Wife of Maui doctor describes terrifying birthday hike at attempted murder trial

The wife of Maui doctor Gerhardt Konig took the stand in his attempted murder trial Tuesday, recounting a terrifying birthday hike that she said ended with him trying to inject her with a syringe and bashing her head with a rock.

The wife of a Hawaii doctor took the stand in his attempted murder trial Tuesday, recounting a terrifying birthday hike that she said ended with him trying to inject her with a syringe and bashing her head with a rock.

Arielle Konig told an Oahu courtroom that the attack followed a cliffside couple’s selfie that she said her husband had asked her to pose for on March 24, 2025, on the Pali Puka Trail, northeast of Honolulu.

Dr. Gerhardt Konig, a Maui anesthesiologist, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree attempted murder.

His attorney has described the attack as self-defense, arguing in his opening statement last week that Gerhardt Konig struck his wife with a rock after he believed she tried to push him from the trail, according to NBC affiliate KHNL of Honolulu.

The hiking trail in Honolulu where Dr. Gerhardt Konig is accused of attempting to kill his wife last year.Marco Garcia / AP fileIn her testimony Tuesday, Ariell Konig said she felt uneasy standing so close to the cliff’s edge and asked her husband to move so she could get by safely. Moments later, Arielle Konig said, Gerhardt Konig forcefully grabbed her by her arm and, uttering expletives, began pushing her back toward the cliff.