Police arrested a Cottonwood Heights woman Wednesday to investigate the murder of her husband, who had been missing for more than a week.
Jennifer Gledhill, 41, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on Wednesday for investigation of murder and obstruction of justice.
Matthew Johnson, 51, a member of the United States Military Special Operations Unit, was reported missing by his wife on September 20, Cottonwood Heights police said. Witnesses reported there was an argument between the couple before he disappeared, police said.
On Monday, the missing person case was deemed “suspicious” after Johnson’s truck was discovered just a few blocks from his home. In a news release Wednesday, police said they now believe Johnson died of a gunshot wound, but declined to provide further details.
“Investigators have collected significant physical and digital evidence, along with witness statements, supporting probable cause for arrest,” the news release said.
Previous relationship problems
Court documents show Gledhill filed for divorce from Johnson in July. On August 21, she filed a petition for a temporary protective order, which was signed the next day. After a hearing on the protective order, Third District Commissioner Russell Minas concluded that the issuance of a civil protective order was not warranted and that no “abuse” had occurred, according to court documents.
“There was no intentional causing or attempting to cause physical harm. Although in some cases (Johnson’s) conduct approaches the line of placing (Gledhill) in reasonable fear of imminent bodily harm, based on the evidence presented he does not cross that line.” according to the commissioner’s statement on September 16.
Gledhill submitted videos that she claimed showed evidence she needed a protective order, but Minas’ ruling states the videos depict her as “unafraid” of Johnson and “equally confrontational toward him.”
Text messages between them show that Gledhill was “repeatedly verbally abusive, belittling and demeaning” toward Johnson, “if not outright attempts to incite him into a violent response,” the ruling said.
“The behavior of the parties in recent months is representative of a highly dysfunctional marriage that is bringing out the worst in the parties – clearly suggesting that a divorce case should have been filed long before the current state of affairs was reached,” the statement said. pronunciation. .
Police confirmed they had previously visited the couple’s home for civil matters.
Gledhill and Johnson have three children, ages 11, 7 and 5, police said.
“We would like to express our sincere condolences to the families, especially the Johnson children. These unfortunate tragedies tear apart the fabric of our families,” Cottonwood Heights police said in a statement.
Cottonwood Heights police arrest a woman accused of murdering her husband
