HONOLULU (AP) — An anesthesiologist accused of trying to kill his wife during a cliff-side hike near a popular scenic lookout in Hawaii struck her so hard with a rock that pieces of it broke off in her scalp, a prosecutor told jurors during closing arguments Tuesday.
___
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of domestic violence. If you or someone you know needs help, please call the national domestic violence hotline: 1-800-799-7233 in the U.S.
___
Gerhardt Konig, 47, had a plan and backup plans for murdering his wife, Arielle Konig, during a weekend trip to Honolulu from their home in Maui for her birthday in March 2025, deputy prosecutor Joel Garner said. He tried to push her off a cliff, but when that didn't work he tried to stab her with a syringe filled with an unknown substance.
And when that didn't work, he grabbed the rock, Garner said.
"Every backup plan ends in Arielle’s death,” Garner said, displaying the rock and photos of her injuries.
The trial started last month, nearly a year after Gerhadt and Arielle Konig went on a hike on the Pali Puka trail in Honolulu that ended with her bloodied and screaming that he tried to kill her. Gerhardt Konig has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder, and he insists he was defending himself from his wife.
Their two young sons stayed home on Maui while the Konigs were on the trip. Near a lookout offering sweeping views, Gerhardt Konig— upset about his wife's relationship with a coworker — attacked her, Garner said. It was only because two other hikers interrupted the assault that he stopped, Garner said.
The trial, with testimony livestreamed by Court TV, has aired the couple's marital problems leading up to the hike, along with their versions of what happened on the trail.
Gerhardt Konig testified that his wife was having an affair, which he confirmed by unlocking her phone while she slept. The relationship, which Arielle Konig characterized as an “emotional affair” involving flirty messages with a coworker, came up during the hike.
Arielle Konig testified that her husband grabbed her and moved her toward the cliff's edge but she threw herself on the ground in an attempt to hold on. He straddled her and had a syringe in his hand, she said, but she batted it away. She bit his forearm and squeezed his testicles in attempt to get him off her, she said.
Her husband denied pushing her toward the edge and testified that she hit him with a rock on the side of his face. He wrestled the rock away and hit her with it twice in self-defense, he said.
But the prosecutor told the jury that all of the blood found on the rock and on clothing belonged to Arielle Konig, not her husband.
Gerhardt Konig also denied having any syringes on the mountain, or trying to stab her. His defense attorney has said no syringe was found at the scene.
Pali Puka, which means “pierced cliff” in Hawaiian, leads to a hole in a rock ridge through which hikers can look out over the forest to see the ocean. The trail is closed because state officials have deemed it unsafe, but hikers often enter through a small clearing, ignoring a warning sign that reads: “Area Closed! Do not go beyond this sign.”
Gerhardt Konig testified that as he watched his wife crawl away, he believed his marriage and career were over, and he decided to jump to his death. But first, he called his adult son from a previous marriage. The son told authorities that his father said he "tried to kill your stepmom” — a confession Gerhardt Konig denied having made.
He spent about eight hours hiding on the mountain before deciding to come down, and even then he tried to flee when confronted by police, Garner said.
His wife has since filed for divorce.
