A Utah mom allegedly shot her missing husband to death in their bed in September and tried to cover up the evidence, according to Cottonwood Heights police.
Salt Lake County authorities have charged Jennifer Gledhill with first-degree murder, five counts of obstruction of justice, possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, abuse of a human body and tampering with a witness.
A Salt Lake County judge also ordered Gledhill be held without bail after prosecutors alleged in court documents obtained by Fox News Digital that she was “very calculating in her crimes in that she arranged for the children to stay with her parents during the evening Matthew was killed.”
Gledhill’s husband, Matthew Johnson, was initially considered missing for days when a member of the Utah National Guard contacted the Cottonwood Heights Police Department on Sept. 25 asking for a wellness check on Johnson, stating he had not come into work, “which was very unusual,” a probable cause affidavit states.
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Matthew Johnson’s friends and family last heard from him on Sept. 21, though he is now presumed dead. (Cottonwood Heights PD)
On Sept. 28, Gledhill reported her husband missing to police, saying she had not heard from him since Sept. 20. She also claimed “Matthew told her that he was going to be gone for a week and not to call him.” She seemed “distracted and at times nervous” during the call, according to the court documents.
An informant then came forward to police with information about Gledhill, saying he was having an extramarital affair with her. The informant told Cottonwood Heights police that on Sunday, Sept. 22, Gledhill came over to his house and told him that she was “likely going away for a long time.”
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She apparently told the informant that she and Johnson had gotten in a fight on Sept. 20 “because he knew she had been sleeping with someone else,” and allegedly went on to admit to the informant that on the evening of Sept. 21, she shot her husband in the head with his 9 mm Glock “as he slept in their shared bed.”
She further told the informant “that she loaded Matthew’s body into a rooftop storage container, slid him down the stairs by herself, and loaded him into the back of her minivan.”
Gledhill said she transported Johnson’s body “north, dug a hole, and buried him in a shallow grave,” court documents state.
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Jennifer Gledhill apparently told her lover that she shot her husband in the head, according to police. (FOX 13 Salt Lake City)
Johnson’s body has yet to be recovered, though detectives found his truck located 0.3 miles from his home with his cellphone inside the vehicle.
In text and WhatsApp messages, Gledhill allegedly told the informant that if she were told a story like the one she told him, “she would take it to the grave,” the probable cause affidavit says.
“I washed everything & vacuumed & its not an issue anymore.”
A neighbor told police that on Sept. 24, she saw Gledhill’s parents inside the home “cleaning” the garage and “moving things around.”
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While serving a search warrant at Gledhill’s residence, detectives noticed that the mattress in the master bedroom “appeared to be brand new.”
Gledhill allegedly told the informant “that she loaded Matthew’s body into a rooftop storage container, slid him down the stairs by herself, and loaded him into the back of her minivan.” Gledhill said she transported Johnson’s body “north, dug a hole, and buried him in a shallow grave,” court documents state. (FOX 13 Salt Lake City)
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“Additionally, the entire wall behind the master bed appeared to have fresh wipe marks from cleaning. Several reddish-brown spots were located on the walls, bed frame, and blinds of the master bedroom. Detectives noted that the wall behind the master bed was covered in bleach,” court documents states.
Investigators also noted “a strong smell of chlorine in the basement” and bleach stains on “several stairs” with black carpeting.
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During a search of the suspect’s vehicle, detectives located bags of what appeared to be drugs that were packaged “for individual sale” and about $200 in cash.
Police also served a search warrant at Gledhill’s parents’ home, where they located a tote bag by the room she would sleep in containing “a Glock 19X gun box (green/tan in color) with one of the handles broken,” which was “wrapped in a child’s onesie.”
Jennifer Gledhill had previously, and unsuccessfully, tried to get a restraining order against Matthew Johnson. (FOX 13 Salt Lake City)
Gledhill’s cellphone records show that “at no point” after Sept. 21, when her husband last communicated with friends and family, “did she ever attempt to contact” Johnson, prosecutors said.
Gledhill’s mother told detectives she went to her daughter’s home on Sept. 24 and admitted to purchasing a new mattress from Amazon at Gledhill’s request.
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When police asked the suspect’s father if he entered the master bedroom, he responded, “I did not go in where the incident happened.”
Gledhill previously made “unsuccessful attempts to secure a protective order against Matthew during the course of their marriage and was found by the Court to be an instigator and one to goad Matthew into a response in order to get him in trouble,” according to records obtained by prosecutors.
“The evidence is significant that defendant obstructed the investigation by removing the mattress she admitted to Informant that she shot Matthew on while he was sleeping and replaced days later with a new mattress,” prosecutors said.
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Investigators have collected samples of carpet that tested positive for human blood spatter and are awaiting the results of DNA testing. Fox News Digital has reached out to Gledhill’s attorney’s office.
“Our hearts go out to the loved ones of Mr. Matthew Johnson, not only a father and son but a member of the Utah National Guard. Our office will continue to work closely with investigators as we seek justice for Mr. Johnson,” Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said in an Oct. 15 statement. “We appreciate Cottonwood Heights Police Department detectives working with our prosecutors as they worked to collect the evidence necessary to file these charges. All persons accused of wrongdoing are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.”
