In a dramatic turn during her murder trial , newlywed Jordan Linn Graham pleaded guilty Thursday to second-degree murder in a plea deal and recounted how she pushed her new husband over a Montana cliff last summer . `` It was a reckless act , '' she told the judge who demanded the truth of what happened to Cody Johnson , her husband of eight days , in Glacier National Park in July . `` I just pushed , '' she stated . The newlywed couple was arguing when he grabbed her and she told him , `` Let go . '' She thought he was going to hold her down . She put one hand on his back and another on his shoulder and then pushed him face-first to his death , she told the court . When Graham declared her guilt , the victim 's mother in the gallery crumpled in her seat . Another relative of Johnson , who was 25 , threw her head back and cried , whispering `` she said guilty . '' His friends held hands and appeared satisfied . Graham , 22 , now faces a sentence of up to life in prison , U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy said . Her minimum sentence could be 235 months , or 19 1/2 years , though sentencing guidelines are flexible , the judge said . In exchange for her guilty plea , prosecutors dropped a first-degree murder charge and a lying to investigators charge . The deal was announced after the prosecution and defense rested their cases and took a courtroom break . They had n't yet begun their closing arguments to the jury . When the trial resumed , the judge said there were new developments , and the prosecution announced a deal had been made . The jury was not in the room when the deal was announced . Lead defense attorney Michael Donahoe said prosecutors offered the deal in the late morning before the lunch break . Graham accepted the deal , he said . When everyone returned to the courtroom , the judge asked Graham if she was sure she wanted to plead guilty , because she could end up spending the rest of her life in a federal prison . Graham consented to the proceeding , though she appeared overwhelmed . She did n't cry , however . When the judge first asked what happened the day her husband was killed , Graham responded , `` I was n't thinking of where we were . '' Then she spoke of the deadly argument and how she had misgivings about the marriage . `` I was n't really happy , '' she said . She was n't feeling like one should when first married , she said . When the judge asked her why she left the murder scene , she said she was scared of what had happened . She had the car keys in her pocket . The judge accepted her guilty plea . Graham , a resident of Kalispell , was then handcuffed in the courtroom and taken into custody . Her sentencing is scheduled for March 27 , 2014 . Another of her attorneys , Andrew Nelson , summed up the trial and its surprise outcome : `` For us , it 's been emotional from the drop of the gavel . '' A close friend of the victim , Brad Blasdel , was terse about justice in the case as he left the courthouse : `` God 'll take care of it . '' ' A little creepy ' : Bride 's custom wedding song talks of falling . During the U.S. District Court trial this week , prosecutors contended that Graham was having serious second thoughts about her marriage before her husband 's death and willfully lied to police after it . But her defense lawyers argued that the death plunge was an accident resulting from an argument . Graham initially lied to police , they said , because she was afraid she would n't be allowed to explain what happened on the cliff 's edge . The defense presented to the jury an emotional , heartbreaking review of the couple 's wedding video and showed the couple as a normal pair preparing for marriage . Graham 's husband disappeared July 7 . Four days later , the FBI said , Graham led friends and relatives to a popular spot in the park , where they found Johnson 's body . Graham at first maintained that she had simply speculated Johnson might have gone there . But an FBI agent said that she changed her story when she was shown a surveillance photo of the couple entering the park together . Police : Newlyweds lure man through Craigslist for thrill killing .
`` For us , it 's been emotional from the drop of the gavel , '' defense attorney says . Friend of victim is terse about justice : `` God 'll take care of it '' `` I just pushed '' Cody Johnson over the cliff , defendant tells the judge . Comment: