National Guard husband vanishes, and his wife’s alleged affair — and a new mattress — raise chilling questions of murder
A Utah mother allegedly shot her husband to death in their bed in September, according to claims by her alleged lover. The husband has been missing since last month.
Jennifer Gledhill, 41, told police she and her estranged husband met to talk Sept. 20 and began “drinking whiskey,” according to an arrest report.
The mother of three allegedly told her lover that she transported her husband’s body “north, dug a hole, and buried him in a shallow grave.”
Gledhill and her husband — 51-year-old Matthew Johnson — allegedly agreed to have sex that night.
“Jennifer informed [the officer] due to the intoxication from the whiskey she had a hard time recalling the events that took place after her and Matthew had sex,” the warrant states, according to KSTU-TV.
Johnson — a member of the Utah National Guard — was reported missing Sept. 23.
The next day, Gledhill reportedly contacted the Cottonwood Heights Police Department to file a domestic violence incident report against her husband.
She allegedly informed an officer that “bruises were all over her body,” and she wanted them photographed for evidence.
The warrant noted that an officer noticed several bruises on Gledhill’s arms, hands, legs, and a bruise under her left eye.
Gledhill claimed Johnson “became upset,” but she could not remember why, according to the warrant.
“Jennifer informed me she remembered Matthew was on top of her with a closed fist striking her several times,” Gledhill reportedly told police.
However, an informant told investigators a different story.
An unnamed man who claimed to be having an affair with Gledhill reportedly told police that she informed him that she sustained bruises from “moving Matthew’s body and cleaning the mess in the house.”
‘I washed everything & vacuumed & it’s not an issue anymore.’
The alleged lover also made another bombshell accusation.
Fox News reported that the lover informed investigators that Gledhill came over to his house on Sept. 22, and she told him that she was “likely going away for a long time.”
According to police, the informant claimed that Gledhill told him that she and Johnson got into a fight on Sept. 20 “because he knew she had been sleeping with someone else.”
The informant allegedly told police Gledhill confessed to him that she shot Johnson in the head with his 9mm Glock “as he slept in their shared bed.”
Court documents said Gledhill told her lover “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.”
Documents added that the mother of three allegedly told her lover that she transported her husband’s body “north, dug a hole, and buried him in a shallow grave.”
The probable cause affidavit noted that Gledhill sent the informant text messages and messages on WhatsApp, including one that reportedly read: “I washed everything & vacuumed & it’s not an issue anymore.”
Gledhill told the informant that if she were told a story like the one she told him that “she would take it to the grave,” according to court documents.
A neighbor reportedly told police that she witnessed Gledhill’s parents inside the home “cleaning” the garage and “moving things around” on Sept. 24. The suspect’s mother reportedly confirmed to investigators that she was at her daughter’s house Sept. 24.
Johnson has yet to be found.
‘Take it to the grave.’
Detectives found Johnson’s truck and his cellphone inside it less than a mile from his home.
While serving a search warrant at Gledhill’s residence, detectives allegedly noted that the mattress in the master bedroom “appeared to be brand new.”
Prosecutors claimed, “The evidence is significant that defendant obstructed the investigation by removing the mattress she admitted to [the] informant that she shot Matthew on while he was sleeping and replaced days later with a new mattress.”
Gledhill’s mother allegedly told detectives that she purchased a new mattress from Amazon at Gledhill’s request.
“Additionally, the entire wall behind the master bed appeared to have fresh wipe marks from cleaning,” court documents state. “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.”
Police noted “a strong smell of chlorine in the basement” and bleach stains on “several stairs” with black carpeting.
During a search of the suspect’s vehicle, detectives discovered bags of what appeared to be drugs packaged “for individual sale” and roughly $200 in cash.
Citing cellphone records, prosecutors said “at no point” after Sept. 21 did Gledhill “ever attempt to contact” Johnson.
When investigators asked the suspect’s father if he had recently entered the master bedroom, he reportedly responded, “I did not go in where the incident happened.”
According to police records, 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,” prosecutors argued.
On Oct. 2, Gledhill was arrested and charged 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.
During her first court appearance Monday, 3rd District Judge Todd Olsen ordered her to not have contact with any of her three young children — ages 11, 7, and 5 — either in person or electronically.
KSL-TV reported Gledhill “wiped tears from her face” as the judge issued the order.
Gledhill’s attorney, Jeremy Deus, argued, “I think this is a heavy-handed tactic by the state to try to put undue pressure on her.”
Deus added, “I can’t imagine what it’s like to say that she can’t see the children and, in effect, tell the children that they can’t see mom, either. They’re not named victims in the case. I don’t see a basis for having a protective order that prevents them from having contact with their mother in any form or fashion.”
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
