Hawaii doctor accused of trying to kill wife found guilty of attempted manslaughter - BERITAJA

A expert who was accused of trying to termination his wife connected a Hawaii hiking way has been convicted of attempted manslaughter.

A Honolulu assemblage returned the verdict against Gerhardt Konig, 47, connected Wednesday aft a time of deliberations. He was convicted of attempted manslaughter based connected utmost intelligence aliases affectional disturbance, which carries up to 20 years successful prison.

His lawyer, Thomas Otake, said he planned to entreaty the verdict but said the defence respected the jury’s verdict.

“We are thankful that they did not convict him of attempted murder, which would person been life successful prison,” Otake said. “We look guardant to an entreaty related to immoderate of the judge’s rulings passim the case.”

Distraught complete her narration pinch a co-worker, Konig planned to termination his wife, Arielle Konig, during a play travel to Honolulu for her day successful March 2025, prosecutors said. They said he tried to push her disconnected a cliff and stab her pinch a syringe, and erstwhile that didn’t work, he struck her pinch a rock. The onslaught was interrupted by 2 hikers who heard her cries for help.

Konig, an anesthesiologist, testified that his woman deed him pinch a stone first and he deed her backmost successful self-defence.

He stood arsenic the jury’s foreperson announced the verdict, past closed his eyes and bowed his head. Arielle Konig was not successful tribunal Wednesday.

Konig will beryllium held astatine the Oahu Community Correctional Center until sentencing connected Aug. 13.

Makalapua Atkins, the assemblage foreperson, told reporters aft the verdict was publication that deliberations focused connected what transpired connected the trail.

She said jurors examined the grounds of the group astatine the segment to spot wherever they matched up and wherever location were inconsistencies.

“At the extremity of the day, erstwhile it comes down to it, she was deed successful the head. And a caput wounded could beryllium serious. And that’s a very deadly portion of the body,” Atkins said.

Jurors believed the narration Arielle Konig had pinch a co-worker was important capable to origin “an affectional disturbance,” and this affected their verdict, she said.

During closing arguments, the doctor’s lawyer many times sought to formed uncertainty connected Arielle Konig’s account.

“If Gerhardt Konig had wanted to termination his woman and had entree to a syringe successful a distant area,” Otake suggested to jurors during closing arguments, “wouldn’t he person drugged her and past thrown her from the cliff, alternatively than having started a scuffle earlier attempting to capable the syringe arsenic he was wrestling pinch her?”

Otake suggested that Konig “would usage the syringe first.”

The proceedings began past month, about 1 twelvemonth aft the erstwhile mates went connected the hike connected the Pali Puka way successful Honolulu.

Gerhardt Konig testified that his woman was having an affair, which he confirmed by unlocking her telephone while she slept. The taxable of the relationship, which Arielle Konig characterized arsenic an “emotional affair” involving flirty messages pinch a co-worker, came up during the hike.

Arielle, who has since revenge for divorce, testified that her hubby grabbed her and moved her toward the cliff’s edge, but she threw herself connected the crushed successful an effort to clasp on.

The events starring to Konig’s arrest

Konig was charged pinch second-degree attempted murder after he allegedly tried to termination his wife by pushing her disconnected a hiking way and hitting her aggregate times connected the caput pinch a rock, according to Honolulu police.

The alleged battle took spot aft Konig wanted to return a selfie while he was connected the Honolulu way pinch his wife, connected March 24, 2025.

The trailhead is simply a short thrust from downtown Honolulu and traverses a ridge pinch water and upland views.

“She mentioned that while connected the trail, Gerhardt was opinionated adjacent to the separator and asked her to return a selfie pinch him,” said a Honolulu constabulary declaration.

Arielle allegedly told him she didn’t consciousness comfortable taking a image pinch him that adjacent to the cliff’s separator and began to locomotion back.

According to the constabulary declaration, Konig yelled astatine her to travel backmost and, erstwhile she refused to return, he pushed her into immoderate bushes, wherever they began to struggle.

Arielle managed to get away, but Konig past picked up a stone and deed her connected the caput about 10 times, “while besides grabbing the backmost of her hairsbreadth and smashing her look into the ground,” the archive stated.

The female crawled to 2 hikers who heard her yelling, “Help! Help me!” and they called 911 to study the incident.

One witnesser said she ran to the apical of the way and saw the unfortunate lying connected her backmost pinch a man connected apical of her, hitting her connected the head. She said that the man stopped attacking the female erstwhile he saw her, according to ABC News.

Arielle told constabulary that she saw “Gerhardt return retired 2 syringes from his container and effort to usage them connected her, but she was capable to get distant from him.”

The female sustained aggregate ample lacerations to her look and caput and was taken to a infirmary successful superior but unchangeable condition.

Konig fled the scene. A constabulary hunt for the man lasted hours aft they closed the authorities park. Officers arrested him astatine about 6 p.m. pursuing a little ft chase.

He pleaded not blameworthy successful tribunal past April to a second-degree attempted murder charge.

The victim’s restraining bid petition

Konig allegedly admitted to the crime successful a FaceTime telephone to his big boy soon aft his woman escaped, according to her revenge restraining bid petition.

During the trial, Konig testified that he called his boy to “say goodbye.”

At the clip of the incident, the couple’s 2 young sons, aged 2 and four, were astatine location pinch their nanny and family members connected Maui.

According to Arielle, Konig suggested hiking successful Honolulu on a way pinch “narrow ridge sections pinch steep drop-offs connected some sides,” the petition said.

It besides stated that his woman later learned Konig had contacted his big son, her stepson, connected FaceTime and admitted to trying to termination her earlier saying he wanted to extremity his ain life by jumping disconnected a cliff. In December, he accused his woman of having an affair, “which led to utmost jealousy connected his part,” the restraining bid petition said. The mates had been successful therapy ever since.

On March 28, 2025, a judge signed an bid restricting Konig from seeing his woman and their children.

— With files from The Associated Press