A doctor has been convicted of attempted manslaughter after attempting to push his wife off a cliff in Hawaii, concluding a highly charged trial.
Gerhardt Konig, aged 47, faced allegations of trying to murder his wife, Arielle Konig, a nuclear engineer, during her birthday celebration on March 24, 2025, in Oahu.
According to the prosecution, Gerhardt pushed Arielle near the precipice of the Pali Puka Trail and assaulted her with a rock multiple times.
The anesthesiologist entered a plea of not guilty to the charges of second-degree attempted murder, maintaining that his actions were in self-defense.
On Wednesday, the jury found him guilty of the lesser charge of attempted manslaughter, attributing the decision to emotional or mental disturbance, as reported by ABC News.
Gerhardt’s defense argued that Arielle was the initial aggressor, framing the incident as a ‘he said, she said’ scenario.
During three weeks of testimony, Arielle said she had been trying to repair the couple’s marriage after Gerhardt found ‘flirty messages’ between her and a coworker.
She described the relationship as a three-month-long ’emotional affair’ with her coworker Jeff Miller.
Gerhardt Konig, 47, was accused of trying to killed his nuclear engineer wife Arielle Konig on her birthday in Oahu on March 24, 2025
The couple went hiking in Oahu last spring after Gerhardt uncovered messages of his wife’s ’emotional affair’
‘I was apologetic,’ she testified. ‘He was obviously hurt. I was committed to my marriage, to rebuild. It felt like an affair to him. It was an emotional affair to him.’
Arielle claimed that after her husband wrestled her to the ground, he pulled out a vial and a syringe before beating her with a rock.
The defense has noted that police never found a syringe at the scene or evidence that he tried to inject his wife with any substance.
She told the court that she screamed, ‘Please help, he’s trying to kill me’ as her husband attacked her.
The attack only ended when two female hikers heard her pleas for help and called 911, the prosecution argued.
Gerhardt had fled the scene when the two hikers arrived, and allegedly called his son, confessing to attacking his wife and saying he was going to take his own life.
Arielle testified that she was treated for ‘severe scalp lacerations’ following the incident and showed picture evidence of her injuries during the trial.
Gerhardt told the court that the couple had gotten into an argument over their affair and that she struck him with a rock first before they wrestled one another to the ground.
He admitted to striking her with a rock but denied that he had any syringes. Gerhardt also dispelled accusations that he attempted to push his wife toward the cliff’s edge.
Images revealed in court showed Arielle Konig’s injuries after her husband beat her with a rock
Gerhardt expressed remorse for the incident.
‘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 whom I love the most in the world,’ he said. ‘And I just kind of felt hopeless in terms of our relationship, too.’
Prosecutors claimed Gerhardt came up with a plan to kill his wife to avoid a divorce amid their marital issues.
It was also revealed that Gerhardt stood to gain $250,000 from a life insurance policy in the event of Arielle’s death.
Arielle filed for divorce in May 2025 and sought full custody of the couple’s young sons.
Gerhardt has been in jail since his arrest in March 2025, roughly eight hours after he attacked his wife. His medical staff privileges at Maui Health were revoked.
Arielle and Gerhardt married in 2018, two years after meeting on a dating app.
His sentencing is scheduled for August 13.
