Wife Fought Back on Cliff’s Edge, Jury Told in Hawaii Attempted Murder Trial

An attempted murder trial involving a Hawaii anesthesiologist accused of trying to kill his wife after discovering her alleged “emotional affair” is nearing its end, with closing arguments set for April 7.

The trial began in March, nearly a year after Gerhardt and Arielle Konig went hiking on the Pali Puka trail in Honolulu. It was an outing that ended with Arielle seriously injured and allegedly screaming that her husband had tried to kill her. Gerhardt Konig has pleaded not guilty.

The couple was reportedly walking along the trail when Gerhardt Konig asked his wife to take a selfie near the edge. When she said she felt uncomfortable and walked away, he allegedly became enraged and pushed her into the bushes.

According to testimony, Arielle saw her husband retrieve two syringes from his bag during the attack. She recalled pleading with him, saying, “Your family will be upset if I die. You can’t face our kids after this,” adding that he appeared to pause briefly and calm down.

Arielle managed to break free and run, but prosecutors say Konig then picked up a rock and struck her in the head about 10 times, while also grabbing her hair and smashing her face into the ground, according to Court TV.

She screamed for help as two witnesses rushed toward her and allegedly saw her lying on her back with Konig on top of her. He allegedly shouted that she “was f–king done” and ordered her to “shut the f–k up,” adding, “no one’s going to hear you out here, no one’s going to save you.”

A group of hikers later alerted authorities.

Following the incident, Arielle Konig filed for divorce and obtained a restraining order against her husband, according to Court TV.

Earlier in court, Arielle testified that her relationship with a colleague never progressed beyond text messages, which she described as “flirty in nature.”

She said the couple had started therapy and that their relationship appeared to be improving in February, one month before the alleged attack.

Konig admitted to hitting his wife during the hike in Oahu on March 24, 2025, her birthday, but claimed he acted in self-defense after she allegedly attacked him when he tried to end the marriage over the affair, according to the New York Post.

Konig testified that as he watched his wife crawl away, he believed his marriage and career were over and decided to jump to his death. Before doing so, however, he called his adult son from a previous marriage. The son later told authorities that his father said he had “tried to kill your stepmom” — a statement Gerhardt Konig denies making.