Utah woman pleads not guilty to murder as search expands for her missing husband

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (AP) — 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.