Utah wife allegedly killed missing military husband while he slept and hid his body

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS, Utah (TCN) -- A 41-year-old woman was arrested after she allegedly confessed to a confidential informant that she killed her estranged husband, a Utah National Guardsman, whom she had reported missing days later.

Salt Lake County Jail records show Jennifer Gledhill was taken into custody on Oct. 2 on charges of murder and obstruction of justice in connection with the death of her missing husband, Matthew Johnson.

According to court records cited by KUTV-TV, Gledhill went to the Cottonwood Heights Police Department on Sept. 24 to "report an incident that occurred on or about Sept. 20, 2024, to Sept. 21, 2024, between her, and her estranged husband Matthew Johnson." Four days later, an informant spoke with police and said Gledhill "openly admitted" to them on Sept. 22 that she shot Johnson in the head while he slept. She also reportedly told the informant that she "removed the body of Johnson and had relocated his remains to a shallow grave at an undisclosed location."

Investigators went to Gledhill’s home and reportedly found a "large bloodstained spot in the master bedroom carpet underneath the bed," as well as blood on the bed frame. The affidavit reportedly said evidence shows there were signs of "significant cleanup," including bleaching the walls and cleaning the carpet. Police said the evidence, as well as Johnson failing to show up to work and not answering phone calls, leads them to conclude that he is deceased.

According to KUTV, Gledhill and Johnson were in the middle of a contentious divorce. Gledhill filed for divorce on July 3 and obtained a temporary protective order Aug. 21 against Johnson. The court commissioner reportedly noted, "The conduct of the parties over the past several months is representative of a highly dysfunctional marriage bringing out the worst in the parties — clearly suggestive that an action for divorce should have been filed long before reaching the current state of affairs."

The judge dismissed the protective order on Sept. 16. The two had a case management conference on Sept. 17, and Johnson was last seen alive on Sept. 20.

KSTU-TV reports Gledhill allegedly purchased a new mattress on Sept. 24, and it was delivered on Sept. 26.

Johnson’s body has still not been found.

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