A doctor who tried to push his wife off a cliff in Hawaii was found guilty of attempted manslaughter on Wednesday following a contentious trial.
Gerhardt Konig, 47, was accused of trying to kill his nuclear engineer wife, Arielle Konig, 37, on her birthday on March 24, 2025 in Oahu.
Prosecutors claimed that Gerhardt pushed Arielle near the edge of the Pali Puka Trail and beat her multiple times with a rock.
Gerhardt’s lawyers claimed that Arielle attacked her husband first. They said the incident was a case of ‘he said, she said.’
The anesthesiologist previously pleaded not guilty to second-degree attempted murder charges, claiming he acted in self-defense.
The jury convicted him of a lesser charge based on mental or emotional disturbance after two days of deliberation.
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.
Gerhardt Konig, 47, was accused of trying to killed his nuclear engineer wife Arielle Konig on her birthday in Oahu on March 24, 2025
Arielle Konig, 37, accused her husband of attacking her with a rock after pulling a syringe on her near a cliff in Hawaii
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 attacking her with the rock.
The defense 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.
Images revealed in court showed Arielle Konig’s injuries after her husband beat her with a rock
Another photo shown in court depicting Arielle Konig’s injuries
The court was shown photographs of the contents of Gerhardt Konig’s medical bag on Thursday – which included a syringe and a generic form of Propofol, the powerful anesthetic that caused Michael Jackson’s fatal overdose
Gerhardt’s attorney, Thomas Otake, previously argued Arielle’s injuries were not as bad as they appeared, and said she only suffered a small laceration to her eyebrow.
A physician from Queen’s Medical Center, though, claimed she had suffered crushed tissue down to the skull.
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.
The court was shown photographs of the contents of his medical bag which included a syringe and a generic form of Propofol, the powerful anesthetic that caused Michael Jackson’s fatal overdose.
Gerhardt also dispelled accusations that he attempted to push his wife toward the cliff’s edge.
The estranged husband 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.
Konig feeds Arielle cake on their wedding day in 2018. The couple met on a dating app in 2016 and were married two years later. They now have two young sons
The court was also shown Konig’s booking photograph. He was arrested in Maui after having fled the scene of the assault
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.
