SALT LAKE CITY — The Cottonwood Heights woman charged with killing her husband and disposing of his body, which has yet to be located, made a brief court appearance Thursday, pleading not guilty and waiving her right to a preliminary hearing.
Dressed in a blue jail jumpsuit inside the Matheson Courthouse in Salt Lake City, Jennifer Gledhill told Judge Adam Mow that choosing to waive the preliminary hearing was her decision.
During a preliminary hearing, the state presents evidence to show probable cause that a defendant has committed the crimes with which they've been charged.
Before the hearing ended, Gledhill's attorney quickly said his client was choosing to plead not guilty to the nine felony charges against her, including murder.
During October court appearance, Gledhill ordered not to contact children:
Gledhill was charged with the murder of Matthew Johnson In October after a man she was allegedly having an affair with told police that she admitted to killing her husband while he slept.
Johnson, who was a member of the Utah National Guard, was reported missing in September when he failed to show up at his base.
According to case details released by the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office, Gledhill told her lover that Johnson had previously "yelled at her because he knew she had been sleeping with someone else." She told the man that she shot Johnson in the head before loading his body in a minivan.
Gledhill allegedly claimed to have buried Johnson somewhere north of their Cottonwood Heights home, although his body has yet to be discovered. Gledhill's parents were later arrested for allegedly helping their daughter cover up the murder.