Parents of Woman Accused of Killing Military Husband After He Allegedly Discovered Affair Also Arrested

An "informant" claiming he had an affair with Jennifer Gledhill told authorities she confessed to killing her husband and burying the body in a "shallow grave"; after being "confronted" by police, her parents have now also been arrested in the case.

There's been a new twist in the murder of Matthew Johnson (above), a 51-year-old member of the United States Military Special Operations Unit who is missing and presumed dead.

Johnson was reported missing by his wife, 41-year-old Jennifer Gledhill, on September 28; she claimed she hadn't seen or spoken with him since they had a fight on September 20. At the time, per police, she said he told her he'd be gone for a week and to not call him. She, however, was arrested after an informant claiming to have had an affair with Gledhill told police she confessed to killing him, before burying him in a "shallow grave."

On Thursday, Gledhill's parents -- Thomas Gledhill, 71, and Rosalie Gledhill, 67 -- were arrested on suspicion of obstructing justice. Per arrest affidavits, via KSL, the two are accused of helping their daughter clean up after Matthew's murder and disposing of evidence.

Cottonwood Heights Police Dept.

Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill previously spoke about Gledhill's parents while announcing the charges against her in a press release on October 15.

At the time, Gill said a neighbor told police she saw the pair at their daughter's home cleaning, saying they didn't leave the home until 11pm; per the affidavit, the neighbor said they were there for more than five hours. "When police confronted the defendants’ parents about them being at the defendant's home on September 24, 2024, her mother said she was only there for an hour. She also told police she had purchased a mattress from Amazon at the request of the defendant," said the press release.

"The defendant's father said he didn't remember details of the day except that he had been at the defendant's house for a short period of time," the release continued. "Detectives confronted the defendant's father about how long he was at the house and if he went into the master bedroom, and he responded, 'I did not go in where the incident happened.'"

Facebook

Per the affidavit, Rosalie's phone had been reset with all the data erased, while records allegedly showed Jennifer called her father before and after her phone was turned off while, as police put it, "she was up north disposing of the victim's body in a shallow grave."

As for why the mattress detail is important, per the DA, detectives noticed the mattress in the main bedroom of Gledhill's home was new, while a stain on the carpet below the bed tested positive for human blood. "There were several reddish-brown spots on the wall, bed frame, and blinds of the master bedroom," added the DA, who said the wall behind the bed was also "covered in bleach."

Police believe he was murdered on the mattress, due to allegations from the informant.

While executing a search warrant at the parents' home, police say they also found a plastic tote near the bedroom where Jennifer allegedly slept while staying there. In it, they found a Glock 19x gun box wrapped in a child's onesie. The container, per the DA, is "consistent with the gun model and color which she had shown to the informant, loaded, on September 19, 2024."

Court TV/Facebook

The Informant's Full Allegations

The man claiming he had an affair with Gledhill told police that on September 22, she went to his home.

He said she told him that on the night of September 20, her husband came home and "yelled at her because he knew she had been sleeping with someone else." She also allegedly confessed to shooting her husband "as he slept in their bed" on September 22.

"She told the informant that she put Mr. Johnson's body into a rooftop storage container, slid him down the stairs of their home, and loaded his body into the back of their minivan," said the DA. "The defendant said she smashed Mr. Johnson's phone and hid his truck in a nearby neighborhood. The defendant said she then took her husband's body north, dug a hole, and buried him in a shallow grave."

The informant also allegedly said he noticed Gledhill had bruises all over her body -- but, "when asked about them, the defendant said they were from moving Mr. Johnson's body and cleaning their house."

A&E

GPS Evidence

In the same release, the DA said GPS data from her phone showed that on the day she allegedly said she killed her husband, she "traveled to where her husband's truck was later found at around 6 am."

"That afternoon, GPS data put her in Davis County until her phone was turned off at around 2:37 p.m.; the phone was turned on around 5 p.m. as she was traveling eastbound on the West Davis Corridor," the release continued, adding that her vehicle was caught on camera at a Holiday Oil in Salt Lake County, where she allegedly cleaned the car.

She then allegedly went to the informant's home.

Lafayette County Detention Center

Domestic Violence Allegations

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."

Getty/Union Correctional Institution Website

"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. Since her arrest for murder, she has been temporarily barred from speaking with her kids.

Johnson's body still hasn't been located. Gledhill has been charged with one count of first-degree felony murder, five counts of second-degree felony obstruction of justice, one count of second-degree felony possession with intent to distribute, one count of third-degree felony desecration of a human body, and one count of third-degree felony witness tampering.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages; Calls are confidential and toll-free.

WREG / Facebook / SCSO