HONOLULU (Court TV) — A doctor convicted of trying to kill his wife while hiking in Hawaii is fighting for a new trial, claiming the jury didn’t understand the verdict they were delivering.
Gerhardt Konig testifies on April 1, 2026. (Court TV)
Gerhardt Konig, 47, had been charged with second-degree attempted murder for the attack on his wife; the jury found him guilty of the lesser charge of attempted manslaughter based on extreme mental or emotional disturbance.
The defendant’s now-ex-wife, Arielle Konig, testified that the couple had gone on a trip to celebrate her birthday in 2025. During that trip, Gerhardt Konig attacked her at the Pali Lookout, first trying to push her off a steep drop-off, then picking up a rock and hitting her head repeatedly. When he testified, Gerhardt Konig told the jury a very different story, saying they got into a fight before Arielle Konig shoved him and tried to push him off the edge before hitting him with a rock.
After the trial, two jurors gave interviews about their experience as jurors. It’s those interviews that Gerhardt Konig’s defense claims prove he deserves a new trial. In the interviews, the jurors “repeatedly indicated that they did not believe Dr. Konig intended to kill his wife, while describing findings more consistent with reckless conduct than specific intent to kill.” Under Hawaii law, attempted manslaughter requires an intent to kill.
In an excerpt from one interview attached as an exhibit to the defense’s motion, the foreperson said that the entire panel agreed that Arielle Konig had been hurt “with a bodily injury to the head that could result in serious bodily injury,” but that nobody thought that the defendant intended to kill. Attached to the motion is a signed declaration from the foreperson saying, “The jury did not unanimously believe that Dr. Konig had an intent to kill his wife.”
Gerhardt Konig’s attorneys argue in their motion that the jury reached a unanimous verdict based on a faulty understanding of the law and the defendant deserves a new trial. The second trial, the appeal notes, should only be for the lesser charge of manslaughter because the previous jury already acquitted him of second-degree murder.
Arielle Konig testifies in Gerhardt Konig’s trial on March 24, 2026. (Court TV)
Prosecutors filed a response opposing any new trial, saying that the statements don’t amount to misconduct that would allow the court to question its verdict. The filing notes that when prosecutors sent an investigator to speak to the jury foreperson about the signed declaration she gave the defense, the foreperson “appeared visibly upset and related that she did not want to participate in an interview.”
The appeal also raises questions about a second issue with the jury — a juror allegedly using a phone to communicate during deliberations. A screenshot attached to the motion shows a comment made in the Law&Crime YouTube stream of the trial from a user with a profile picture of Bart Simpson and the words “Eat my shorts.” The comment says, “I’ve been texting with one of the juror’s [sic] and they’re going for count 3 attempted manslaughter [shocked emoji].”
“There is no actual indication beyond an anonymous internet comment that this supposed contact actually occurred,” prosecutors said. “An anonymous YouTube comment is not sufficient to warrant a new trial.”
A hearing to address the issue is scheduled for Aug. 14. Gerhardt Konig’s sentencing was initially scheduled for Aug. 13, but that date was delayed after his attorneys filed the motion for a new trial.
