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Wife charged with murder of missing Utah guardsman

Oct 15, 2024, 1:30 PM | Updated: Oct 25, 2024, 12:32 pm

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — A Utah woman who was previously arrested in connection with the death of her husband has now been formally charged with his murder.

Jennifer Gledhill, 41, faces a charge of first-degree murder for the death of Matthew Johnson, 51, as well as five counts of felony obstruction of justice, desecration of a human body, witness tampering, and drug charges. The charging documents and a statement about the charges were released Tuesday by the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office. She was arrested on Oct. 2.

The charges also request Gledhill to be held without bail, stating she would present a “substantial” danger to the community and to the integrity of the investigation into Johnson’s death if released from custody. Johnson’s body has not been recovered, though an informant told police Gledhill said she buried him in a shallow grave.

“The State believes that defendant was very calculating in her crimes in that she arranged for the children to stay with her parents during the evening Matthew was killed,” charging documents state. “Investigation further revealed that she asked her parents to keep the children for another day, presumably while she was cleaning up the crime scene and disposing of Matthew’s body.”

Police originally said a missing persons case involving a Utah guardsman was “suspicious” after his truck was discovered only a couple blocks from his home. Matthew Johnson, 51, was initially reported missing by his wife on Sept. 20, according to Cottonwood Heights Police Sgt. Gary Young. (KSL TV)

The district attorney’s office states that Gledhill was having an affair with a man who contacted and informed them about her claims of killing Johnson and provided them screenshots of text messages between them, allegedly taken during a conversation as she was deleting them from her phone. According to the informant, Johnson confronted his wife about the affair on Sept. 20, yelling at her. Gledhill is alleged to have said she shot and killed Johnson on Sept. 21 while he slept in their bed.

Investigators said Gledhill told the informant she took his body out of their home in a storage container she slid down the stairs, then loaded it in a minivan, took it north, dug a hole and buried Johnson in a shallow grave. The informant said he later saw bruises on her body that she told him were from moving Johnson’s body and cleaning their house.

Police said Johnson was a respected member of a U.S. military special operations unit. He was employed with the Utah National Guard and was due to return from leave on Sept. 23.

While searching Gledhill’s home, detectives found a new mattress and reddish-brown spots on the bed frame, wall, and blinds in the master bedroom. The carpet below the bed tested positive for human blood, and the wall behind the bed was covered in bleach, investigators said.

Cottonwood Heights police officers escort Jennifer Gledhill into a police car on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. Police say she shot and killed her husband as he slept. (Ed Collins, KSL TV)

At the time charges were filed, the blood was undergoing tests to confirm it matched Johnson’s DNA but preliminary tests showed the blood belonged to one male. The carpet was sent to the state crime lab.

Phone records were also searched for location information that tracked her heading north towards Davis County on Sept. 22 and that she called her father then her phone was turned off for nearly three hours and then showed another call to her father after it was turned back on.

The following day investigators said they matched video surveillance at gas stations where Gledhill washed and vacuumed her vehicle on Sept. 22. Gledhill’s phone records show that she never tried to contact Johnson after Sept. 21.

Gledhill allegedly texted the informant, “I washed everything and vacuumed, and it’s not an issue anymore.”

Detectives served a warrant for Gledhill’s parents’ home and located a gun that matched the description of one the informant said she showed him on Sept. 19. Charging documents state investigators confronted Gledhill’s parents about visiting her home on Sept. 24. Her mother said she purchased a mattress on Amazon. Her father, when asked about visiting the master bedroom said, “I did not go in where the incident happened.”

“No one in Mr. Johnson’s life has heard from him since September 21, which is inconsistent with his pattern of life,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

Johnson’s truck was located in the area of 3100 East and Fort Union Boulevard, blocks away from his home. Police said witnesses reported an argument between the couple near the day it is believed he was killed, and that the couple had been considering divorce since July.

“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,” said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. “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.

KSL 5 TV Live

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Wife charged with murder of missing Utah guardsman