Former Pittsburgh Doc Charged With Trying To Kill Wife Learns Verdict

PITTSBURGH, PA — A former UPMC anesthesiologist and University of Pittsburgh assistant professor whom authorities said tried to kill his wife was convicted Wednesday of attempted manslaughter.

After a day of deliberation, a Hawaii jury convicted Gerhardt Konig, 47, of attempted manslaughter based on extreme mental or emotional disturbance.

Konig had been charged with second-degree attempted murder, which carried a potential life in prison sentence. He still faces up to 20 years in prison and will be sentenced in August.

Konig's attorney plans to appeal the conviction, CNN reported.

Konig's conviction more than a year after his wife Arielle Konig, 37, alleged he tried to kill her. Gerhardt Konig had testified he attacked his wife in self-defense.

The incident occurred on a hiking trail on Oahu.

Police said Gerhardt Konig attempted to push his wife off a hiking trail and struck her in the head with a rock, critically wounding her.

The attack only stopped when two other hikers heard her screams for help and called 911, causing Gerhardt Konig to flee the scene.

Arielle Konig testified that she was treated for 'severe scalp lacerations' following the incident and showed picture evidence of her injuries during the trial.

Gerhardt's lawyers claimed that Arielle attacked her husband first, according to the Daily Mail.They said the incident was a case of "he said, she said."

Arielle Konig said the crime occurred after Gerhardt Konig found "flirty messages" between her and a coworker with whom she had a three-month long "emotional affair."

Arielle Konig has filed for divorce. The couple has been married since 2018 and lived in a $1.5 million home in Maui.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Gerhardt Konig received his medical degree at Pitt and then spent nine years employed by UPMC as an anesthesiology resident and staff anesthesiologist. He then spent seven years at Pitt's School of Medicine as a clinical instructor and assistant professor.

Prior to his arrest, he spent the two years as a partner in The Anesthesia Medical Group in Maui, according to the profile.