(Credit for Photo: Photo Courtesy of Mengshin Lin / Associated Press)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Honolulu, HI) A doctor who was previously an anesthesiologist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center that was accused of trying to kill his wife during a cliffside hike last year in Hawaii was found guilty of the lesser charge of attempted manslaughter based on extreme mental or emotional disturbance by a jury in Honolulu yesterday. Forty-seven-year-old Gerhardt Konig was convicted after a trial that lasted three weeks in which both he and his wife testified. The Maui-based doctor had pleaded not guilty to second-degree attempted murder following his arrest and indictment last year on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. His charge stemmed from an incident that occurred on March 24th, 2025 in which prosecutors confirmed that Konig assaulted his wife, Arielle Konig, as they walked along the Pali Puka trail, which is a scenic hiking trail in Honolulu. His conviction yesterday was on a lesser charge, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years. The Pali Puka trail wraps around the edge of a cliff and also includes a popular but remote lookout spot, where Arielle Konig alleged that her husband attacked her by trying to stab her with a syringe first and then by hitting her over the head with a rock. She said in her testimony at his trial that she believed her husband wanted to render her unconscious before pushing her off the cliff. Arielle Konig said she suffered critical injuries in the attack and has since filed for divorce from her husband. Prosecutors stated at the trial that she survived because a pair of hikers saw the assault happening on the trail, which prompted Gerhardt Konig to stop. According to a report from CBS affiliate KGMB-TV, he escaped the scene and was eventually arrested after a manhunt that lasted more than six hours. Arielle Konig testified that her husband was angry with her for having an affair, and that motivated the attack. Gerhardt Konig’s nineteen-year-old son, Emile Konig, said during his own testimony that his father told him as much during a FaceTime call after it happened. Emile Konig also referred to Gerhardt Konig as “the defendant” when he spoke to jurors from the stand. Gerhardt Konig claimed self-defense when he took the stand last week, testifying that Arielle Konig grabbed his wrists, threw herself to the ground and hit him on the side of his face with a rock. Gerhardt Konig worked as a doctor at Anesthesia Medical Group in Hawaii and earlier as an anesthesiologist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center before his arrest. He was also an assistant professor of anesthesiology and bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh.