An estranged wife was shot and a missing Cottonwood Heights man was killed in his sleep, police said

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — Police say a Cottonwood Heights woman accused of killing her estranged husband shot him in the head while he slept.

Jennifer Gledhill, 41, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on Wednesday for investigation of murder and obstruction of justice. Her arrest comes a week after she reported that Matthew Johnson, 51, a member of the U.S. military special forces, was missing.

A confidential informant contacted Cottonwood Heights police on Saturday and claimed: “They had spoken to Jennifer on the evening of September 22nd, at which time Jennifer Gledhill openly admitted to killing Johnson by punching him in his sleep Head shot. Johnson was shot while lying on a mattress in the master bedroom of their Cottonwood Heights home,” a police affidavit states. “Jennifer also told the (informant) that she removed Johnson’s body and transferred his remains to a shallow grave at an undisclosed location.”

Police had not found Johnson’s body as of Thursday.

According to police, the shooting occurred sometime between the night of September 20th and the morning of September 21st. Gledhill also told the informant that she removed and destroyed items from the house to cover up the crime, the affidavit said.

Investigators say that “multiple search warrants were obtained and served on electronic devices, leading investigators to believe that Johnson’s remains are in the same unknown location” described by the informant.

Investigators also served a search warrant at the apartment, where they discovered “a large bloodstained stain in the master bedroom carpet under the bed” and “evidence also suggests that extensive cleanup was carried out following this crime, including bleaching walls.” “Use of carpet cleaning products,” the affidavit states.

Police also noted in the arrest report that “significant evidence still remains to be collected.”

Although they live together, police call Johnson “her estranged husband” in the affidavit. Gledhill filed for divorce from Johnson in July and filed for a temporary protective order in August, according to court records. That protective order was lifted by a judge on Sept. 16, less than a week before Johnson was shot.