Transcript

Newlywed bride pushes husband to his death

From True Crime News · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 40 min · 6,929 words · 175 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "Newlywed bride pushes husband to his death", an episode of True Crime News published December 29, 2025 (40 min, about 6,929 words). It mentions 13 people, works and ideas, including Cody Johnson, Jordan Graham, Dave Dempsey, Glacier National Park, Chris Hansen.

What this episode is about

The narrative revolves around the shocking case of newlywed Cody Johnson, who disappeared shortly after his wedding, leading to a murder investigation that raised questions about his wife’s involvement. As the investigation unfolds, discrepancies in her story emerge, transforming her from a grieving spouse into a prime suspect in a chilling account of love, betrayal, and mystery.

Key takeaways

  • Deputy Dave Dempsey: proving that even routine calls can have life-altering consequences—one bullet away from tragedy.
  • A wedding bliss turned whodunit: love's veil can obscure murder, especially when the bride's alibi crumbles.
  • Quick response is key in emergencies: a 32-minute ride turned heroic 9-minute sprint saved Deputy Dempsey's life.
  • From good cop to miracle survivor: Dempsey's story reveals the hazards hidden in the badge's shine.
  • Gravity of love: a groom's disappearance reveals how quickly romance can twist into a chilling mystery.

Who speaks in this episode?

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 5:00: Dave Dempsey, Chris Hansen, Melissa McCarti, Cody Johnson
  2. – 10:00: Crime Watch Daily, Cody Johnson, Jordan Graham, Dave Dempsey
  3. – 15:00: Cody Johnson, Jordan Graham, Glacier National Park, Callisbell, Montana
  4. – 20:00: Kimberly Martinez, Jordan Graham, Callisbell, Montana
  5. – 25:00: Cody Johnson, Glacier National Park, Jordan Graham, Tony the Carman
  6. – 30:00: Cody Johnson, Jeremiah Herbald, Jordan Graham, Glacier National Park
  7. – 35:00: Jordan Graham, Glacier National Park
  8. – 40:00: Crime Watch Daily

Notable quotes from "Newlywed bride pushes husband to his death"

  • And he lived to tell. An incredible Memorial Day survivor story. Hero deputy Dave Dempsey sits down with our Melissa McCarti in his first national TV interview.
    about Dave Dempsey · at
  • And today we introduce you to a South Carolina deputy who is living proof of that saying. Melissa Mccardi is here now with his inspirational story.
    about Chris Hansen · at
  • I thought it was such an honor to be able to be a type of woman that would be with a man with such honor. And he's, as they say, a good cop. he's honest.
    about Amy Dempsey · at
  • And now Dave's tradition of service will continue. Hunter has applied to be a cop and join the family business.
    about Hunter Dempsey · at
  • Cody mysteriously vanishing just 8 days after their wedding.
    about Cody Johnson · at
  • But Jordan's best friend, Hannah Owens, says she had a good heart and away with kids.
    about Jordan Graham · at
  • I asked, What is going on? Why are your stories different? Why can't you seem to tell the truth? And I told her that we were done talking until this was all figured out.
    about Kimberly Martinez · at
  • She had a story to tell. Her story wasn't adding up. But then she gets a stunning email from a stranger calling himself Tony the Carman and she says, Look, I got this email and Cody's dead.
    about Tony the Carman · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • Cody Johnson — Person · Victim in featured homicide investigation · 11 mentions · first at
    Victim of the newlywed murder case; his disappearance and death drive the investigation narrative and interviews with friends/family.
  • Jordan Graham — Person · Primary suspect/subject in true-crime case segment · 9 mentions · first at
    Focus of the second major story: newlywed wife of Cody Johnson who ultimately admits pushing him off a cliff and is sentenced to federal prison.
  • Dave Dempsey — Person · Interview subject / featured law-enforcement survivor · 4 mentions · first at
    Central figure in the first segment: a South Carolina deputy shot in the head who survived and recounts his recovery and family support.
  • Chris Hansen — Person · Host / anchor · 2 mentions · first at
    Introduces and narrates the episode segments from New York, handing off to correspondents and framing the stories.
  • Kimberly Martinez — Person · Key witness / matron of honor · 4 mentions · first at
    Jordan Graham’s matron of honor; receives Jordan’s texts, observes suspicious behavior, and becomes convinced Jordan killed Cody.
  • Melissa McCarti — Person · Correspondent / interviewer · 2 mentions · first at
    Conducts and narrates the featured interview/story about Deputy Dave Dempsey’s shooting and recovery.
    Deputy Dave Dempsey was bravely doing his job when the radio call came in.
  • Tony the Carman — Person · Alleged tipster identity (later determined fabricated) · 2 mentions · first at
    Name used in an email claiming Cody was dead; investigators determine the email was generated by Jordan and the persona was fake.
  • Jeremiah Herbald — Person · Referenced witness / best friend of victim · 3 mentions · first at
    Cody Johnson’s best friend; provides character background and emotional testimony after Cody’s death.
    His own and he thought Jordan was the one for him. But the two were also very different, says Cody's best friend, Jeremiah Herbald.
  • Amy Dempsey — Person · Family member (spouse) / interviewee · 2 mentions · first at
    Dave Dempsey’s wife; describes their relationship, the notification of the shooting, and the impact of his injuries.
  • Hunter Dempsey — Person · Family member (son) / supporting voice in recovery story · 2 mentions · first at
    Dave Dempsey’s son; described as an Iraq war veteran who rushes home and later applies to become a police officer.

