Gerhardt Konig testified in his own defense today, and he told jurors how his wife tried to push him off cliffside Pali Puka Trail on O’ahu, Hawaii, last year before the altercation that led to his attempted murder charge.

Konig, 47 and an anesthesiologist in Maui, has been in jail in Hawaii since March 24, 2025 — his wife’s birthday — and he’s currently on trial in the state’s 1st Circuit Court in Honolulu on a second-degree attempted murder charge.

He’s claiming self defense, and he testified today (Wednesday, April 1) about his wife’s flirtatious relationship with a coworker and the problems in their marriage before they traveled to O’ahu from their home in Maui for her birthday. Konig’s lawyer Thomas Otake questioned him in direct-examination.

01:08 “And again, you mentioned you guys weren’t talking about the affair at home anymore because of counseling, correct?” “That’s correct.”

03:00 “I said, like, like, I I need you to move out. Like, this is, this has gone far enough. I need you to move out. And I’m going to tell people why you’re moving out and and I’m going to show them what you did.

03:52 ” So, like, earlier in the conversation, she had be like, well, what if my mom chaperones my work trips with him? And I was like, no, like, I’m not. I’m still not okay with that.”

05:25 “And I was like, I don’t want to be here. I want to go home and, like, start dealing with what we need to deal with. I don’t want to, you know, I got to the point where, you where it opens up and it’s like, these beautiful views, and I’m like, there by myself and, you know, upset. And I was like, I don’t want to be on this hike with myself upset, and I don’t want to do this hike. I’m going to come back and do this hike at a different time.”

06:24 “What is her demeanor and behavior like now?” “Like, 180 reversal, basically. So she was, like, extremely apologetic.”

07:15 “And then after that, she said, let’s take a selfie by the cliff’s edge.”

07:45 “I felt like a shove, and I was almost pushed over the edge.”

08:01 “barely caught myself and turned around and looked at her, and was like, What the fuck was that?”

09:31 “She’s holding on to me. And I’m trying to, you know, I’m trying to figure out what’s going on, but I’m also, at this point, trying to let go of, like, trying to get free, because she’s, like, actively holding on. She’s, she has her leg, like, wrapped around one of my legs, and like, is actively holding on to me, and is and is yelling. And so I’m trying to, you know, get free. And I get my my one arm free, and I try to use it to get my other arm free. And she grabs me by the testicles…”

10:56 “And I’m trying to get her to let go of my testicles. And then she hits me with rock on the side of the face.”

12:18 “The first blow, she landed really well, and after that, I was able to block fairly well. She did, like, land a couple more, but not, not as bad as the first one.”

13:36 “And I finally get the rock.” “What’d you do?” “I hit her with the rock.”

14:20 “And in between the time she hit you with the rock and when you hit her with the rock, were you able to safely retreat and get away from her?” “No.” “Why not.” “She was holding on to me.” “Including your testicles?” “Yes.”

17:00 “how did you feel at that time about the fact that you had responded and defended?” “horrible.”

18:04 “I just felt hopeless at that point in terms of everything like I, I felt horrified, horrified about what I did to her, like that. I caused this to her, that I had resorted to violence against my wife, the person who I loved the most in the world and and just kind of felt hopeless in terms of our relationship, too.”

19:52 “I wanted to call my son, Emile.”