Police arrest Cottonwood Heights woman in killing of her husband

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COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — Police arrested a Cottonwood Heights woman Wednesday in the death 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 U.S. military Special Operations Unit, was reported missing by his wife on Sept. 20. Witnesses reported an argument between the couple before he went missing, Cottonwood Heights police said.

On Monday, the missing person's case was deemed "suspicious" after Johnson's truck was discovered only a couple of blocks from his home. In a statement Wednesday, police said they now believe Johnson died of a gunshot wound but declined to give further details.

"Investigators have gathered significant physical and digital evidence, along with witness testimony, which supports the probable cause for arrest," the statement says.

Previous relationship issues

Court documents show Gledhill filed for divorce from Johnson in July. On Aug. 21, she filed a petition for a temporary protective order, which was signed the next day. After a hearing for the protective order, 3rd District Commissioner Russell Minas concluded the issuance of a civil protective order was not warranted, and no "abuse" had occurred, according to court documents.

"There has been no intentional causing or attempting to cause physical harm. 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," the commissioner's ruling on Sept. 16 said.

Gledhill submitted videos she claimed showed evidence of needing a protective order, but Minas' ruling states the videos portray her as "unafraid" of Johnson and "equally confrontational toward him."

Text messages between them show Gledhill was "repeatedly berating, belittling and demeaning" toward Johnson, "if not outright attempting to goad him into a violent response," the ruling says.

"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 ruling says.

Police confirmed they had visited the couple's residence previously for civil matters.

Gledhill and Johnson have three children, ages 11, 7 and 5, police said.

"We want to express our heartfelt sympathy to the families, especially to the Johnson children. These unfortunate tragedies tear apart the fabric of our families," Cottonwood Heights police said.

Domestic violence resources

Help for people in abusive relationships can be found by contacting:

• Utah Domestic Violence Coalition: Utah's confidential statewide, 24-hour domestic violence hotline at 1-800-897-LINK (5465)
• YWCA Women in Jeopardy program: 801-537-8600
• Utah's statewide child abuse and neglect hotline: 1-855-323-DCFS (3237)
• National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233

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Cassidy Wixom

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Cassidy Wixom is an award-winning reporter for KSL.com. She covers Utah County communities and breaking news. Cassidy graduated from BYU before joining KSL in 2022.