Places & events

  • Glacier National Park — Place · Setting · 7 mentions · first at
    The park is the location where Cody Johnson was murdered, making it central to the crime story.
    The majestic Glacier National Park in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. Glacier National Park, a beautiful backdrop for a particularly ugly crime. A crime that would write a…
  • Callisbell, Montana — Place · Setting · 2 mentions · first at
    The town is where the investigation into Cody Johnson's disappearance and murder was centered.
    Callisbell Montana a country town known as the gateway to the majestic Glacier National Park in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. Glacier National Park, a.

Media & podcasts

  • Crime Watch Daily — Media · Broadcast · 4 mentions · first at
    The show is the platform where the story of Cody Johnson's murder is being told, including exclusive interviews.
    And he lived to tell. An incredible Memorial Day survivor story. Hero deputy Dave Dempsey sits down with our Melissa McCarti in his first national TV interview.

Full transcript with timestamps

I'm Chris Hansen. Right now on Crime Watch Daily from here in New York. He was ambushed by a gunman.

Deputy down. Deputy down. Shot in the head. When you saw him for the first time, what went through your mind?

I didn't want to lose him. And he lived to tell. An incredible Memorial Day survivor story. Hero deputy Dave Dempsey sits down with our Melissa McCarti in his first national TV interview.

It's supposed to be a 32-minute ride. He gets there in 9 minutes. Then it was the perfect wedding.

Cody was really looking forward to getting married. A beaming bride, a groom barely containing his excitement.

He was madly in love with her. But the honeymoon would be over in a flash. 8 days after the ID's new husband Cody Johnson mysteriously disappeared. Cody Johnson is a kind, loving, wonderful young man that I miss a lot.

What happened at the top of this Montana mountain? And did his new wife know more than she told detectives?

Her story wasn't adding up. She was the happiest I've ever seen her. The missing person case that turned into a murder investigation and one crazy clue after another.

She's the widow and she's up front texting her little friend. A Crime Watch Daily exclusive from bride to Black Widow. Right now,

Andrea Iser with Crime Watch Daily. Jason Mater with Crime Watch Daily. This I'm Elizabeth. I'm here with Crime Watch. I'm Michelle from Crime Watch Daily. Anna Garcia from Crime Watch

is Crime Watch Daily. Stay off my property. We'll find you again. We always do.

Hey everyone, I'm Chris Hansen. Every person in law enforcement will tell you there's no such thing as a routine call. And today we introduce you to a South Carolina deputy who is living proof of that saying. Melissa Mccardi is here now with his inspirational story.

Chris Dave Dempsey was a police officer for 27 years before he retired, but he missed the job. So he decided to reup this time for the sheriff's department. Deputy Dave Dempsey was bravely doing his job when the radio call came in.

But then a single bullet downut would change everything. He came home without a skull.

Dave Dempsey is a hero to many in Greenville, South Carolina. A beloved law man, a good father, and a devoted husband to his wife Amy.

How did you meet Dave? Eight years ago, I was in a car accident and he was the officer called out. It went from there. Then I kind of chased him after that. We dated for a couple of years and then we got married.

Did you have any apprehension at all about marrying a police officer? Mm- Why? I thought it was such an honor to be able to be a type of woman that would be with a man with such honor. And he's, as they say, a good cop. You know, he's honest.

A good cop, a corporal with the Greenville Police Department for over 27 years. And that's why Dave's son, John, followed in his dad's footsteps.

And I said, "Hey, Dad, I want to become a police officer." And he was, of course, more than thrilled to give me the application and start the process.

