The Pali Puka Trail on Oahu, where a husband attacked his wife in March 2025. Photo: Screenshot//Google Maps
A jury in Hawaii found a husband guilty of attempted manslaughter for assaulting his wife with rocks — and trying to insert a syringe into her — on an Oahu hiking trail in March 2025. The man was not convicted of attempted murder, which could have carried a life sentence.
Gerhardt Konig, an anesthesiologist on Maui, will be sentenced on August 13 and could get as many as 20 years behind bars.
According to testimony, Mr. Konig attacked his wife, Arielle Konig, on Oahu’s Pali Puka Trail on March 24, 2025, while they were vacationing. Prosecutors said he tried to push her off a cliff, then stab her with a syringe. When Ms. Konig was able to hit the syringe out of his hand, he calmed down, then picked up a rock and started bashing her in the head.
The defense claimed that Ms. Konig tried to push Mr. Konig off the trail first, and he acted in self-defense.
The alleged motive was that Ms. Konig was having an emotional affair with a co-worker, exchanging WhatsApp messages. She denied having a romantic relationship with said co-worker.
Two witnesses on the trail rushed to Ms. Konig’s aid after they heard a scream. Police body camera footage after the incident shows Ms. Konig with a bandage around her head and blood on her face. Mr. Konig’s son testified that his father called him after the incident and admitted to attempting to murder his wife, threatening to kill himself, and jump off a cliff. Mr. Konig was captured after an hours-long manhunt.
The defense attorney says they will appeal the verdict.
The Pali Puka trail is marked as closed to the public and is in an enclosed area in southeastern Oahu. It follows a steep, narrow ridge with a payoff that provides views of the island’s eastern, windward side.
