Overview
- Arielle Konig, who testified Tuesday in Honolulu, told jurors her husband grabbed her near the Pali Puka cliff, pulled out a syringe as he said “hold still,” and then struck her head with a rock as she screamed that he was trying to kill her.
- Two hikers said they heard her cries and called 911, with audio played in court last week capturing a caller saying, “There’s a man trying to kill her,” after which Gerhardt Konig froze and fled before police arrested him hours later.
- A physician from Queen’s Medical Center testified that Arielle suffered severe scalp trauma, including crushed tissue down to the skull and small pieces of rock embedded in her skin, underscoring the force of the blows.
- Konig has pleaded not guilty to second-degree attempted murder, and his attorney argues the encounter was an unplanned scuffle or self-defense, disputes that a syringe was used, and says a post-incident call to Konig’s son was not a confession as prosecutors claim.
- The case follows months of marital strain over what Arielle called an emotional affair, with Konig jailed since his arrest, his bid to dismiss the indictment denied last month, his hospital privileges suspended, and a trial expected to continue into April with a potential life sentence if he is convicted.