And when Dave passed the torch to his son, he hung up his badge and retired. He did everything around here. Everything. Any time something would break, mess up, he would fix.

But puttering around the house, well, that just isn't in Dave's DNA. Crime fighting is in his blood. So, one month after Dave retired from the PD, one month he came out of retirement and became a sheriff's deputy. A decision that would change his life forever.

And I knew something was wrong and my heart was pounding. Barely five months as a deputy, Dave responded to a home invasion at this apartment complex, it didn't go well.

And I hear a a loud knock at the front door. And I thought it was him coming home. And then when I looked out, I saw the badges. I saw the stars and I saw two of them. I said, "Where's Dave?" and his lieutenant said Dave has been shot. I know Dave's I know Dave wears his vest. So I kind of thought, "Okay, he's been shot." And then I said, "Where was he shot?" And he said, "The head."

Hang on, brother. We're coming to you. Okay. Doctors frantically worked to keep Dave alive. His other son, Hunter, an Iraq war veteran, was working at a new job in Europe and got the call to rush home.

That must have been the longest flight of your life. It was just I hope he at least at least him stay alive until I get there. If he did, take the turn for the worst.

Dave's brain was swelling. Surgeons removed his skull cap so the brain could expand. For 41 excruciating days, Dave was in the hospital and had to wear this helmet, a high-tech substitute for a skull.

When you saw him for the first time laying there in the hospital bed, what went through your mind?

I didn't want to lose him. But the important thing, Dave is alive. No longer bedridden, not wearing that helmet, walking normally. And now this brave man is telling his remarkable story only to Crime Watch Daily.

We were one of the responding units. First to arrive. First to arrive. So he gets permission to kick the door in. After he kicks the door in, the subject on the inside shoots and all of a sudden everything started going sideways like this to me. I thought that's kind of strange. That's the first thought that goes through my head that I'm falling.

The other deputy shot and killed the shooter. The bullet missed Dave's brain by millimeters. traveling alongside the skull and out the ear. Paramedics rushed to the scene.

I would just go in and out of consciousness and I could feel them working on me, but that's all I could feel. And then after they put me in, I hear um I hear something to say. Get in. I'm driving this bus. It's supposed to be a 32-minute ride. that he gets here in 9 minutes.

That guy who commandeered the ambulance, Deputy Todd Edwards, a tough exmarine.

To see him now, I'm so proud of him. I'm so proud of Amy and the family. They just uh such a support team. It's something to see that he just he won't stop fighting. He just keeps on fighting. But even for a naturalb born fighter, the road to recovery has been difficult. When you were released and able to go home, what were some of the immediate differences in yourself that you noticed?

Slower speech, slower thought processes, cold all the time, which is uh typical of frontal lobe damage.

He's not as sharp minded. He's delayed and his thoughts. His emotions are very delayed um with certain things.

The injury caused Dave to have seizures. After one of them, his 11year-old son Danny stepped up to the plate to help his dad

there. And then he started shaking. Then he kind of started backing up a little bit. So, I got up and was kind of holding him lightly to make sure he wouldn't fall and hit his head on like the stone uh lamp table that's in there by the couch.

And now Dave's tradition of service will continue. Hunter has applied to be a cop and join the family business.

To be able to, you know, do the selfless service and to be able to protect and serve and follow in my dad and my brother's footsteps. If you look in the dictionary for the definition of a hero, you're sure to find a picture of Deputy Dave Dempsey. He is truly an inspiration to all Americans.

Next, till death do his part. He was madly in love with her. A fairy tale wedding with a horror movie ending.

She was kind of like shaking her head like just in just balling like hysterically down the aisle. When the groom dies just eight days after the IDs, detectives start to wonder if his new bride is a black widow. Jason Mata with the marriage that goes off a cliff. Next, now to a Crime Watch Daily exclusive on a story that made headlines around the world. A newlywed murder just days after his wedding. Jason Mata traveled to Montana for the very latest. They vow to love and cherish each other till death do they part. But nobody could have imagined Cody Johnson and his bride Jordan Graham would part so soon.

Cody mysteriously vanishing just 8 days after their wedding. I was just shocked. I didn't know what happened. We spent a lot of time trying to figure out where he was. At first, police treat it as a missing person's case, but the plot thickens when Cody's bride gets a message from a stranger.

