They had just married, but the woman was having second thoughts, court documents say. During an argument at a US park, he grabbed her arm, but she shoved him off a cliff to his death.

Federal prosecutors have given their version of what happened to Cody Lee Johnson, 25, two months after his body was found in an area so steep and rugged that a helicopter had to be used to recover him.

Jordan Linn Graham, 22, appeared yesterday in federal court on a second-degree murder charge in the July 7 death. Her attorney, Andrew Nelson, declined to comment.

Johnson's family and friends had called for an investigation since the body was recovered July 12.

On the night Johnson died, Graham told a friend that she meant to talk with Johnson about "having second thoughts about having been married," according to an FBI affidavit filed with the criminal complaint.

She originally told investigators that Johnson sent her a text message the night of his death, saying he was going for a drive with a friend from out of town. Five days later, Graham admitted to authorities in a second interview that she had lied, according to the affidavit.