A Utah woman was arrested after telling an informant she shot her estranged husband in his sleep

A Utah woman was arrested in a murder investigation after she told a confidential informant that she shot her estranged husband in his sleep and buried him in a shallow grave, but did not reveal the location, police said.

Jennifer Gledhill, 41, of Cottonwood Heights, was arrested Wednesday and is being held without bail in Salt Lake County, according to court records.

The body of 51-year-old Matthew Johnson had not been found as of Thursday, police said. The Utah National Guard member was reportedly shot late on September 20 or early on September 21, the informant told police on September 28 – six days after Gledhill “openly admitted” to killing Johnson, according to police records.

Gledhill said she shot Johnson on the bed, buried his body and removed and destroyed items from the house to cover up the crime, the informant said.

A search of the house revealed a blood stain on the carpet under the bed, blood on the bed frame and evidence that the wall had been bleached. Gledhill also had a new mattress, according to documents documenting her arrest.

Johnson has not had contact with anyone since Sept. 20 and did not report to work on Sept. 23, officials said. Investigators assume he is dead.

Other court records show the couple went through a contentious divorce and a custody battle over their three children. Gledhill had obtained a temporary protective order against Johnson in late August, but a permanent order was denied on Sept. 16 – just days before the shooting – after the court commissioner viewed videos Gledhill took of arguments and text message exchanges between the had checked both.

Commissioner Russell Minas found there was no abuse. Glehill was equally confrontational, Minas said, and trying to get a restraining order appeared to be “a litigation tactic” in their pending divorce, which was filed in July.

“The conduct of the parties over the past few months is representative of an extremely dysfunctional marriage that has brought out the worst in the parties – a clear indication that a divorce action should have been filed long before the current state of affairs was reached.” , Minas wrote.

Gledhill's attorneys in the restraining order and divorce cases declined to comment Thursday. No attorney is listed for her in court records.