She says, "Look, I got this email and Cody's dead." Now, police suspect Cody has been murdered. Perhaps before he and his bride even consummated their marriage. Callisbell Montana a country town known as the gateway to the majestic Glacier National Park in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. Glacier National Park, a beautiful backdrop for a particularly ugly crime. A crime that would write a tragic ending to the love story of Cody Johnson and Jordan Graham, who had met at a church lunch and seemed like a match made in heaven.

She was a good girl, and Cody was a good guy. He was so funny, very caring, kind-hearted.

Cody told his mom right from the beginning he wanted to make Jordan his wife one day.

He was madly in love with her. Cody was 24 and Jordan 21 when they met and they shared the same dream of raising a family.

Cody was really looking forward to getting married. Um he loved children and couldn't wait to have his own and he thought Jordan was the one for him. But the two were also very different, says Cody's best friend, Jeremiah Herbald.

He uh really liked cars. That's where both of us really spent a lot of our time. And he enjoyed guns, shooting guns, but most of all, he liked to make people happy.

And he was really good at doing it, too. Jordan, on the other hand, was more retiring, not nearly as social as Cody, and because of her religion, she didn't believe in sex before marriage.

She was very shy, very quiet, didn't have much to say, you know, just sort of reserved.

But Jordan's best friend, Hannah Owens, says she had a good heart and away with kids.

We just all did a whole bunch of stuff. She watched my son. I trusted her with my son. They bonded, builded a huge relationship. And some like the influence Jordan had on Cody.

She got Cody into going to church with her, which he never did before. We all thought that those were good things.

But others worry that their relationship was a little one-sided. He put a lot into the relationship that she didn't put back. He always wanted to hang out with her and she would always make an excuse not to. He was madly in love with her. She, on the other hand, was distant towards him. They would go on dates and she would bring company. I never seen them hold hands when we were get togethers. I never seen them kiss. I never seen them flirt.

So many of their friends were surprised when after dating for a little more than a year, Cody proposed to Jordan and she accepted.

I didn't think that she would say yes. Was she even attracted to him? I don't believe so.

So, was she interested in the idea of being married? I think she liked the idea of Being married and having a wedding, I don't think she really wanted to, per se.

Jordan chose Kimberly Martinez as her matron of honor. Leading up to her wedding, was she excited?

She was excited for the planning part, I think. Um, not the actual wedding. Whenever that would come up, she would get kind of irritated.

Did she ever express any doubts that maybe Cody wasn't right for her? Um, she had asked me a couple of times if she was making the right decision and I told her that I couldn't answer that question for her. I told her that if you have second thoughts about this, you need to talk to him about it.

She didn't. And when the big day finally arrived, Jordan's friends and guests were shocked by what really happened behind the joyous facade of these wedding photos.

She was kind of like shaking her head like just in just balling like hysterically down the aisle. And when she got up there, she didn't look at him in the eyes. She was standing there holding his hand and she was looking down at the ground the whole time. I started to panic a little bit watching her and her face just looked like something was going to happen.

And the wedding celebration would end on a truly eerie and ominous note as the bride and groom danced to a song Jordan had recorded with her own voice, foreshadowing what would happen to Cody 8 days later. and it was talking about how you climb to a higher place and then you fall, but you're still mine.

Next, the wedding night was even worse than the wedding. And some friends say Jordan and Cody didn't even consummate their marriage.

She said that they hadn't that um she she didn't want to. Now, back to our newlywed murder exclusive. Here's Jason Mata. Friends and family had just finished celebrating the couple's life together when they were immediately mourning a loss. Guests at the wedding of Cody Johnson and Jordan Graham had been shocked by what a reluctant bride she seemed behind the happy facade of these official photos.

It was very strange. It was very awkward. And the morning after her wedding night with Cody, Jordan is beyond reluctant. She is despondent and regretful. Writing at a text exchange with the matron of honor, Kimberly Martinez.

I don't know if all this was the right thing to do. So much happened last night. I just don't know. Last night at the wedding or last night at the room, being married and after the wedding, what happened after? I'd rather talk about what happened, not text about it.

She said that it was just a miserable time that they just really didn't enjoy it and she just didn't seem very happy. And Jordan never does tell Kimberly exactly what happened. Even when they come face to face a couple of days later,

she came over and she laid on the couch and she just cried. She wouldn't tell me why. She wouldn't say anything to me.

The texts continue from Jordan for a week after the wedding. Each one sounding more morose and desperate.

I just know he's going to want to do stuff and I'm not really wanting to. And another.

Using the my period started spiel tonight. I freaking hope it works because if I'm forced to do something, I'm going to freak out.

Which begs the question, do you know if Cody and Jordan ever had sex? I honestly don't think they did. I think she tried to maybe I don't even think they had sex on the night of their wedding.

