A Utah mom of three accused of fatally shooting her husband in his sleep after he learned of her alleged extramarital affair has pleaded not guilty to the charges against her.
Jennifer Gledhill, 42, appeared at the Matheson Courthouse in Salt Lake City on Feb. 6, having previously been charged in October 2024 in connection to the disappearance and death of her husband Matthew Johnson, per a media releasefrom the Salt Lake County District Attorney. She told Judge Adam Mow that she was waiving her right to a preliminary hearing and through her attorney pled not guilty to the nine felony charges against her, including first-degree murder, according to local media outlet Fox 13 News Utah.
Local media outlet KSL-TV reported that Gledhill has been ordered to stand trial after her not guilty plea.
As previously reported, Gledhill reported Johnson, a member of the Utah National Guard, missing on Sept. 28, 2024. She was arrested weeks later when an informant who claimed he had been having an affair with her told police that she had allegedly confessed to details of the killing, per the release.
The informant told police that Gledhill visited his home on Sept. 22 and allegedly told him that Johnson had come home two days prior and “yelled at her because he knew she had been sleeping with someone else.” “The defendant told the informant that she shot Mr. Johnson on September 21, 2024, as he slept in their bed,” the release added.
Prosecutors allege that Gledhill shot Johnson in his sleep before putting his body in a “rooftop storage container” and transporting it in their minivan before burying him in a shallow grave. According to Fox 13, Johnson’s body is yet to be found, but Gledhill allegedly told the informant he was buried somewhere north of their Cottonwood Heights home.
Jennifer Gledhill in court in February 2024.
FOX 13 News Utah/Youtube
On Oct. 24, Gledhill’s parents, Thomas Gledhill, 70, and Rosalie Gledhill, 67, were arrested during traffic stops in Salt Lake County, Cottonwood Heights police said in a press release previously shared with PEOPLE. Authorities allege they helped their daughter cover up the killing. They were both booked into jail on multiple felony counts of obstruction of justice in connection with the death of Johnson, according to police.
However, according to KSL-TV, Thomas and Rosalie — who are each facing four counts — have not yet been formally charged.
Cottonwood Heights police spokesman Sgt. Gary Young told the outlet that a group of 70 law enforcement officers and Utah National Guard soldiers searched near the Utah-Idaho border for Johnson’s body on the weekend of Feb. 1-2.
“It’s a needle in a haystack and we don’t have specific information, but we’re hoping to get lucky and we’re hoping to get lucky in the right area,” Young told KSL-TV.
Johnson’s family shared a statement with the outlet through their victim representative, Brandon Merrill, executive director of the Utah Homicide Survivors.
“The family of Matt are focusing on making sure his three children are well taken care of and surrounded by those who love them,” the statement read, per KSL-TV. “We are hopeful that we will find Matt soon or that Jennifer or someone will come forward with the location of his body so we can properly lay him to rest.”
“We thank the people of Utah for all of their support, especially Matt’s military unit for all their hard work on our behalf,” the statement concluded.
Gledhill’s next hearing is scheduled for Feb. 28, per the outlet. It will include a pretrial conference and detention hearing.
