty.

13:37Dateline producer Mike Nardi has been following the case closely and is here to bring us the latest. Hey, Mike. Hey, Andrea. So, Mike, it took three years for this case to get to trial, but the trial itself actually moved very fast. Before we get into that, catch us up on what we know. Why do prosecutors think Mario Fernandez and Shanna Gardner wanted Jared dead? Shanna and Jared share twins, as you said, and the prosecutors say that the two of them just could not agree on pretty much any of the decisions involving those kids. There had been repeated disputes over things like school, medical expenses, again, pretty much every decision involving the twins.

14:14Mike, Fernandez never tried to hide his feelings about Jared from police. Jurors heard an interview he did with detectives that he gave about two weeks after Jared was killed. Let's take a listen to that. It's one of those things where it's just like, man, you need to get in line because I know people that don't like him. I told you I don't like him in particular. I don't care for that dude. Prosecutors allege things got so bad, Fernandez hired a hitman to kill Jared. They believe the hitman is a man named Henry Tenen. Mike, remind us how the two are connected. So Mario Fernandez owned some rental properties, and Henry Tenen was one of his tenants.

14:51He rented a house from Fernandez. Now, Tenen denies shooting Brightigan, and his trial is going to happen next year. But what's important to note in this trial is that Fernandez's own defense attorney is not denying that Henry Tennant is the killer. They're just saying Fernandez had nothing to do with the murder. There's no DNA connecting him to the crime, no text messages showing that he hired Tennant, and no murder weapon has ever been found. What have prosecutors done to try to convince the jurors that Fernandez was involved? Well, first they started, they wanted to sort of give the jurors a sense of what happened to Jared.

15:27So they showed crime scene video from the night. You can see how dark it was. It was drizzling rain and Jared's body is in the roadway covered with a blanket. Shell casings are nearby. It was just to sort of paint a picture of what happened to Jared. And then they asked the detective to walk the jury through security camera footage from the area around the shooting that night. They pointed out that a blue two-tone Ford F-150 was seen on footage in the area before Jared was killed and driving suspiciously. Are they able to say for sure who owned the truck? Yes, they were able to trace that truck back to Henry Tennant's father.

16:05It was registered to him. And also, they found a tire very similar to the one found in the middle of the road at that rental property owned by Fernandez where Tennant had lived. So they're able to tie Tennant back to the tire and the truck, but it's not exactly hard evidence against Fernandez. So there was a gunman and a driver present for the murder. And here's what's important about that is that the man the prosecutors in defense say was the gunman, Henry Tannen, is seen leaving the crime scene on foot, which means he wasn't driving the truck. Someone else was. Mike, are prosecutors suggesting Fernandez was the driver?

16:42I think suggesting is probably the right word. You know, they can't say for sure who the driver was, but the implication that they're making is that Fernandez was the one in the truck. Okay, so if they can't confirm Fernandez was on the scene, how are they connecting him to the crime? Well, I think the biggest piece of evidence here is the fact that Henry Tannen had no connection to Jared Bridegan except through his landlord, Mario Fernandez. He had no reason to kill Jared, no reason to know who Jared was. And the prosecution presented evidence that Tannen had detailed knowledge of Jared's pattern of life.

17:16And they're saying how else would he know this if it didn't come from Mario Fernandez? So to prove that, the prosecutors relied heavily on cell phone evidence, showing that the two men were communicating in the months leading up to Jared's murder. They used location data to highlight what they say are some important movements before and around the killing that the two of them must have been together. But the defense spent a lot of time attacking that cell phone evidence, pointing out that location data can tell you where a phone is, but not necessarily where the person who owns it is. Prosecutors have also shown checks to the jury, which they say Fernandez made out to Tenen.

17:55Right. So it's three specific checks that the jury saw. And they were from Fernandez's rental company made out to Henry Tenen in the months after the murder. One was for$2 ,000, one for$3 ,000, and one for$5 ,000. So that's$10 ,000 in total. And prosecutors say those are the payments for Jared's murder disguised as legitimate business expenses. The defense countered saying it's a much simpler explanation. They said, you know, these aren't secret cash payments. They're traceable business checks. Prosecutors played jurors, a recorded conversation between Fernandez and one of his friends. And he talks about the work that Tenen did for him.