Did Jordan and Cody ever consummate their marriage? She told me no. She said that they hadn't that um she she didn't want to. Um, she was nervous about it.

But eight days after the wedding, their marital problems are suddenly over when Cody mysteriously goes missing.

I was just shocked. Cody's family and friends report his disappearance to police after they learn he had failed to show up for work.

It was totally out of character for him not to show up at work or come home or go to a friend's house. I don't know what happened. But oddly unconcerned is Jordan, who is making like the merry widow when Hannah sees her later that day at work.

She was hanging out, running around, skipping. She was going through the parking lot with her ice cream cone, just happy as can be.

Happy? Oh, yes. Very happy. She was the happiest I've ever seen her. Cody had last been seen the previous day at Dairy Queen having dinner with Jordan after Sunday church services. And then Jordan says they both went home together.

What did Jordan tell you happened to him? That he went out to the garage and she went to see him and he wasn't there. Um she said that she seen him leave with some buddies in a black car washing plates.

Police would ask Jordan what she knew about those friends when they interviewed her the next day. Well, I got a message saying that he was going to go for a ride with some of his out of town buddies that were visiting. I had no idea who they were, but he always told me this one thing is when his friends came to visit, he would take them to Glacia Park.

Jordan would tell conflicting stories about what happened before Cody drove off with them.

I specifically asked her when he left, were you guys fighting? [snorts] And she said no.

And she told police the same thing. You guys weren't having any kind of argument?

No. But Jordan had earlier told Kimberly they did have a fight. So she comes in and she proceeds to tell me that um Cody had held her down when they were arguing and that she got away from him and he had grabbed his keys and scratched her.

The next day, after Cody had been missing for nearly 48 hours, Jordan's friends and family members gather at her house to try to find clues to what might have happened to him. And that evening, we spent a lot of time trying to figure out where he was. You know, trying to look on his Facebook page to see if he had posted anything or, you know, trying to see if she had, you know, his bank account information. Maybe we could look up and see if he used his debit card or something.

But Jordan seems uncomfortable. She just became more agitated the more we asked.

At one point, Kimberly says Jordan becomes so upset, she takes off her wedding ring and flings it across the room. I was confused. You know, I thought she would be legitimately wanting to find her husband and know what happened to him.

Kimberly has become very suspicious over Jordan's odd behavior and inconsistencies and calls her when she gets home.

I asked, "What is going on? Why are your stories different? Why can't you seem to tell the truth?" And I told her that we were done talking until this was all figured out.

And the police turn up the heat on her, too. I'm getting some inconsistencies in what you're telling me

with other information that I've already gathered. Okay. And I've spoke to a few people and it's important that I know that you're telling me the truth on things.

What I know. Well, I mean, and I understand I understand that. Okay. But I think that there's more. Next, Jordan gets an email she thinks will break the case wide open and get her off the hot seat.

And I read the email and it says, "Cody's gone, Jordan." We return with more of our newlywed murder exclusive. As he left his wedding, Cody Johnson told his friend his wife had a big surprise for him. One week later, he was dead. Jason Mata is back in Montana now with more.

You've heard of the seven-year itch. what police say Jordan Graham only needed eight days to realize she wanted out of her marriage. But did she want out bad enough to kill? Her husband of a little more than a week has gone missing. She's told conflicting stories about their last day together to friends and police. And Jordan is under growing suspicion in Cody Johnson's disappearance.

She had a story to tell. Her story wasn't adding up. But then she gets a stunning email from a stranger calling himself Tony the Carman

and she says, "Look, I got this email and Cody's dead." The mysterious Tony tells her Cody accidentally fell off a cliff in Glacier National Park while hiking with his friends from out of state. Tony's email reads in part, "Hello, Jordan. My name is Tony. There is no bother looking for Cody anymore. He's gone."

And I'm like freaking out like, "What are you talking about? And I read the email and it says Cody's gone. Jordan,

any emotion? No, she wasn't crying at all. She was just showing me this email and I start shaking. And I told her to go to the cops and she did go. Um, but I was kind of just like rushing it like go move like what are you doing? Don't just stand here looking at me.

The email only makes police even more suspicious of Jordan. The email that she provided to us stated that these unknowns that he had taken off with, as well as this Tony person, had seen him fall from a cliff or at least at the very least disappear and that she was giving given explicit instructions to tell the police to call off the search. There was no more need to search for him. And I think at that point she expected us to just walk away from it. Lead detective Corey Clark of Callisbel Pedi is also struck by Jordan's lack of emotion.

