HONOLULU (Court TV) — Jurors heard from eyewitnesses who said they saw a blood-covered Arielle Konig begging for help at the hands of her husband on the first day of Gerhardt Konig’s trial.
Gerhardt Konig wipes away tears during opening statements. (Court TV)
Gerhardt Konig is charged with second-degree attempted murder after allegedly attacking his wife at the Pali Lookout in Oahu on March 24, 2025. He has pleaded not guilty and wiped away tears during opening statements in his trial on Thursday as his attorney recounted the details of the case.
Two nurses who were out for a hike and came upon the couple that day were the first witnesses to testify in the trial. The two friends had just begun their hike when they heard someone screaming, “Help me! Help me!”
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“We initially thought it was someone falling off the edge of the cliff, so we started running in the direction of the screaming,” eyewitness Sarah Buchsbaum testified.
The women said that when they reached the lookout, they saw a man crouched over the woman. Eyewitness Amanda Morris told the jury she saw the man, whom she identified as the defendant, “hitting [Arielle Konig] with a rock.” On cross-examination, Morris clarified that she only saw the man strike the woman once with the rock.
As Buchsbaum called 911, Morris said that Arielle Konig began to crawl toward them, saying, “Help me, help me. He’s trying to kill me.”
The jury saw a photo of a bloody Arielle Konig with visible gashes to her head. “Her face was covered in blood, her head was covered in blood; she was just fully covered in blood,” Buchsbaum said.
Buchsbaum told the jury that she made contact with the defendant for approximately 30 seconds, describing Gerhardt Konig as having a “cold, emotionless” stare that made her feel “very uneasy.” But defense attorney Thomas Otake pushed back on her recollection, forcing her to admit under cross-examination that she initially identified a different person in a photo lineup shown to her by police.
Gerhardt Konig denies attacking his wife on the trail, and in opening statements his attorney said that it was Arielle Konig who attacked the defendant with a rock first. Gerhardt Konig’s defense has described his wife unfaithful and has accused her of having an ongoing affair with a married man.
The trial is expected to continue for several weeks.
