A Honolulu jury found Gerhardt Konig guilty of attempted manslaughter — a lesser charge than the attempted murder he originally faced — following a dramatic trial that exposed the couple’s troubled marriage and two clashing accounts of what happened on a remote hiking trail.

A Birthday Trip That Turned Violent

In March 2025, Gerhardt Konig, 47, and his wife Arielle traveled to Honolulu to celebrate her birthday — leaving their two young sons back home on Maui. What was supposed to be a romantic getaway ended in bloodshed on the Pali Puka trail, a scenic path near a lookout with sweeping views of the island.

According to prosecutors, Gerhardt had come prepared with not just a plan, but backup plans. Deputy prosecutor Joel Garner told jurors that when pushing his wife toward the cliff’s edge didn’t work, Gerhardt attempted to inject her with a syringe filled with an unknown substance. And when that failed too, he picked up a rock.

“Every backup plan ends in Arielle’s death,” Garner told the jury, holding up the rock and pointing to photos of her injuries.

Two Very Different Stories on the Stand

Arielle testified that her husband grabbed her and forced her toward the edge of the cliff. She threw herself to the ground to avoid going over. When he straddled her and produced a syringe, she knocked it away. In desperation, she bit his forearm and squeezed his testicles to break free. Her screams ultimately caught the attention of two passing hikers, who interrupted the assault.

Gerhardt told a completely different story. He claimed it was Arielle who struck him first with a rock, and that everything he did was purely in self-defense. He also denied ever having a syringe on the mountain. His defense attorney, Thomas Otake, leaned into this logic — arguing that a man who truly planned to kill his wife with a syringe would have used it first, not last.

Infidelity, Jealousy, and a Broken Marriage

The trial peeled back layers of a marriage under serious strain. Gerhardt testified he had discovered his wife’s messages with a coworker after unlocking her phone while she slept. Arielle described it as an emotional affair — flirty texts, nothing physical. But for Gerhardt, it was enough to fuel a confrontation during the hike.

The defense painted Gerhardt as a man overwhelmed by betrayal rather than a cold-blooded killer. Otake even read aloud a heart-shaped birthday card Gerhardt had written to Arielle, calling her “the heart of our family” and saying their children had “hit the jackpot” with her as their mother.

Eight Hours on the Mountain — and a Damning Phone Call

After the attack, Gerhardt didn’t come down from the mountain. He hid for roughly eight hours. Before doing so, he called his adult son from a previous relationship — a call that proved pivotal at trial. The son told authorities that Gerhardt said he had “tried to kill your stepmom.” Gerhardt denied making that statement, insisting the call was just to say goodbye because he intended to jump.

Prosecutors noted that during that call, Gerhardt made no mention of acting in self-defense. When he finally came down from the mountain, he attempted to flee from police before being apprehended.

Verdict and What Comes Next

After a day of deliberations, the Honolulu jury returned a verdict of attempted manslaughter — convicting Gerhardt on the lesser charge rather than the attempted murder prosecutors had originally sought. The trial, which began last month and was livestreamed by Court TV, drew widespread attention given the dramatic circumstances and the defendant’s medical background.

Arielle Konig has since filed for divorce.