Judge orders Utah woman charged with murder not to have contact with her children

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (KSL.com) — A Cottonwood Heights mother charged with killing her husband wiped tears from her face Monday as a judge ordered her not to have any contact with her children, either in person or electronically.

Jennifer Gledhill, 41, appeared virtually before 3rd District Judge Todd Olsen for her initial court appearance. The order is temporary and Olsen assured Gledhill she could bring it up again in front of Adam Mow, the judge assigned to her case.

Gledhill’s attorney, Jeremy Deus, argued the restriction was unnecessary, saying even if her children (ages 11, 7 and 5) do have contact with her, it would be supervised contact.

“I think this is a heavy-handed tactic by the state to try to put undue pressure on her,” he said, adding that he couldn’t imagine why it would be best for children to not have any contact with their mother.

Deputy Salt Lake County attorney Shantelle Argyle said a domestic violence protective order can be issued based on any felony, and said there are concerns for the safety of minor children and the community. She said there have been similar cases where a defendant later attacked or murdered their children due to either a mental health issue or to prevent their case from moving forward.

She said although the minor children are not currently listed as victims in the case, they could become victims at some point and it would be difficult for supervisors at the jail to determine whether there was duress at any meetings between Gledhill and her children.

“It is concerning that additional trauma may arise,” she said.

Olsen ordered Gledhill to not have any contact with the children and said that if she is released, she should not go near their home or school, or have anyone contact them on her behalf.

She was charged on Oct. 15 with murder, a first-degree felony; five counts of obstruction of justice and drug possession with intent to distribute, second-degree felonies; plus abuse or desecration of a dead body and witness tampering, third-degree felonies.

Gledhill confessed to a man with whom she was having an affair that she had killed her husband and the man then contacted police, according to charging documents.

The body of her husband, Matthew Johnson, 51, has not been found. Gledhill had filed for divorce in July.

Johnson was a member of a Special Operations Unit in the U.S. Military. The Utah National Guard first contacted police on Sept. 25 to report Johnson had not returned to work. A few days later, on Sept. 28, Gledhill reported her estranged husband had been missing since Sept. 20. She said they had an argument and Johnson had told her he would be leaving and asked her not to call for a week, according to police.

Gledhill used Johnson’s handgun to shoot him while he slept on Sept. 21 and buried his body in a shallow grave, the charges allege. Officers obtained a warrant for the home and reported discovering the wall behind the bed in the master bedroom had recently been cleaned and carpet under the bed was forensically tested and a large circle tested positive for the presence of human blood.

She will have another hearing on Friday to schedule a detention hearing.