Wealthy Utah Mother Shoots Military Husband After Protective Order Against Him Rejected: Police

Jennifer Gledhill, 41, allegedly confessed to an informant she shot and killed her husband while he slept to an before attempting to cover it up, per local CBS affiliate CUTV.

She stands accused of first-degree felony murder and second-degree felony obstruction of justice, according to the Cottonwood Heights Police Department.

The alleged shooting occurred just days after a judge dismissed a temporary protective order case Gledhill filed against her husband, with the ruling stating that evidential videos showed her as “unafraid” and “equally confrontational toward him.”

Police were tipped off about the murder by a confidential informant after Johnson was reported missing on September 23 for failure to show up for work with the Utah National Guard. His truck was found a few blocks from the house, which authorities reported finding “suspicious” in their arrest affidavit seen by The Gephardt Daily.

“On or around Sept. 28, 2024, Cottonwood Heights Police Department was in contact with a confidential informant who was reporting they had spoken with Jennifer on the evening of Sept. 22, 2024, at which time Jennifer Gledhill openly admitted to killing Johnson by shooting him in the head while he slept,” police wrote in the arrest affidavit.

According to the informant, Gledhill allegedly admitted to relocating Johnson’s body to a shallow grave at an undisclosed location and that she’d been removing incriminating evidence from the home and destroying them in an effort to cover up the crime.

“Several search warrants have been obtained and served on electronic devices which have led investigators to believe the remains of Johnson are at the same undisclosed location as described by the CI,” Police said in the report.

They further detailed finding “a large blood-stained spot in the master bedroom carpet underneath the bed.” Additional forensic investigations uncovered blood on the bed frame slats, as well as evidence of a significant cleanup in the room, including bleached walls and carpet cleaning.

Phone records show that a new mattress was ordered for the bed on September 24, arriving two days later, per the affidavit. The officer who wrote up the arrest affidavit also requested “no bail” as she’d allegedly “already tampered with evidence.”

“It is my belief that if released, Jennifer will further tamper, remove, or destroy critical evidence pertaining to this investigation,” the statement read, adding that she was also believed to be a likely flight risk. After her arrest, she is held without bail.

Prior to her arrest for allegedly murdering her husband, Gledhill had filed for divorce from Johnson in July, as reported by KSL. On August 21, she filed for a temporary protective order, which was rejected.

After a hearing on the matter, 3rd District Commissioner Russell Minas concluded there was no “abuse,” per court documents seen by the outlet. “There has been no intentional causing or attempting to cause physical harm,” he ruled.

“While (Johnson’s) conduct in some instances approaches the line of placing (Gledhill) in reasonable fear of imminent physical harm, from the evidence presented he does not cross that line,” continued the September 16 document.

He determined that Gledhil appeared “unafraid” in submitted videos as evidence, as well as stating she appeared to be “equally confrontational toward him.” The ruling also states that text messages from Gledhill to Johnson were “repeatedly berating, belittling and demeaning … if not outright attempting to goad him into a violent response.”

“The conduct of the parties over the past several months is representative of a highly dysfunctional marriage bringing out the worst in the parties,” Minas stated in his ruling, “clearly suggestive that an action for divorce should have been filed long before reaching the current state of affairs.”

Gledhill and Johnson are the parents of three children, ages 11, 7, and 5, per police. “We want to express our heartfelt sympathy to the families, especially to the Johnson children,” the department said in a statement received by KLS. “These unfortunate tragedies tear apart the fabric of our families.”