Jennifer Gledhill parents, Thomas and Rosale Gledhill arrested helping daughter clean up husband murder scene as they now face obstruction of justice charges. The arrests come after witnessing coming forward after parents denied any involvement in the alleged murder of Utah national guardsman husband, Matthew Johnson.
Talk about plot twists…the parents of a Utah woman accused of murdering her national guardsman husband after confessing to an affair have been arrested on charges they helped her clean the crime scene.
Thomas Gledhill, 71, and Rosalie Gledhill, 67, were charged with obstruction of justice for allegedly helping their daughter, Jennifer Gledhill clean her $1 million home after, police say, she shot her husband Matthew Johnson dead as he slept.
Jennifer Gledhill parents arrested helping daughter clean up husband murder scene
The arrests follow the parents earlier this month adamantly denying any involvement in their daughter’s alleged murder of her husband.
Police now believe Thomas and Rosalie Gledhill, lied to authorities, took part in cleanup of the man’s death and disposed evidence, according to ksl.com.
Police say witnesses saw the parents cleaning 41-year-old Jennifer’s Cottonwood Heights house for five hours, with Rosalie suspected of buying a new mattress for her daughter, ABC4 reported.
Police say they found a brand new mattress when they searched Gledhill’s home, as well as ‘reddish-brown spots’ on the wall and bed frame and bleach stains on the stairs.
Detectives believe Johnson was killed on the old mattress, which subsequently disappeared and has not been found. Blood stains were reportedly found underneath Jennifer’s bed when a search warrant was executed on September 28.
During prior police questioning earlier this month, Jennifer’s parents told investigators that they had been at her home, while denying helping her clean it.
Thomas and Rosalie’s cellphones were reportedly reset before they were seized by police.
Bombshell new twist in case of wealthy Utah mom ‘who murdered husband after confessing her affair’ https://t.co/67zXGmLEny pic.twitter.com/WLvulB8sNM
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) October 25, 2024
Thomas & Rosale Gledhill are facing four counts of obstruction of justice, which is a second-degree felony.
Police allege Jennifer shot her National Guardsman husband in the head last month as he slept at their spacious property in Cottonwood.
Johnson was reported missing on September 23, with Jennifer arrested after her unnamed lover told police that she’d confessed to him killing her husband.
In a police interview after her October 3 arrest, Jennifer claimed to have separated from Johnson – only to spend the evening of September 20 talking and drinking liquor with him.
She said they then had intercourse that night, and ‘informed (the officer) due to the intoxication from the whiskey she had a hard time recalling the events that took place after her and Matthew had sex’, the search warrant stated.
Jennifer said Johnson ‘became upset’ during their evening together, but could not recall why.
But she went on to offer conflicting excuses for bruises found on her body, it is claimed.
Jennifer told cops Johnson ‘struck her several times’ with a closed fist, leaving her bruised on her arms, hands, face and legs.
Her secret lover – whose name has not been released – contradicted that account when he told police that Jennifer told him she got the bruises ‘from moving Matthew’s body and cleaning the mess in the house.’
The man contacted police after Gledhill allegedly confessed to the murder, which led to her arrest.
Asked why she did not report her husband’s alleged domestic excuse, Jennifer claimed to have ‘made a deal’ with him.
Web of lies and deceit
She is said to have had a ‘long history of calling the police on Matthew for non criminal altercations.’
Jennifer told cops that they’d agreed he’d return to work at Camp Williams State Military Reservation the night after they had sex.
The alleged murderess says the first she knew of Johnson’s disappearance was a message from his co-workers saying he hadn’t made it into work.
But her lover offered an alternative version of events.
He claims Jennifer told him that she’d shot Johnson in the head as he slept.
She is then said to have put his body in an attic store container, before sliding it down the stairs and into the back of her minivan.
Jennifer allegedly smashed Johnson’s phone and drove his truck to another area of their estate before driving his body north and burning him in a shallow grave.
Thomas and Rosalie Gledhill previously admitted being at the defendant’s home on September 24, 2024, insisting that they been there only for an hour.
Jennfer’s father at the time told detectives, he ‘didn’t remember details of the day except that he had been at the defendant’s house for a short period of time.’
A witness reported seeing Jennifers’ parents at the residence upwards of five hours and not leaving until 11pm later that night.
Meanwhile, police are continuing their search for Johnson’s body north of Salt Lake City, in Davis County, following her phone last pinging in the area as cops search for a clue that could lead them to a specific location.
Cottonwood Heights Police have executed more than 25 search warrants to gather phone data, messages, and geo-location information.
‘We’re going to find that needle in the haystack,’ said Sergeant Gary Young.
Gledhil has a scheduling hearing set for Friday.