18:33He was working for me for a bit, like after it. Oh, really? For real? Yeah. He did a lot of work, dude. It seems like that could support this defense theory that Fernandez was just paying Tenen for work he did. Right, right. In this phone call, Fernandez says that Tenen was doing yard and landscaping work. But, you know, the state focused on another part of that call where Fernandez is talking about getting a quote to take a tree down. And the quote was for$3 ,000. And he laughs and said, there's no way I'd pay that much money. And I was like, yeah, no, go off, dude. No way. way. So the state is essentially saying if Fernandez is saying he wouldn't pay that much for the work, what is that check really for?

19:17Prosecutors have also argued that Fernandez can be connected to the type of gun used in the killing. But again, it's not conclusive. Tell us about that. Right, right. First and foremost, the murder weapon has never been recovered. So this is all sort of speculation and trying to connect the dots. But investigators say that Jared was shot with a 10-millimeter firearm, which is not a very common sort of caliber type of gun. And prosecutors put a friend of Fernandez's on the stand, a man named John Biggerstaff. And he had owned a 10-millimeter Glock, and they believe that Biggerstaff gave it to Fernandez so that he could in turn give it to Tennant for the murder.

20:00Biggerstaff himself testified that he never gave a gun to Fernandez or Tennant and had nothing to do with the murder. Bigger staff has never been charged in connection in the crime. Correct. Correct. Tuesday, the defense called just two witnesses, and these witnesses worked at the school the twins attended. What was the purpose of their testimony? Both spoke to Shanna Garner and Fernandez as parents and said they were friendly and involved, you know, just sort of basically painting a picture of them as a regular family. It seems a little, I don't know, I'm trying to figure out why they would call these two people.

20:35If this is your whole defense, what are you getting from this? I agree. It seemed a little odd other than trying to normalize the relationship between Shanna Gardner and Mario Fernandez. And closing arguments also began on Tuesday. What were the highlights? Prosecutors were—their goal was really to put all of these pieces together. Every little piece might not add up, but when you look at things as a whole, you realize that Fernandez had to have been involved. It was almost the perfect crime. He almost got away with it. What did the defense choose to point out in their closing argument? Well, they reinforced what they've been saying throughout the trial, that there is no physical evidence that Mario Fernandez killed Jared or had anything to do with his murder.

21:22And they also say there was no motive. They pointed to the custody dispute prosecutors focused on and argued that the most recent family law case had been closed about four months before Jared was killed. So what they were really trying to stress to the jury is that whatever conflict existed, that case was over. There is no evidence they had any motive to take one single day away from Jared Bright again. OK, so on Wednesday afternoon, after just four hours of deliberations, the jury reached a verdict. Let's listen to that. In the defense, please rise and hearken to the jury's verdict. We, the jury, find the defendant guilty of first-degree murder as charged in the indictment.

22:00Fernandez was found guilty on all counts, including first-degree murder. His estranged wife, Shanna Garner's trial, is expected to start in September. So we will be on the lookout for that. Thanks, Mike. Thanks, Andrea. Up next, it's time for Dateline Roundup. We've got the latest from the trial of the former gang leader accused of murdering Tupac Shakur. And all the details from Donna Adelson's request for a new trial. Plus, the Lindsay Clancy trial isn't the first to raise awareness of postpartum psychosis. 25 years ago, Texas mother Andrea Yates stood trial twice, accused of murdering her children.

22:40Central to her defense? Postpartum psychosis.

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24:26Welcome back. Joining me for this week's Roundup is Dateline Digital producer Veronica Mazzica. Thanks for being here, Veronica. Thanks for having me. Okay, so first we are in Las Vegas, where the murder trial of Dwayne Davis, or Keefy D, as he's known, is underway. Davis is accused of helping to orchestrate the 1996 shooting that killed rapper Tupac Shakur while he was riding in a car on the Las Vegas Strip. Davis has pleaded not guilty. Veronica, this is a murder mystery that has gone unsolved for nearly 30 years. What is the prosecution's case against Davis? Yeah. So the prosecutor's theory is that Davis organized the shooting of Tupac to avenge his nephew, Orlando Anderson, after Tupac and a gang of other men beat up Orlando at the MGM Grand Casino on September 7th, 1996.