Life sentence sought in newlywed murder case

Federal prosecutors have recommended a life sentence for the 22-year old Kalispell newlywed who pleaded guilty to murdering her husband in Glacier National Park.

Jordan Graham has admitted pushing Cody Johnson, 25, off a cliff along The Loop Trail near the Going-to-the-Sun Road on July 7 — eight days after they were married.

She pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Dec. 12, 2013. Her sentencing hearing before U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy in Missoula is scheduled for March 27.

Johnson’s body was found three days after he was reported missing by a co-worker at Nomad Global Communications, in Columbia Falls. It was Graham herself who told a Park ranger where her husband’s body could be found.

Graham testified at her trial that she was having second thoughts about being married so young, and that she and Johnson went to Glacier Park to talk about it. She said they argued at the edge of a steep cliff, Johnson grabbed her, and she “just pushed” without thinking about where they were.

But Graham took steps to stop investigators from tying her to Johnson’s death, including fabricating a story about Johnson leaving their recently purchased Kalispell home in a black car headed for West Glacier. She also created a fake e-mail from someone named “Tony” claiming that Johnson was with friends when he accidentally fell off a cliff in the Park.

In documents filed March 18, Assistant U.S. Attorney Zeno Baucus asked Molloy to impose a life sentence or else no less than 50 years in prison.

Baucus argued that Graham showed no remorse, left Johnson’s mother without a child, upended a community and had no respect for the law in the process.

“Through her actions, including the murder of Cody and conduct that followed, the defendant has demonstrated that she is extremely dangerous, predatory and an unrepentant murderer,” Baucus wrote.

Graham’s attorney, however, said her “extremely reckless but unintentional act” merits 10 years in prison. Federal public defender Michael Donahoe noted in his recommendation that Graham ultimately accepted responsibility and is sorry she didn’t come forward sooner.

Donahoe said Graham did not obstruct the investigation, and her fabricated e-mail was “the emerging cry of defendant’s conscience.” He also noted that Graham was the one who led authorities to Johnson’s body.

If she “was a cold-blooded killer, she could have left Mr. Johnson at the bottom of that ravine,” Donahoe wrote. “He would have likely never been found.”