A newlywed accused of pushing her husband off a cliff when she had second thoughts about her marriage may have blindfolded him before the fatal act, prosecutors say.
The new theory suggests that Jordan Linn Graham pre-meditated the alleged murder of Cody Lee Johnson, her husband of eight days.
Defense attorneys for Graham, 22, claim that the state has provided no evidence of a blindfold, according to court documents obtained by CNN. Prosecutors are awaiting DNA test results on a piece of cloth discovered in the vicinity of Johnson's body, the Missoulian reports.
The blindfold theory flies in the face of Graham's claim that her husband's death was an accident. As a result, Graham and her attorneys want her scheduled December trial postponed, claiming that they are unprepared to offer a proper defense. Graham previously pleaded not guilty to murder charges.
"If, as is stated in the complaint affidavit, Jordan and Cody (Johnson) were arguing intensely on the ledge, it hardly seems plausible that the argument would cease abruptly so Jordan could apply a blindfold," Graham's attorney, Michael Donahoe, wrote in a brief supporting a motion for dismissal of the case, according to CNN.
Johnson, 25, was reported missing on July 8, one day after the Kalispell, Mont., couple went hiking in Glacier National Park to talk out an argument. Graham told investigators that Johnson grabbed her arm and she pushed him with both hands, causing him to fall off a cliff. Graham, who initially claimed her husband left town with a group of friends, eventually led park rangers to Johnson's body.
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