Jennifer Gledhill, the Utah mother charged with the alleged murder of her estranged husband, is embroiled in a legal battle over whether she should be allowed to contact her children during pretrial hearings. The 3rd District Court Criminal Commissioner Todd Olsen had previously issued a protective order prohibiting Gledhill from seeing her three children, who are currently in the custody of family members and the Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS).
Her attorney, Jeremy Deus, has described the protective order as an excessively harsh measure for someone who has "already lost her liberty at this point in time," according to ABC4. Deus further stated, "The state, and the city, and the police agency that investigated this are trying to set everything that my client loves on fire, essentially."
State prosecutor Emily Paulos countered these claims, expressing concerns that the children, aged 11, 7, and 5, could be potential witnesses in the case. She emphasized the vulnerability of the children, stating, "You can’t unring a bell," as reported by ABC4. Paulos mentioned that the protective order is not final and could be revisited in future proceedings of the case.
Despite arguments by Deus that there was no domestic violence committed in front of the children, the court denied the removal of the protective order. This development came on the heels of the arrest of Gledhill's parents who face obstruction of justice charges for allegedly assisting in the aftermath of the crime. ABC4 reported that Gledhill's parents are accused of helping her clean the bedroom where she is said to have shot Matthew Johnson while he slept, whose body remains missing.
As reported by KUTV, Deus argued that the order was unheard of, particularly since the victims were not named in the case. As noted by FOX 13, Deus believes the pretrial protective order was "incorrectly imposed and accepted." However, the court has maintained its decision to uphold the order, resulting in a cessation of communication between the children and their mother during the pretrial period.
