Judge Molloy accepts newlywed's guilty plea

A federal judge in Missoula accepted a guilty plea Thursday, Dec. 12, from the newlywed accused of pushing her husband off a cliff in Glacier National Park.

The plea was made after attorneys for Jordan Graham, 22, of Kalispell, reached a surprise agreement just before the jury in her murder trial was set to begin deliberations.

Graham had faced charges of first degree or second degree murder and making false statements for allegedly pushing Cody Johnson, 25, off a cliff in Glacier National Park on July 7. The couple had been married eight days.

In exchange for pleading guilty to second-degree murder, prosecutors agreed to drop the first-degree, premeditated, murder charge and the count of making false statements to authorities. Graham could face a maximum sentence of life in prison when she is sentenced on March 27.

In accepting the plea, U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy told Graham to recount exactly what happened the night of July 7 when her husband fell to his death near the Loop Trail to Granite Park Chalet.

Graham said she told Johnson she wasn’t happy at the time and didn’t feeling like she should after getting married. She said they argued and at one point he grabbed her by the arm. She said she brushed his hand away and pushed him, with one hand on his arm and one on his back.

“I wasn’t thinking about where we were. ...  I just pushed,” she told the judge.

Graham said she then drove back to Kalispell without calling for help because she was so afraid she didn’t know what to do.

Both the prosecution and defense rested their cases after 3 1/2 days of testimony. The plea agreement was reached before closing arguments took place.

Defense attorneys wrapped up their case without calling for testimony from Graham. Instead, they showed jurors photos and videos of Graham smiling as she had her hair done and tried on her borrowed wedding dress, followed by videos of the couple’s June 29 wedding and first dance.

Prosecutors had portrayed Graham as a cold and dispassionate woman who didn’t want to marry Johnson. They also argued that Graham had intentionally pushed Johnson off the cliff.

U.S. marshals took Graham away in handcuffs. Afterward, federal public defender Michael Donahoe said prosecutors had proposed the plea agreement, and it was Graham’s choice to accept it.

Prosecutors referred questions to U.S. Attorney Mike Cotter, who declined to comment before Graham’s sentencing.