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An anesthesiologist accused of trying to kill his wife during a cliffside hike last year in Hawaii was found guilty of attempted manslaughter based on extreme mental or emotional disturbance by a jury in Honolulu on Wednesday.
Gerhardt Konig, 47, was convicted after a three-week trial in which both he and his wife testified. Konig sat down slowly and put his head in his hands after the verdict was read.
The Maui-based doctor had pleaded not guilty to second-degree attempted murder after his arrest and indictment last year on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. His charge stemmed from a March 2025 incident in which prosecutors said Konig assaulted his wife, Arielle Konig, as they walked along a scenic hiking trail in Honolulu. His conviction Wednesday was on a lesser charge, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.
“We respect the verdict. We respect that the jury did their job, considered the evidence, and came to a verdict that they thought fit the evidence and fit the burden of proof in this case, so, that’s all I can say about that,” prosecutor Joel Garner said when asked if he was disappointed Gerhardt Konig wasn’t convicted of the more serious attempted murder charge.
Gerhardt Konig’s defense attorney, Thomas Otake, told reporters outside the courtroom that he plans on appealing, saying he believes there were “many appellate issues” both during and before the trial concerning “some of the judge’s rulings throughout the case.”
Otake said he was “thankful” the jury didn’t convict his client of attempted murder, which would have carried a sentence of life in prison.
Mengshin Lin / AP
The Pali Puka trail wraps around the edge of a cliff and includes a popular but remote lookout spot, where Arielle Konig alleged that her husband attacked her — first, by trying to stab her with a syringe, and, then, by hitting her over the head with a rock. She said in testimony at his trial that she believed her husband wanted to render her unconscious before pushing her off the cliff.
“I just started screaming, because, in my mind, he’s trying to knock me unconscious, to get to be able to drag me over the edge,” Arielle Konig told the jury.
Arielle Konig said she suffered critical injuries in the attack and has since filed for divorce from her husband. Prosecutors said at the trial that she survived because a pair of hikers saw the assault happening on the trail, prompting Gerhardt Konig to stop. He fled the scene and was eventually arrested after a manhunt that lasted more than six hours, CBS affiliate KGMB-TV reported.
Witnesses corroborated Arielle Konig’s account of what happened. One of them, Amanda Morris, said in her testimony that Gerhardt Konig was “hitting [his wife] with a rock” when she saw them on the trail. Sarah Buchsbaum, another witness, testified that Arielle Konig’s “face was covered in blood.” Buchsbaum called 911.
Arielle Konig testified that her husband was angry with her for having an affair, and that motivated the attack. In his own testimony, Gerhardt Konig’s son, Emile, said his father told him as much during a FaceTime call after it happened. Emile Konig, 19, referred to Gerhardt Konig as “the defendant” when he spoke to jurors from the stand.
Recalling the FaceTime call, Emile Konig said his father told him 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.”
Gerhardt Konig claimed self-defense when he took the stand last week, testifying that Arielle Konig grabbed his wrists, threw herself to the ground and hit him on the side of his face with a rock.
When asked by his attorney if he “reacted to defend” himself “in the heat of the moment,” Gerhardt Konig replied, “Yes.” He also insisted he “was not mad” when a prosecutor asked him if text messages that he thought hinted at his wife having an affair had angered him. He told the jury that he “was upset” but had not planned to hurt Arielle Konig on the hiking trail that day and “felt horrible” when he saw his wife bleeding.
Before his arrest, Gerhardt Konig worked as a doctor at Anesthesia Medical Group in Hawaii, and, earlier, as an anesthesiologist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He was also an assistant professor of anesthesiology and bioengineering at the university.
