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A Hawaii-based anesthesiologist has been convicted of attempted manslaughter following accusations of trying to kill his wife during a birthday hike.
After deliberating for over eight hours, a jury in Honolulu County delivered a guilty verdict against Gerhardt Konig on April 8, according to NBC News.
Instead of the initial charge of second-degree attempted murder, the jury found Gerhardt guilty of the lesser charge of attempted manslaughter due to extreme mental or emotional disturbance.
Following the incident on March 24, 2025, which involved his now-estranged wife, Arielle Konig, the doctor could face up to 20 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for August 13.
The couple, married since 2018, embarked on a hike along O’ahu’s Pali Puka Trail to celebrate Arielle’s birthday. During the hike, she testified that Gerhardt asked her to pose for a selfie near the cliff’s edge, then allegedly attacked her with a rock, attempted to stab her with a syringe, and tried to push her off the cliff, as reported by KHON 2.
The couple—who married in 2018—went for a hike on O’ahu’s Pali Puka Trail in honor of Arielle’s birthday when she testified that he asked her to pose for a cliffside selfie, then attacked her with a rock, tried to stab her with a syringe and attempted to push her from the cliff, KHON 2 reported.
According to prosecutor Joel Garner, Gerhardt had been “obsessed” with an emotional affair Arielle was having with a co-worker, per NBC News, prompting the attack. Two hikers came upon the frenzied scene and assisted Arielle as Gerhardt fled.
Garner added, “The only thing that got him to stop was being caught red-handed.”
Gerhardt’s son Emile also took the stand during the trial, according to KHON 2, telling jurors his father had called him and confessed to trying to kill Arielle as well as having suicidal thoughts in the aftermath of the attack.
But Gerhardt offered a conflicting perspective during the trial, testifying on the stand that he’d never meant to harm his wife. He argued that the couple had gotten into a heated argument about the affair and she struck him with a rock first, per ABC News. He claimed that he was only acting in self-defense and denied the claims of trying to use a syringe, with his attorneys arguing that it was a case of “she said, he said.”
Jury Reached Decision After Agreeing Arielle Konig Was “Physically Hurt”
Jury foreperson Makalapua Atkins told KHON 2 that they reached the unanimous decision Wednesday after agreeing that they didn’t believe Gerhardt had set out to kill his wife.
“When it comes down to the definitions that were given we didn’t see that it any there’s any type of evidence to support that it was he intended to murder her. However, we do understand that she was physically hurt so we did want to agree on that,” Atkins explained. “The reason behind it was just because of the evidence presented to us, we could see that there was definitely evidence of a track record of the ability for emotional disservice to have occurred.”
In a statement to NBC News, Prosecuting attorney Steve Alm called the verdict “a good day for the good guys,” and thanked the two witnesses and investigators who testified in the trial.
Gerhardt’s attorney Thomas Otake said they plan to appeal the jury’s decision.
“We are thankful that they did not convict him of attempted murder, which would have been life in prison,” he said, “and so we just thank the jury for their service, and we look forward to an appeal related to some of the judge’s rulings throughout the case and before the trial.”