Hawaii doctor convicted of trying to kill nuclear engineer wife on hiking trail insults jurors as he demands new trial

A top doctor convicted of attempted murder for trying to push his wife off a cliff in Hawaii is demanding a new trial.

Anesthesiologist Gerhardt Konig, 47, was convicted of trying to kill his wife, nuclear engineer Arielle Konig, 37, while she was hiking along a cliff in Oahu on March 24, 2025.

A motion for a new trial was filed Friday after several jurors said in interviews they did not believe the doctor intended to kill his wife. KYMA reported.

Konig argues in his appeal that Hawaii law requires jurors to unanimously agree that he intended to cause her death.

“While we are grateful that Dr. Konig was not convicted of attempted murder, comments made by some jurors after the verdict indicate that he should not have been convicted of attempted murder as well,” said Konig’s attorney, Thomas Otake. KHON2.

‘The instructions given to the jury about the law can be very confusing and these things happen from time to time.

“But now that issues with the decision have come to light, this motion offers the Court an opportunity to avoid an unfair outcome,” the lawyer added.

Konig is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 13 and faces up to 20 years in prison.

After a three-week trial, the doctor was convicted on April 8 and given a lighter sentence due to mental or emotional impairment.

The images revealed in court show the wounds Arielle received after her husband beat her with a rock.

Konig previously pleaded not guilty to attempted second-degree murder charges, claiming he acted in self-defense.

Prosecutors alleged Konig pushed Arielle to the side of Pali Puka Road and repeatedly beat her with a rock on her birthday.

Konig’s lawyers first claimed that Arielle attacked her husband. They said it was a case of ‘he said, she said’.

Arielle said Konig tried to repair the couple’s marriage after he found “flirting texts” between her and a co-worker.

He described his relationship as an ’emotional affair’ with his colleague that lasted three months.

Arielle claimed that after her husband laid her on the ground, he pulled out a vial and syringe and then attacked her with a rock.

The defense noted that police never found a syringe at the scene or any evidence that he tried to inject his wife with any substance.

She stated that while her husband was attacking her, she shouted, “Please help, he is trying to kill me.”

The attack only ended when two female hikers heard her call for help and called 911, prosecutors argued.

When two hikers arrived at the scene, Konig had fled the scene and allegedly called his son, confessing to attacking his wife and saying he was going to take his own life.

Konig looked visibly distressed after the guilty verdict was announced

Arielle accused her husband of attacking her with a rock after he syringed her near a cliff in Hawaii

Arielle testified that she was treated for a ‘serious scalp laceration’ following the incident and showed pictorial evidence of her injuries during the hearing.

Konig’s attorney, Thomas Otake, previously argued that Arielle’s injuries were not as bad as they appeared, saying she only suffered a small laceration to her eyebrow.

However, a doctor from Queen’s Medical Center claimed that the woman had crushed tissue all the way to her skull.

Konig told the court the couple had argued over their relationship and he hit her with a rock before wrestling each other.

He admitted hitting the woman with a rock but denied having a syringe in his hand.

The court was shown photographs of the contents of Michael Jackson’s medical kit, which included a syringe and a generic form of Propofol, the powerful anesthetic that caused his fatal overdose.

Konig also denied accusations that he tried to push his wife over the edge.

Gerhardt Konig, 47, was convicted of trying to kill his wife, nuclear engineer Arielle Konig, on her birthday in Oahu on March 24 last year.

The court was shown photographs of the contents of Konig’s medical kit; Inside this bag was a syringe and a generic form of Propofol, a powerful anesthetic that caused Michael Jackson’s fatal overdose.

Prosecutors alleged that Konig plotted to kill his wife to avoid a divorce due to marital problems.

It was also revealed that Konig would gain $250,000 from Arielle’s life insurance policy in the event of her death.

Arielle filed for divorce in May 2025, seeking full custody of the couple’s young son.

Konig has been in jail since his arrest in March 2025, about eight hours after attacking his wife. Medical staff privileges at Maui Health have been revoked.