Utah woman denied bail in husband's murder case amid new evidence

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

Jennifer Gledhill was denied bail in the death of her husband due to new evidence.
Prosecutors presented evidence, including DNA analysis and informant testimony, linking Gledhill to the crime.
Defense attorney Jeremy Deus emphasized there are often two sides to every story.

SALT LAKE CITY — In a recent detention hearing, prosecutors unveiled new evidence in the case against Jennifer Gledhill, 42, accused of killing her estranged husband, Matthew Johnson, 51, a Utah National Guardsman.

Gledhill's request for bail was denied after prosecutors presented compelling evidence and argued that Gledhill could pose a threat to the community, including a confidential informant.

During the hearing, Salt Lake County prosecutor Emily Paulos revealed new details in the ongoing investigation.

"Matthew Johnson is not missing. Matthew Johnson was murdered by the defendant," Paulos stated, noting that Johnson has been missing since Sept. 20, 2024.

The courtroom was shown images from the couple's bedroom in their Cottonwood Heights home, including blood-stained carpet and bed slats. DNA analysis confirmed the blood on the carpet belonged to Johnson.

Prosecutors believe Gledhill shot Johnson while he was in bed, based on a video recording of the couple arguing and information from an informant who claims Gledhill confessed to the killing, which prosecutors believe took place on Sept. 21, 2024.

"On Sept. 22, the defendant confessed to the informant that she shot Matthew in the master bedroom with a gun as he slept," Paulos said. "She also confessed that she loaded Matthew's body into a rooftop storage container, slid him down the stairs, and loaded him into her minivan. She buried him in a shallow grave and cleaned everything up."

Paulos argued that they've able to corroborate much of the confidential informant's testimony through forensic evidence.

Evidence and defense

Prosecutors presented a map showing Gledhill's phone activity on the morning of Sept. 22, 2024, tracing her movements from Cottonwood Heights to Kaysville.

A rooftop storage container found on a later unknown date in a wetland in Davis County contained traces of Johnson's blood.

"It was located after a storm. We believe it floated from where it was concealed by the defendant," Paulos said.

A rooftop storage container was found with traces of Matthew Johnson’s blood, seen in an undated photo. (Photo: Pool photo)

Paulos presented pictures of additional evidence that "put the defendant at a specific location," where she allegedly discarded the master bed's foam mattress, pillows, and a rug.

The rug was seen in a 2023 picture recovered from Gledhill's phone, which Paulos presented in court.

"That is the same rug, and that is Matthew Johnson next to the same rug," Paulos said.

Paulos revealed more details about a phone call the informant recorded of his conversation with Gledhill before Johnson was reported missing. In the phone call, Gledhill allegedly apologized "for telling the informant about what happened."

"She tells him to not think of her as a monster," Paulos said. "And the informant tells the defendant that he was frightened by what she had told him."

According to Paulos, Gledhill referred to Johnson in the past tense during the phone call.

"He wasn't a person anymore. He wasn't Matt anymore," Paulos quoted Gledhill as saying.

"There are often two sides to every story," defense attorney Jeremy Deus said in response to the prosecution's arguments.

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