Doctor accused of trying to kill wife on hike found guilty of attempted manslaughter
A Hawaii doctor accused of trying to kill his wife on a hiking trail last year has been found guilty of attempted manslaughter following several hours of deliberations over two days in the high-profile trial.
Dr. Gerhardt Konig, 47, pleaded not guilty to second-degree attempted murder charges in the case. The jury convicted him of a lesser charge -- attempted manslaughter based upon extreme mental or emotional disturbance.
During the trial, prosecutors alleged the anesthesiologist attacked his wife, Arielle Konig, near a cliff while on the Pali Puka Trail on Oahu for her birthday on March 24, 2025, by pushing her near the edge and then beating her multiple times with a rock.
The defense, meanwhile, alleged that Arielle Konig attacked her husband first and that he hit her with the rock in self-defense -- characterizing it as a case of "he said, she said."
Sentencing in the case is set for Aug. 13. Konig faces a maximum of 20 years. He will continue to be held until sentencing, the Honolulu prosecutor's office said.
The jury began deliberations Tuesday afternoon, following nearly three weeks of testimony in the Honolulu trial.
The jurors were instructed to consider the attempted manslaughter charge and various assault charges if they were unable to find Konig guilty of second-degree attempted murder.
Both Gerhardt Konig and his wife took the stand during the trial, presenting widely differing accounts of what happened on the hike.
Arielle Konig testified that the two had traveled to Oahu from their home in Maui to celebrate her birthday. She said they had been working on repairing their marriage after her husband found what she characterized as "flirty" WhatsApp messages between her and a colleague in December 2024 in what she said was an "emotional affair."
She testified that during the hike, her husband pushed her toward the edge of the cliff. As they wrestled on the ground with him on top, pinning her down, he produced a syringe and vial, she said.
Arielle Konig further testified that her husband proceeded to beat her with a rock as many as 10 times, and that she believed he was trying to knock her unconscious in order to drag her over the edge of the cliff.
She recalled screaming, "Please help, he's trying to kill me," and that when two women happened upon them, her husband "froze" and she was able to then crawl away.
While testifying in his own defense over two days, Gerhardt Konig maintained that he never intended to hurt his wife and acted in self-defense when he struck her with the rock.
He told the court that his wife pushed him near the edge after they got into an argument about her affair, and that she hit him with a rock first while they struggled on the ground. He admitted to hitting her with the rock while on top of her, saying he struck her twice, though he denied having any syringes or trying to pull her toward the cliff's edge.
Gerhardt Konig testified that he felt suicidal after the incident.
"I just felt hopeless at that point in terms of everything," he said. "I felt horrified about what I did to her, that I had caused this to her, that I had resorted to violence against my wife, the person who I love the most in the world. And I just kind of felt hopeless in terms of our relationship, too."
During closing arguments, prosecutor Joel Garner said Arielle Konig's "straightforward" and "coherent" testimony was corroborated by the bloody evidence at the scene, the "severity" of her injuries, digital evidence and the testimony of other witnesses -- including the two women who came upon the couple.
Garner alleged that Gerhardt Konig came up with a plan to kill his wife on the challenging Pali Puka Trail to avoid a costly divorce and called the defendant's testimony, including his self-defense claims, "unbelievable."
The prosecutor also pointed to testimony from Gerhardt Konig's older son from his prior marriage, who told the court that his father admitted to trying to kill his wife.
Asked by the prosecutor to recount what his father said during the FaceTime call, Emile Konig testified, "That he would not be making it back to Maui and to take good care of the younger kids, and that Ari, my stepmom, had been cheating on him, and that he tried to kill her."
During his closing argument, defense attorney Thomas Otake said there is "reasonable doubt all over this case."
He disputed the alleged plan outlined by the prosecutor, saying Gerhardt Konig never intended to harm his wife. He also questioned Arielle Konig's testimony, calling her "deceptive" while pointing to her deleting messages with her colleague.
Otake argued that the call between Gerhardt Konig and his son was between "highly emotional" people, and that Emile Konig could not say exactly word for word what was said.
Gerhardt Konig was arrested following an hourslong manhunt, prosecutors said.
Arielle Konig testified she was treated at a hospital for "severe complex scalp lacerations" and showed the court scarring on her scalp.
She filed for divorce in May 2025, seeking full custody of the couple's two young children.
Gerhardt Konig, who worked as an anesthesiologist on Maui, has been in jail since his arrest. Following his arrest, Maui Health said his medical staff privileges at Maui Memorial Medical Center have been suspended pending investigation.
