He was pushed!
"Trial to begin in newlywed man’s death" | Associated Press December 09, 2013
HELENA, Mont. — Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday in US District Court in Missoula in the trial of a woman charged in the death of her newlywed husband.
Officials said the bride, Jordan Graham, was having second thoughts eight days after the wedding, sparking an argument between the couple that carried from their Kalispell, Mont., home to a popular trail in Glacier National Park.
Only the woman left the park alive the night of July 7. Now it will be up to a jury to decide whether she should be convicted of murdering Cody Johnson.
Graham’s trial is expected to last one to two weeks with dozens of expert witnesses — though no eyewitnesses — slated to testify.
Federal prosecutors will attempt to convince jurors that Graham, 22, deliberately pushed Johnson to his death, then made up a story about how he was last seen driving off with friends.
Graham’s federal public defenders will ask jurors to believe that while Graham thought she married too young, she loved Johnson and was only trying to remove his hand from her arm when he fell off the steep cliff.
Graham initially told investigators that Johnson, 25, had driven away with friends the night of July 7. Three days later, she led park rangers to his body.
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"Newlywed pleads guilty in fatal cliff fall" by Matt Volz | Associated Press December 13, 2013
MISSOULA, Mont. — A Montana newlywed pleaded guilty Thursday to killing her husband of eight days by pushing him from a cliff in Glacier National Park while they argued about her second thoughts about the marriage.
The surprise plea agreement with prosecutors came just before closing arguments were set to begin in the trial of Jordan Graham, 22.
In exchange for the guilty plea to second-degree murder, prosecutors agreed to drop a first-degree murder charge and a count of making a false statement to authorities.
Graham could face a maximum sentence of life in prison when she is sentenced on March 27.
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Let me marry you up with some other articles:
Montana judge criticized in rape case to retire
Board says Montana judge should be disciplined
Todd Baugh (to be played by Peter Boyle in the movie)
Well, back to the blackboard.
NEXT DAY UPDATE:
"Man dies in fall at Grand Canyon" Associated Press March 19, 2014
GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. — Authorities at Grand Canyon National Park are investigating the first death of the year attributed to a fall from the canyon’s edge.
John N. Anderson, 53, of Grapevine, Texas, died Saturday after falling about 350 feet, but no one saw him fall, Grand Canyon Chief Ranger Bill Wright said Tuesday.
Wright said authorities believe Anderson was trying to retrieve something, possibly a hat, when he fell over the edge. The Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of a man falling around 8 a.m. Saturday.
Rangers found the man’s body in a rock outcropping and began CPR, but efforts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful. A helicopter was used to remove Anderson’s body, park spokeswoman Kirby-Lynn Shedlowski said.
The National Park Service and the Coconino County Medical Examiner are investigating.
The medical examiner’s office has labeled Anderson’s death accidental, due to multiple injuries from a fall.
Anderson was visiting the park with family. About 4.5 million people visit the Grand Canyon each year, and an average of 12 people die there annually, according to park statistics. The deaths can be attributed to anything from natural causes, medical issues, and suicide to heat, drowning, and traffic crashes. An average two to three deaths per year are from falls over the rim, Shedlowski said.
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