SALT LAKE CITY — The Cottonwood Heights woman accused of murdering her husband while he slept was ordered not to have any contact with her children during her first court appearance on Monday.
Jennifer Gledhill appeared in court remotely from jail following her Oct. 2 arrest where she faces murder and obstruction of justice charges in the death of Matthew Johnson.
During the hearing, the judge ruled on the state's request for a pre-trial protective order prohibiting Gledhill from having any contact with her three children, ages 11, 7 and 5.
Gledhill's attorney argued that the state was using a "heavy-handed tactic to try to put undue pressure" on Gledhill, and believed the well-being of the children should be factored into the decision.
"I can't imagine what it's like to say that she can't see the children and, in effect, tell the children that they can't see mom, either," the attorney said. "They're not named victims in the case. I don't see a basis for having a protective order that prevents them from having contact with their mother in any form or fashion."
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Speaking for the state, attorney Shantelle Argyle asked the judge to look at Gledhill's arrest documents that led to her being taken into custody.
"We have concerns where we have had similar case scenarios, where the minor children have later been attacked or murdered by the defendant as a part of the ongoing process," she said, "and whether it's a mental health issue by the defendant or just simply a means to prevent the prosecution of the matter, that's the reason that there's a blanket allegation as to physical safety of the protected parties because that is something that we have seen."
In the end, the judge issued a temporary protective order that will remain in effect until it is argued in front of a different judge at a later date.
Johnson, a member of the Utah National Guard, was reported missing on Sept. 23 after he failed to show up to work at his base. Gledhill allegedly told a man she was having an extramarital affair with that she had shot her husband in the head as he was sleeping. She then claimed to have taken the body and buried it in a shallow grave.
As of Monday, Johnson's body has yet to be found.