I said, "I I just need to point something out." I said, "You you don't seem to be very affected by this or or bothered."

Now, 4 days after Cody's disappearance, and armed with the information in that email, Jordan decides to go to Glacier National Park to look for him with her own search party, which includes Hannah, other friends, and family members.

The drive up there was her waving her hand out the window. You got to be kidding me.

Her wearing his sunglasses. Was she driving his car? Yeah. Acting like nothing happened. Dancing, laughing.

When they get up there, Jordan's search party puts up missing posters and looks for possible places from which Cody might have fallen.

I did most of the work. She didn't do nothing. But when they return the next day to continue the search, Jordan's like a guided missile. Um, I remember passing so many roads and so many trails and that this that he could have fell off of and I was like, "What about here? What about here, Jordan? Like, let's go here." And she's like, "No, I just know this spot where I just think that he is. We have to go."

They drive to an area known as the loop where there is a sheer 300 ft drop with the safety wall.

We stand there and she's like, "I think he's down there." And I was like, "What are you talking about? Why would he ever be going down there? Why would anybody do that? This wall is here for a reason.

Jordan jumps the wall and makes her way to a rock landing where she can see to the bottom of the ravine.

She knew exactly how to get down there. She did it like a pro. And Jordan quickly spots a body lying at the bottom of the ravine

and she's like, "There he is. I see him. There he is." And I was like, "What?" I was like, "No way." I was like, "No way."

Jordan search party alert surprised authorities. One of the things she said was that the Holy Spirit led her to know where he was and that's how she found him.

She says something else that also strikes Detective Cory Clark as very odd. She said it was a place he wanted to see before he died.

Detective Clark and Callispel PD Captain Scott Warell are among those who make the long hard journey down to the bottom of the ravine. And sure enough, Cody's body is right where Jordan said it was

in this pristine area at the bottom of a waterfall, you know, with a huge cliff looming above him. And uh just his body floating in the in the water there and uh in a place that was so remote, I don't think there probably any humans had ever been there.

But Cody's body isn't a pretty sight. anytime you're having to recover a body um that has fallen 300 plus feet off a cliff um it's not good. So the body itself um definitely had um damage.

Were you able to ascertain how he fell? It appeared to us um that the way he fell was was head first. Um he had injuries to uh both arms. um to his head.

Friends and family are devastated when they get the tragic news about Cody, seen here blowing out the candles at one of his last birthday parties.

Cody Johnson was a kind, loving, wonderful young man that I miss a lot. His mother, Sher, breaks down as she talks about her only child in her first TV interview. and he was um a wonderful person and he did not deserve this kind of life. He did not deserve to be murdered.

And Cody's best friend, Jeremiah Herbald, is so overcome with grief as we talk that we have to stop the interview.

I really wish Cody was here. [snorts] He did so much for everybody. [snorts] I never realized what he actually did for me until he was gone.

But the only emotion a dryey Jordan is showing appears to be relief. She mentioned, "Now that we have the body, we can have the funeral and the cops can be out of it."

She couldn't have been more wrong. And next, cops unveil evidence that will finally reveal how Cody Johnson really died. Now, to the conclusion of our story on the sensational murder case of newlywed Cody Johnson, who fell 300 feet to his death just a week after his wedding. The prime suspect, his wife of only a few days. Here's Jason Mater.

Friends couldn't believe the new bride had anything to do with the death of her husband. In fact, in the days following his disappearance, they helped organize the search efforts. But soon, they would discover cracks in Jordan's story. If guests were stunned by how sad and disturbed Jordan Graham looked at her wedding to Cody Johnson, they are now in disbelief at how carefree and unmoved she is at his funeral just 16 days later.

She's the widow and she's up front texting her little friend that she's sitting next to and her mom and dad are in tears while people are talking about him and you know like the funeral service is going on and she was on her phone. I was upset about Cody's funeral, but I was furious at her. I couldn't even think about anything else but what was going on with her.

It was a defining moment for Kimberly Martinez, who had been Jordan's matron of honor.

It was at that moment you knew she was responsible for Cody's death. I was absolutely positive that she she did it.

And Kimberly wasn't the only one. Everybody was looking at her like, "You did this." Everybody knew.

Including the cops who had quietly gathered enough damning evidence against Jordan to arrest her for the murder of her new husband right there at his funeral if they had wanted. And Jordan didn't have a clue.

She thought everything was going to be okay. She didn't think that she was going to get in trouble. What Jordan didn't know was that cops had determined that email she said she got from the mysterious Tony the Carman was a fake.

