A former Pittsburgh doctor Monday pleaded not guilty to charges that he tried to kill his wife last month in Hawaii.
Police arrested Gerhardt Konig, 46, a former UPMC anesthesiologist who lived in Mt. Lebanon, after authorities say he bludgeoned his wife Arielle’s head with a rock and tried to push her off the cliff of a Hawaii hiking trail March 24.
The couple, who got married at their million-dollar South Hills home in 2018, moved from Pennsylvania to Hawaii about two years ago.
Around 8:30 a.m. Monday in Hawaii — 2:30 p.m. in Pittsburgh — Konig appeared from jail via a video link in a criminal courtroom in Honolulu and entered his plea in front of Circuit Court Judge Rowena Somerville.
“Dr. Konig’s not guilty plea this morning was not just a formality, but a substantive response to the allegation that he tried to kill his wife,” attorney Thomas M. Otake, who represents Konig, said in a prepared statement after the plea hearing.
“There are two sides to every story — and thus far only one side has been shared,” Otake said.
Konig’s attorney said his client plans to explain in court what happened on the morning Konig walked with — and allegedly attacked — Arielle Konig at Nu’uana Pali Lookout, whose narrow ridges are bounded on both sides by steep drops.
The couple had traveled to a Waikiki hotel on Oahu from their home in Maui, leaving the kids home with a nanny and family, to celebrate Arielle’s 36th birthday, Arielle Konig said in a statement.
Arielle Konig had been hospitalized with lacerations and a broken thumb, which she said was crushed by her husband with a rock. Her updated medical condition was not available Monday.
Attorney Brandon Segal, who represents Arielle Konig, declined to comment Monday.
Konig remained jailed Monday in Oahu Community Correctional Center, court officials in Hawaii said. Initially held on $5 million bail, Konig was denied bail after a grand jury indicted him March 28.
A judge also has issued an order barring any contact between Konig and his family.
