Hawaii Doctor’s Wife Testifies About the Desperate Plea That Made Him Pause Alleged Cliff Attack, If Only for a Moment

As the alleged attack went on, Arielle testified, Gerhardt told her: “Nobody’s gonna hear you out here. Nobody’s coming to save you.” She said she tried to fight him, on one occasion biting him and squeezing his testicles, and in another instance, reminding him of their children who would be left without a mother — or both their parents.

She recalled telling him, “You can’t do this …our kids will be orphans…you’ll go to jail…and I’ll be dead.”

“Our kids need us,” she told him, per her testimony.

She recalled him allegedly telling her: “You’re done, we don’t need you anymore.” As she recounted these words to the jury, Arielle choked up, a break from her otherwise collected resolve throughout her testimony.

She eventually said the words the made him briefly pause. “You can’t face our kids after this.”

“He did seem to calm down a little bit,” she recounted, “he took a breath and then he just started hitting me with rocks.”

Gerhardt’s alleged attack stopped when two hikers nearby heard Arielle screaming for help, and intervened.

One of them called 911, Arielle recalled, before Gerhardt allegedly took off. He would be arrested hours later that evening.

The couple, who had been married for over six years at the time, had been going through marital problems since Gerhardt found out Arielle had an “emotional affair” with a co-worker, she told the court.

As they began to reconcile their marriage, Gerhardt would go through her messages most days, and said she wasn’t allowed to be with the co-worker in any one-on-one situation, including electronic communication.

Arielle said during their trip to Oahu, she was “hopeful” for the future of her marriage.

Gerhardt, who shares two children with Arielle, is on trial for attempted murder. He has pleaded not guilty.