The missing man's wife told the informant that she killed him and buried him in a shallow grave

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS, Utah (KUTV) — This report is currently being updated. Update for the latest version.

A Cottonwood Heights woman was arrested on suspicion of murder after police said she admitted to a third party that she killed her husband, hid his body and carefully cleaned up the crime scene.

Jennifer Gledhill, 41, was arrested by Cottonwood Heights police on Wednesday and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail. She is accused of shooting her husband, Utah National Guardsman Matthew Johnson, about four days after a judge ordered dismissing a restraining order case Gledhill filed against her husband a month earlier.

A few days later, Johnson was reported missing.

At the end of this article you will find a timeline of key dates listed in court documents and by police.

CHPD announced Gledhill's arrest on Tuesday, Oct. 2, and said she was charged with second-degree felony murder and obstruction of justice. Shortly before 7 p.m. that day, she was officially booked into the Salt Lake County Jail.

Arrest documents state that Gledhill went to Cottonwood Heights police on Sept. 24 to “report an incident that occurred on or about September 20, 2024 through September 21, 2024 between her and her estranged husband, Matthew Johnson “.

However, the report does not specify what Gledhill reported. The affidavit simply states that the “case was documented” and provides a CHPD case number.

According to an affidavit, Gledhill told an unknown person that she shot her husband in the head while he was sleeping. That person reportedly went to police about a week later.

“On or about September 28, 2024, Cottonwood Heights Police were in contact with a confidential informant (CI) who reported speaking with Jennifer on the evening of September 22, 2024. At that point, Jennifer Gledhill openly admitted to killing Johnson by shooting him in the head while he was sleeping,” the arresting officer’s report states. “…Jennifer also told the (confidential informant) that she removed Johnson's body and transferred his remains to a shallow grave at an undisclosed location.”

Authorities reported that Gledhill also told the informant that she removed and destroyed items from the house to cover up the crime, apparently missing some details in the process.

“Investigators obtained a search warrant for the residence in Cottonwood Heights, and during that search we discovered a large bloodstained stain in the master bedroom carpet under the bed,” Gledhill’s arrest documents state. “Blood was also found on the slats of the bed frame, which confirms the police’s information.”

The rapporteur added:

“There is also evidence that significant clean-up work was carried out following this crime, including bleaching walls and using carpet cleaning products.”

“Matthew had no contact with anyone, including his children,” the officer reported. “Matthew’s phone went to voicemail. Matthew never returned to work and never left any evidence that would lead investigators to believe Matthew was still alive. Based on this conduct and the evidence collected during this investigation, it is believed that Matthew Johnson is deceased.”

In a public statement, police said Johnson's body had not been found and that Gledhill had not directly confessed to investigators.

In the months before her arrest, Gledhill found herself in what appeared to be a turbulent court case over the couple's divorce. The case history indicates that during these proceedings she applied for a protective order, which was ultimately granted after it was requested as a standalone case.

However, the order was only temporary as the court examined evidence of alleged abuse.

About four days before police believed Johnson had been killed, a court commissioner ruled that the evidence Gledhill presented did not meet Utah's definition of abuse and the protective order case was dismissed.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

This timeline was created using the divorce case history and protective order history, as well as the probable cause statement filed Tuesday evening.

July 2024

• July 3, 2024: Jennifer Gledhill files for divorce from Matthew Johnson in 3rd District Court

August 2024

• August 21: Jennifer Gledhill files for an order of protection against Matthew Johnson.
• August 21: A temporary protection order is initially issued

September 2024

• Sept. 10: Court commissioner recommends protective order be extended for a week while evidence is reviewed.
• Sept. 16: Ruling orders the protection order lifted after the commissioner reports Gledhill failed to prove abuse
• September 16: The protective order was found to have “inadvertently expired” and a new order was issued for the court to appropriately revoke it
• September 16: Lawsuit officially dismissed
• September 17: Divorce Case Management Conference
• Sept. 20: Johnson was last seen in the area of ​​3000 East and Fort Union Boulevard in Cottonwood Heights
• September 21: Communication between Johnson and the children comes to a standstill
• September 22: Gledhill allegedly admits to a confidante that she killed Johnson and buried his body in a shallow grave
• September 23: Johnson doesn't show up for work
• September 24: Gledhill reportedly orders a new mattress
• September 24: Gledhill reports an incident to police
• September 26: Mattress delivered to Gledhill's house
• September 28: Gledhill's confidant contacts Cottonwood Heights police
• September 30: Johnson's truck is found a few blocks from his home

October 2024

• October 2, 2024: Jennifer Gledhill is arrested and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail
• Police incorrectly report that Gledhill was charged; No charges have been filed at the time of updating this report

Unclear or contradictory data

• Either September 20 or 21: A witness reported seeing an argument between Johnson and Gledhill
• Either September 20th or 21st: Matthew Johnson is said to have been murdered
• Either September 20th or September 23rd or possibly September 24th:
• Unknown: Gledhill allegedly removes Johnson's body from the house
• Unknown: Gledhill allegedly buried Johnson in a shallow grave at an unspecified location
• Unknown: Gledhill is allegedly trying to cover up the crime scene
• Unknown: Search warrants were obtained and executed for Gledhill's home and electronic devices