HONOLULU — An anesthesiologist hiking with his wife on a precarious trail in Hawaii grabbed her by the arms and started pushing her toward the edge of a cliff before attempting to inject her with a syringe, the woman wrote in a petition for a temporary restraining order against her husband, who was indicted Friday on attempted murder charges.
Gerhardt Konig and his wife were visiting Oahu from their home on Maui on Monday when he allegedly tried to kill her on the hiking trail, prosecutors said. An attorney who represented Konig during a hearing Thursday hasn’t responded to an email seeking comment.
The petition for a restraining order said that in December, Konig accused his wife of having an affair, “which led to extreme jealously on his part.” They have been in therapy and counseling since, she said.
A judge signed an order Friday that says Konig must stay away from his wife and their children.
The Associated Press isn’t naming the wife because she says she is a victim of domestic violence.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of domestic violence. If you or someone you know needs help, please call the national domestic violence hotline: 1-800-799-7233 in the U.S.
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On Sunday, the couple traveled to Oahu to celebrate her birthday, she said in the petition, while their sons, ages 2 and 4, stayed home on Maui with a nanny and family.
On Monday, Konig suggested they go on a hike in Honolulu that she described in the petition as having “narrow ridge sections with steep drop-offs on both sides.”
“During the hike, I became uneasy and informed Gerhardt that I did not want to continue,” she said. “Gerhardt hiked a little further and then came back to get me.”
She then climbed a tree so that her husband could take a photo of her, while he held her phone and hiking bag. He then suggested taking a photo near the edge of a cliff.
“I asked him to move so that I could move away from the cliff, because I was feeling dizzy,” she said. He moved.
Later, he grabbed her by her upper arms and started pushing her toward the cliff’s edge while yelling that he was sick of her, the petition said.
“At first I thought he was joking, but I quickly realized he was seriously trying to make me fall off the cliff,” she said.
They began wrestling and she screamed and pleaded for him to stop, fearing for her life, the petition said.
During the struggle, she said he grabbed his bag and took out a syringe and tried to inject her.
“I do not know what was in the syringe, but Gerhardt is an anesthesiologist and has access to several potentially lethal medications as part of his employment,” she said.
She said she bit his arm in an attempt to defend herself.
He then appeared to calm down, but then grabbed a nearby rock and “began bashing me repeatedly on the head with it,” she said.
Two women on the trail saw what was happening and said they were calling 911.
The women helped her down the trail while Konig went in another direction. An ambulance took her to a hospital and her husband was arrested that evening.
She said in the petition that she later learned that Konig contacted his adult son, her stepson, and said he had tried to kill her but she got away and that he wanted to kill himself by jumping off a cliff.
Konig is an anesthesiologist at Maui Health, which operates hospitals and clinics in Maui County and is an affiliate of Kaiser Permanente. Maui Health said in a statement to media organizations that he was suspended pending investigation.
Kaiser Permanente said in a statement that Konig is not an employee, but is employed by an independent entity contracted to provide medical services. Kaiser said it has suspended his credentials and his ability to treat patients, pending investigation.