Doctor Convicted After Attempting to Kill Wife on Her Birthday in Hawaii Saying “Nobody’s Coming To Save You”

A doctor in Hawaii has been found guilty of attempting to kill his wife during a birthday hike, after a court heard starkly different accounts of a violent struggle on a scenic trail near Honolulu.

Gerhardt Konig, 47, an anesthesiologist, testified that he struck his wife with a rock in self-defence after she tried to push him off a cliff. Prosecutors, however, claim that he was the attacker and had planned to kill her during the March 24, 2025, outing.

According to NBC News, the incident took place on the Pali Puka trail on Oahu, where the couple had gone to celebrate Areille Konig’s birthday. According to prosecutors, the hike turned into a brutal assault. They accused Konig of pushing his wife toward the edge and then attacking her with a rock and a syringe.

Arielle Konig told the jury last week that she feared for her life. She said her husband asked her to pose for a photo near the cliff, to which she soon felt uneasy, and moved away from the edge. She then said, “He grabbed me and pushed me.” After she fell, she said he attacked her. “Nobody’s coming to save you,” she recalled him saying.

She further told that she managed to escape and reach other hikers, who then called 911. In the call, which was played as evidence in the court, witnesses described seeing a man trying to kill a woman whose face was covered in blood.

The husband, Konig, has denied those claims. On the stand, he said the fight began after an argument about an emotional affair his wife had with a co-worker. He told the court he was “devastated” by the affair.

The doctor claimed his wife tried to shove him off the cliff first. During the struggle, he said, she grabbed him and struck him with a rock. He then wrestled it away and hit her twice. “I felt horrible that I hit her,” he said, adding that he attacked her only to protect himself.

Konig also denied carrying a syringe with him. He rejected the claims that he confessed to his son during a FaceTime call after the incident. His son had testified that his father said he tried to kill his wife. Konig said the word “kill” may have come up, but not as a confession.

However, prosecutors have charged him with second-degree attempted murder and accused him of pushing his wife off the cliff.

Photos shown in court revealed severe injuries to Areille Konig, while her husband appeared to have only minor bruises.