And what did you find? Through subpoenas, we found that the email was generated at her stepfather's house. Eventually found out that Jordan wrote it herself.

Police had also uncovered evidence that Jordan was with Cody at Glacier National Park the night he died.

At first, Jordan Grab tried to tell investigators she wasn't with her husband. One big problem with that, of course, is this surveillance camera at the entrance of the park.

There was a photo of a car matching the description of Cody's. You can see two occupants inside. Looked like Jordan and Cody.

Cell phone tower records also place Jordan and Cody in the park that night. Subpoena the cell phone records from her cell phone company, and you get time frames and timestamps.

The FBI take Jordan into custody at her home soon after Cody's funeral. She was brought into the Callisbell Police Department and she stood in a room with me and two other federal agents and she was informed she was under the under arrest for the murder of her husband. She didn't even flinch. There wasn't even an emotion

until Jordan is confronted with the overwhelming evidence against her. At which point she broke down and cried

and then she tells all to the FBI admitting in this audio recording that she hadn't been happy in their 8-day marriage. kind of was feeling if should have we waited a little bit longer and then got married, but I wasn't feeling like a cloud night.

Jordan also admits she and Cody had been arguing at home on the night of his death and it was decided they would go to Glacier National Park. Her and Cody then went to the park, proceeded up to the loop, and upon arrival at the loop, they walked across the road and they walked down the loop trail.

Here, Jordan picks up the story in her own words. I didn't want to do that trail cuz I was afraid you could have fallen. He said, "I could do this with a blindfold on." And he said, "I could just put it on, take a step, and I wouldn't even fall." And it kept going through my head that you know, you are going to fall or something. And then we were arguing some more. He went to grab my arm and my jacket and I said, "No, I'm going to defend myself." So, I kind of want to go and I pushed and he went over,

plummeting 300 ft to his death. Out of nowhere, she interjects and says, "My husband stated he can wear a blindfold and walk around this dangerous part." As odd as that is, yes.

A black rag that could have been a blindfold was found near Cody's body at the bottom of the ravine.

Was there a connection? Only one person knows the answer to that, and that's Jordan Graham. Lead detective Cory Clark believes Jordan may have blindfolded Cody as part of a sex game to lure him to Glacier National Park. Quoting statements from church friends who were with Cody earlier on the day of his death.

They stated that Cody was in almost a euphoric mood. He said, "Well, Jordan has a surprise for me." Some of the male folks that were there, they thought maybe

sex. The surprise was though something completely different. Yes. The theory that Cody may have been blindfolded could never be proven.

At the time we attempted to submit it, it was really just another piece of physical evidence uh found at the crime scene. Uh we were procluded from making any arguments as to what it meant uh to Mr. Johnson or it meant to uh Miss Graham's conduct.

Jordan denies in her confession that Cody's murder was premeditated. There was no planning on your part to to kill Cody.

No. Okay. You hadn't planned that. you until um this whole thing just kind of happened in the heat of yeah heat of the emotion and the passion of that situation.

But Jordan admitted it was no accident. She stated that he had turned his back to her. He was facing the cliff and that's when she went up to him and with both hands pushed him in the back off the off the cliff.

So he would have fallen face first down the hill. Why did you continue to turn around and then push him up? I think it's because emotions were running so high. I was frustrated. I was angry. I was I was every emotion I could ever think. It was all at once. And I've never felt like that before. I've never experienced that such high emotions.

Jordan was charged with firstdegree murder, seconddegree murder, and making misleading statements.

Jordan originally takes a plea of not guilty. That is correct. Then she changes her plea during trial.

That's right. Shortly before the case was going to be argued uh to the jury, she uh decided to enter a plea of guilty to seconddegree murder. Jordan Graham is sentenced to 30 years in federal prison with no chance of parole in a case that won't soon be forgotten by anyone involved in it.

It is the first time uh in in my experience as as a lawyer, eight days of marriage and ending it with a homicide. To this day, I still wonder what actually happened just before she pushed Cody off the edge of that cliff.

And Cody's mom would like the answer to just one question. Why did she do it? If she didn't love him, why did she get married? Why did she say yes to the proposal? That's still the question in my mind to to this day is why. Graham recently filed her last appeal to the Supreme Court, but it was denied because the murder was committed in a national park. It's a federal crime, and she'll remain in a federal prison until 2040 without the possibility of parole. Coming up, inexon turns his life around and starts the life he always dreamed of.

