Doctor accused of trying to kill wife during hike in Hawaii found guilty

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An anesthesiologist accused of trying to termination his wife during a cliffside hike past twelvemonth successful Hawaii was recovered blameworthy of attempted execution by a assemblage successful Honolulu connected Wednesday.

Gerhardt Konig, 47, was convicted aft a three-week proceedings successful which some helium and his woman testified. He could look a maximum punishment of beingness successful situation erstwhile sentenced.

The Maui-based doc had pleaded not blameworthy to second-degree attempted execution aft his apprehension and indictment past twelvemonth connected the Hawaiian land of Oahu. His complaint stemmed from a March 2025 incident in which prosecutors said Gerhardt Konig assaulted his wife, Arielle Konig, arsenic they walked on a scenic hiking way successful Honolulu.

The Pali Puka way wraps astir the borderline of a cliff and includes a fashionable but distant lookout spot, wherever Arielle Konig alleged that her hubby attacked her — first, by trying to stab her with a syringe, and, then, by hitting her implicit the caput with a rock. She said successful testimony astatine his proceedings that she believed her hubby wanted to render her unconscious earlier pushing her disconnected the cliff.

"I conscionable started screaming, because, successful my mind, he's trying to sound maine unconscious, to get to beryllium capable to resistance maine implicit the edge," Arielle Konig told the jury.

Arielle Konig said she suffered captious injuries successful the onslaught and has since filed for divorcement from her husband. Prosecutors said astatine the proceedings that she survived due to the fact that a brace of hikers saw the battle happening connected the trail, prompting Gerhardt Konig to stop. He fled the country and was yet arrested aft a manhunt that lasted much than six hours, CBS affiliate KGMB-TV reported.

Witnesses corroborated Arielle Konig's relationship of what happened. One of them, Amanda Morris, said successful her grounds that Gerhardt Konig was "hitting [his wife] with a rock" erstwhile she saw them connected the trail. Sarah Buchsbaum, different witness, testified that Arielle Konig's "face was covered successful blood." Buchsbaum called 911.

Arielle Konig testified that her hubby was aggravated with her for having an affair, and that motivated the attack. In his ain testimony, Gerhardt Konig's son, Emile, said his begetter told him arsenic overmuch during a FaceTime telephone aft it happened. Emile Konig, 19, referred to Gerhardt Konig arsenic "the defendant" erstwhile helium spoke to jurors from the stand.

Recalling the FaceTime call, Emile Konig said his begetter told him that "he would not beryllium making it backmost to Maui, and to instrumentality bully attraction of the younger kids, and that Ari, my stepmom, had been cheating connected him, and that helium tried to termination her."

Gerhardt Konig claimed self-defense erstwhile helium took the basal past week, testifying that Arielle Konig grabbed his wrists, threw herself to the crushed and deed him connected the broadside of his look with a rock.

When asked by his lawyer if helium "reacted to defend" himself "in the vigor of the moment," Gerhardt Konig replied, "Yes." He besides insisted helium "was not mad" erstwhile a authoritative asked him if substance messages that helium thought hinted astatine his woman having an matter had angered him. He told the assemblage that helium "was upset" but had not planned to wounded Arielle Konig connected the hiking way that time and "felt horrible" erstwhile helium saw his woman bleeding.

Before his arrest, Gerhardt Konig worked arsenic a doc astatine Anesthesia Medical Group successful Hawaii, and, earlier, as an anesthesiologist astatine the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He was besides an adjunct prof of anesthesiology and bioengineering astatine the university.

Shelley Bortz, Madeline Bartos and Jonathan Vigliotti contributed to this report.

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