Maui doctor accused of killing wife testifies in his own defense

 A Maui doctor accused of killing his wife on Oahu trail takes the stand in his own defense.

Gerhardt Konig 47, a Maui anesthesiologist, is accused of attacking his wife, Arielle, during a birthday hike on Oahu. Evidence released on the first day of trial included a photo of Arielle Konig with her head and face covered in blood.

Konig will take the stand in his own defense.

On March 31, Emile Konig testified his father confessed to trying to kill his stepmother during a FaceTime call following an alleged attack at the Pali Puka Trail on Oahu.

Emile Konig, who was 19 during the incident, took the stand as a key prosecution witness against his father, Gerhardt Konig. Last March, Emile was living with his father and stepmother, Arielle, and two half-siblings in Kahului, Maui.

Maui doctor accused of trying to kill wife on birthday hike says he hit her with a rock in self-defense

Gerhardt Konig said his wife tried to push him from a cliff. Prosectors have charged him with second-degree attempted murder. The Hawaii doctor charged with trying to kill his wife during a birthday hike testified at his attempted murder trial Wednesday that he struck her in the head with a rock after she tried to shove him from a cliff.

Gerhardt Konig told the Oahu courtroom that Arielle Konig tried to push him from a trail near Honolulu on March 24, 2025 — her birthday — after they had an argument about an emotional affair she’d had with a co-worker.

His account differed sharply from Arielle Konig’s testimony about the alleged attack last week.

They scuffled after the attempted shove, and his wife grabbed him by the testicles and hit him in the head with a rock, Gerhardt Konig said. He said he eventually wrestled the rock away and hit her with it twice.

She scooted toward two hikers on the trail, Konig said, and told them he was trying to kill her.

In a daze, Konig said, he continued up the trail and called his son on FaceTime. During the conversation, he said, he told him that he planned to take his own life.

In sometimes emotional testimony, Konig, 47, an anesthesiologist, said he felt horrible that he’d hurt his wife. But he said he’d acted in self-defense.

Konig denied having planned the trip from their home in Maui to kill his wife and said he’d been trying to do something nice for her birthday.

Gerhardt Konig on trial.KHNL

Prosecutors charged him with second-degree attempted murder and accused him of pushing Arielle Konig toward a cliff on the Pali Puka Trail before he attacked her with a syringe and a rock.

In his testimony Wednesday, Gerhardt Konig denied having had a syringe with him. And he denied telling his son during the video call that he’d tried to kill Arielle Konig. Emile Konig, 19, testified Tuesday that his father had said as much.

Gerhardt Konig acknowledged the word “kill” might have come up in the conversation but said it wasn’t a confession.