That everyday happy white picket fence type of life. But this family man was never supposed to be out of prison in the first place. The clerical error that let him out 90 years early in his new battle to be free. That's next here on Crime Watch Daily. We've covered many stories of innocent people spending years behind bars after being wrongly convicted. However, this next story involves a man who did commit the crime but was wrongly released from prison. We're teaming up with our affiliate KDVR in Denver for the complicated case.

Here's Pat Lama. It's a knock on the door Renee Lima Marin and his family never saw coming. 6 years after he's released from prison, cops show up saying there's been a mistake. Renee had 90 more years left to serve.

Your whole family's ripped apart. Now, there's a breaking development in this case that has people all over the country talking. At the age of 19, Renee was already a hardened criminal, capping a juvenile record with the armed robbery of two video stores in the year 2000. Under a harsh chronic offender program called COP, the judge orders each of the eight related convictions to run backto back, adding up to an incredible 98 years in prison.

I acknowledge the fact that I did something wrong. I take responsibility for the fact that I did something wrong, but I also believe that I I I completed the punishment. Renee says according to his public defender, with good behavior, he could serve his sentences concurrently and get out in 16 years. But after only 10 years, Renee is granted parole. He walks out of prison into the arms of his high school sweetheart, Jasmine. It's

that everyday happy white picket fence type of life. Six years go by. Rene's criminal past seems far behind him. But suddenly things change in a flash.

We got the fugitive squad on the on the detail and they went and had him arrested.

There was a mistake, a simple clerical error. Renee shouldn't have been released and authorities say he has to serve the rest of his sentence, an additional 90 years.

You know, you're living your life one day and then out of the blue, you're just your whole life's turned around. Speaking from behind bars, the rehabbed family man tells our affiliate Fox 31 in Denver, "The one suffering the most, his wife and two little boys."

"What makes this just that much harder is the fact that I constantly, you know, have them just right here."

Prosecutors say Renee knew his early release was a mistake, something he maintains is not true. I would have never had a wife. I would have never had children. I would have never bought a house. I would have never done any of those things. But I did those because you let me out. And now they're being punished for something that they had absolutely nothing to do with.

Jasmine takes the fight all the way to the Colorado Supreme Court. to give a person the opportunity to taste freedom, to go out and get married, have children, and do all of these things, and then to rip that all away from them in the blink of an eye and say, "Well, that was our error, but you and all of your dependents are going to suffer for it."

The court agrees Renee is to be released again. Very excited. Um, I wasn't expecting an unanimous vote, so that was very surprising. Um, it's overwhelming.

Then just one day after the overwhelming judgment, Jasmine gets another excruciating punch to the gut. Immigration officials are waiting for her husband at the prison gates and they take Renee back into custody.

Marin came to the United States from Cuba when he was just one years old and because he is a convicted felon, he can now be eligible for deportation.

That's right. After everything he and his family have been through, Renee could now be deported.

Just feel like we're starting all over again. Hoping to sway immigration officials, Rene's attorneys petitioned the governor for a full pardon of his crimes.

Right now, I just ask that everyone continues to support us regardless of what your thoughts may be.

Then, finally, a glimmer of hope. Colorado Governor John Hickinlooper pardons Renee. His arrest record is now wiped clean. But the big question, will it be enough for a federal judge to release him?

I have a strong, strong, strong belief that the Lord is going to work this out one way or another.

Until then, Renee sits in custody at this ICE facility. And he and his family do what they've grown so accustomed to, wait. We are still keeping full faith in God and just praying that everything works out and that he will come home to us.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Newlywed bride pushes husband to his death"?

Jeremiah Herbald (Guest), Detective Cory Clark (Guest), Chris Hansen (Host), Dave Dempsey (Guest), Melissa McCarti (Guest), Jordan Graham (Guest), Cody Johnson (Guest), Jason Mata (Guest).

What is "Newlywed bride pushes husband to his death" about?

The narrative revolves around the shocking case of newlywed Cody Johnson, who disappeared shortly after his wedding, leading to a murder investigation that raised questions about his wife’s involvement. As the investigation unfolds, discrepancies in her story emerge, transforming her from a grieving spouse into a prime suspect in a chilling account of love, betrayal, and mystery.

What is mentioned in this True Crime News episode?

13 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Cody Johnson, Jordan Graham, Dave Dempsey, Glacier National Park, Chris Hansen, Kimberly Martinez. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Newlywed bride pushes husband to his death"?

The episode runs 40 min; the transcript is about 6,929 words in 175 timestamped sections.

More from True Crime News

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated January 24, 2026.