The wife of a Hawaii doctor who is accused of trying to murder her while on a Hawaii hiking trail testified in histrialon Tuesday that she yelled out, "He's trying to kill me," during the alleged attack.
Gerhardt Konig isaccusedof beating his wife, Arielle Konig, with a rock on the Pali Puka Trail on Oahu on March 24, 2025. The anesthesiologist haspleaded not guiltyto second-degree attempted murder.
Arielle Konig calmly recounted the hike while on the stand in the ongoing trial in Honolulu on Tuesday -- which marks exactly one year since the incident, which occurred on her birthday.
She said the two had traveled to Oahu from their home in Maui to celebrate her birthday. She said they had been working on repairing their marriage, going to couples' and individual therapy, after her husband found what she characterized as "flirty" WhatsApp messages between her and a colleague in December 2024.
"I felt hopeful that this was a turning point for us in our marriage, and that this was going to be a nice trip and kind of started the next chapter for us," the nuclear engineer said.
While taking photos during the hike, Arielle Konig said that when she was about 10 feet from the cliff, her husband "grabbed me really forcefully by my upper arms."
"He said, 'I'm so f------ sick of this s---. Get back over there.' And he starts pushing me back towards the cliff," she said.
Arielle Konig said she was "surprised" and felt like he was kidding at first.
"I was like, 'What are you doing?' But he had grabbed me really hard and was moving me. So we kind of wrestled a little bit, and I threw myself onto the ground because there's a lot of trees and shrubs there, so that I could hold on," she said.
Opening statements delivered in trial of doctor accused of trying to kill wife on Hawaii hiking trail
Arielle Konig testified that her husband was on top of her, "trying to get me closer to the cliff." Then, she said, he had a syringe in his hand.
"He says, 'Hold still,' and I see the syringe, and I just kind of bat it away from us both," she said.
She said he was then looking in his backpack with one hand while holding her down with his other.
"He's saying, 'F--- you, you're done. I'm so, so sick of your s---, so done with you,'" she said.
She said she then saw a vial in his hand.
"I'm screaming, and he's telling me, 'Shut the f--- up. Nobody's gonna hear you out here, nobody's coming to save you,'" she testified.
She said she fought back by biting his forearm and pleaded with him, saying, "You can't do it," and that "our kids will be orphans -- you'll go to jail and I'll be dead."
"Again, he's saying, 'You're done. We're done with you. We don't need you anymore. You're done. You're done,'" she said.
Arielle Konig said it felt like her husband had "calmed down," but then she said he "just starts hitting my face and my head with a rock."
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"I just started screaming, because in my mind, he's trying to knock me unconscious, to be able to drag me over the edge," she said. "So I'm just screaming then as much as I could."
"I do think I was saying something like, 'Please help, he's trying to kill me,'" she continued. "I'm hoping somebody can kind of hear that. And at some point, I hear a voice say, 'We're here, and we're calling 911,'" she said.
Hawaii doctor accused of trying to kill wife on hiking trail pleads not guilty
Last week, prosecutors played the 911 call made by one of two women who came upon the couple.
"Someone's currently being attacked on the top of Pali Puka. There's a man trying to kill her," the caller said.
Arielle Konig said her husband "froze," and she crawled away and the two women ultimately helped her down the trail. She said she didn't know where her husband went. He was ultimately arrested following an hourslong manhunt, prosecutors said.
Arielle Konig said she was treated at a hospital for "severe complex scalp lacerations" and showed the court scarring on her scalp.
On cross-examination, defense attorney Thomas Otake grilled Arielle Konig about the messages between her co-worker, which she said she and her husband had referred to as an "emotional affair" that broke her husband's trust.
She said her husband looked through her phone "almost every day" after uncovering the emotional affair.
While recounting the alleged attack again, she said her husband hit her as many as 10 times with the rock, and that she did not lose consciousness.
Otake at one point asked her to read aloud the birthday card her husband gave her on the morning of the hike.
"'Angel face, there isn't an obstacle in this world too hard for me to fight through for you. I would take on anything just to see your smile. You're one of the kindest, most giving and selfless people I know, putting others before yourself with so much love,'" she read, her voice wavering. "You're the heart of our family. ... Fun, fearless and a terrific mom. The kids and I hit the jackpot with you. Love always, G.'"
On redirect, Arielle Konig pushed back against the defense's characterization of the incident as a "scuffle."
"I consider scuffle to be like a back and forth, like a wrestling thing," she said. "I would call it an attack versus a scuffle."
When asked by the prosecutor what, as she fought back, she was "fighting for," she responded, "My life and the ability to see my kids again."
During opening statements, Otake said Gerhardt Konig has been falsely accused of attempted murder. He claimed that Arielle Konig started what he called an "unplanned, unanticipated scuffle" between the couple and hit her husband with the rock first, during an argument stemming from her affair.
Arielle Konig filed for divorce in May 2025, seeking full custody of the couple's two young children.
Gerhardt Konig has been in jail since his arrest. A judge denied his motion to dismiss the indictment last month.
Konig worked as an anesthesiologist on Maui. Following his arrest, Maui Health said his medical staff privileges at Maui Memorial Medical Center have been suspended pending investigation.
