Police arrest parents of Utah woman charged with killing husband in his sleep
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Andrew Adams, KSL TV, and Cassidy Wixom, KSL.com
COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS, Utah (KSL.com) — The parents of a Cottonwood Heights woman who has been charged with killing her husband while he slept have been arrested and accused of aiding their daughter in cleaning up the crime.
Thomas Gledhill, 71, and Rosalie Gledhill, 67, were arrested Thursday for investigation of obstruction of justice in the case of Matthew Johnson’s death.
The Gledhills lied to investigators, were involved in the cleanup of the death and disposed of evidence, police booking affidavits allege.
Johnson’s wife, Jennifer Gledhill, was charged on Oct. 15 in 3rd District Court 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.
She first reported her husband missing on Sept. 20. After police found his car nearby, the case turned “suspicious” and Jennifer Gledhill was arrested on Oct. 2.
An informant, Jennifer Geldhill’s boyfriend, told police she admitted to him that she shot Johnson while he was sleeping and put his body in a rooftop storage container, according to charging documents. Jennifer Gledhill then allegedly took his “body north, dug a hole, and buried him in a shallow grave.”
A search warrant executed on Sept. 28 found bloodstains under the bed in the master bedroom. Police discovered the mattress was new and had been purchased by Rosalie Gledhill, an affidavit says. The mattress where the killing is believed to have occurred is still missing.
On Oct. 2, police searched Rosalie and Thomas Gledhill’s residence. While there, the couple told police they did go to their daughter’s residence for only an hour on Sept. 24 but denied cleaning. Witnesses who live nearby, however, told police they observed the Gledhills cleaning and noted they were there for more than five hours, according to the affidavit.
Police obtained Rosalie Gledhill’s phone, but it had been reset with all information on it erased, police said.
Cellphone records show Jennifer Gledhill called her father on Sept. 22 before and after her phone was shut off for a few hours while she was north of Salt Lake City. Thomas Gledhill “is the only phone call (Jennifer Gledhill) made while she was up north disposing of the victim’s body in a shallow grave,” the affidavit alleges.
Cellphone data also found Thomas Gledhill was in contact with his daughter, discussing delivery and pickup of a mattress on Sept. 26, according to police.
Investigators have been searching in near Farmington but have yet to find Johnson’s body. Cottonwood Heights Police Sgt. Panasai Soakai said officers are getting closer and are “definitely in an area where we believe we may find him.”
Gledhill and Johnson had a contentious relationship that involved her applying for — and getting denied — a protective order from him and her filing for divorce in July. On Monday, a judge ordered Jennifer Gledhill to have no contact with her children.