HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A jury has found Gerhardt Konig, a 47-year-old doctor who lives on Maui, guilty of attempted manslaughter in connection with a 2025 attack on an Oʻahu hiking trail.
Konig had been on trial for attempted murder, accused of trying to kill his wife, Arielle Konig. Jurors instead returned a verdict of attempted manslaughter based on extreme mental or emotional disturbance.
Prosecutors alleged Konig attacked his wife on the Pali Puka trail on Oahu last March.
Arielle Konig testified that she was stabbed with a needle and hit multiple times with a lava rock, and that her husband tried to push her from a cliff.
Gerhardt Konig testified that his wife was the aggressor, saying she tried to push him over the cliff and struck him with a rock. He said he hit her in self-defense.
Behind the deliberation
At trial, jurors were instructed to consider multiple possible verdicts, ranging from attempted murder in the second degree to lesser offenses including assault.
According to deputy prosecuting attorney Joel Garner, instructions required jurors to first evaluate the attempted murder charge. If they found Konig guilty of attempted murder, they then had to consider whether the defense had established extreme mental or emotional disturbance.
“I don’t know what went on in the deliberation room,” Garner told reporters after the verdict. “We respect the verdict. We respect that the jury did their job, considered the evidence and came to a verdict that they thought fit the evidence and fit the burden of proof on all sides on in this case.”
“They came out with a verdict which none of the attorneys argued for,” said Megan Kau, a defense attorney and former prosecutor who was not involved in the case. “Neither the prosecution nor the defense argued for EMED (extreme mental and emotional distress). Yet the jury came down and decided that EMED applied.”
“We could see there was definitely evidence of a track record of the ability for emotional distress to have occurred,” jury foreperson Makalapua Atkins told reporters after the trial was adjourned.
However, Atkins also said the jury didn’t believe that Konig intended to murder his wife that day.
“The intent to kill is improbable to us, based on the evidence presented,” she said.
Defense plans appeal
Konig’s attorney said the defense respects the verdict but plans to appeal.
“We believe leading up to trial and during trial, there are many appellate issues and we do plan on appealing,” defense attorney Thomas Otake said. “We are thankful that they did not convict him of attempted murder, which would have been life in prison.”
Attempted manslaughter is a class A felony under Hawaii law. Prosecutors are seeking the maximum 20-year sentence, but it also leaves open the possibility of probation, which can include a jail sentence when he is sentenced in August.
Konig has been in custody since March of last year.
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