Utah woman pleads not guilty to murder as search expands for her missing husband
Utah woman pleads not guilty to murder as search expands for her missing husband
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — A Utah woman whose estranged husband has been missing since September pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges while authorities announced they were expanding their search for the man and a minivan to a sparsely populated area near the Idaho line.
Jennifer Gledhill, 42, was ordered to stand trial after pleading not guilty Thursday to charges including murder and obstruction of justice, KSL-TV reported.
Gledhill told a confidential informant that she shot Matthew Johnson, 51, a Utah national guardsman, in his sleep and buried him in a shallow grave in an unknown location, investigators allege.
She was arrested in October. Her attorney, Jeremy Deus, didn't immediately return a phone message Friday seeking comment on her behalf.
Investigators meanwhile announced they were expanding their search for Johnson's body from a region north of Salt Lake City to a county in northwestern Utah. Dozens of police and National Guard soldiers searched the Snowville area last weekend, according to police.
They were also looking for a silver 2018 Chrysler Pacifica minivan possibly used to dispose of Johnson's body in September.
“It’s a needle in a haystack and we don’t have specific information but we’re hoping to get lucky," Cottonwood Heights police spokesperson Sgt. Gary Young said.
Investigators searching the family home found a bloodstain under a bed, blood on the bedframe and evidence the wall had been bleached, they allege in court documents.
The couple were going through a divorce and custody dispute involving their three children.
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