For her 36th birthday, anesthesiologist Gerhardt Konig whisks his wife, engineer Arielle, away for a romantic getaway. He secretly plans the trip, arranging for family members and a hired nanny to stay with their two sons. The couple decides to hike a popular trail along the Koʻolau Mountains, leading to Pali Puka, a rock formation framing the east side of Oʻahu.

Konig hopes the trip will ease tension after months of couples therapy following his accusations that Arielle had an affair. Arielle denies the claims and struggles to understand their origin. She wants to regain her husband’s trust, but his jealousy and abuse, including sexual assaults, have only escalated.

During the hike, Arielle wants to push forward but stops when she sees the final steep stretch. She chooses to wait while Konig completes the climb. When he returns, he takes a picture of her in a tree and suggests they take a selfie at the trail’s edge, overlooking Oʻahu. Arielle smiles for the photo but immediately asks him to step forward so she can move away from the edge.

As she follows him, Konig suddenly turns, grabs her arms, and shoves her toward the cliff, saying, “Get back over there. I’m so f***ing sick of you!”

At first, Arielle thinks he is joking, but he pushes her again, pins her down, and pulls a syringe and vial from his bag, attempting to fill the syringe. She knocks it from his hands, but he digs into his bag again, possibly searching for another. Instead, he grabs a rock and repeatedly strikes her head.

Other hikers hear Arielle’s screams and rush to help. Konig, covered in blood, flees into the woods and video calls his adult son, Emile. Shocked by his father’s appearance, Emile listens as Konig starts to explain but stops mid-sentence and says, “I just tried to kill Ari, but she got away.” He then tells Emile he wants to jump off the cliffs and kill himself.

Joining Nancy Grace today:

Additional Guest

• Mahealani Richardson – Four-time Emmy Award Winning Anchor / Reporter at Hawaii News Now; Instagram @maheaTV, Facebook @MahealaniRichardson

“Crime Stories with Nancy Grace” is also a national radio show on SiriusXM channel 111, airing for two hours daily starting at 12 p.m. EST. You can also subscribe and download the daily podcasts at iHeart Podcasts.

[Feature Photo: Konig couple/Facebook]