Judge denies privacy in divorce case of former UPMC doctor charged with attempting to kill his wife

WAILUKU, Hawaii — A judge denied a request to keep proceedings private in a divorce case for a Hawaii doctor accused of attempting to kill his wife on a hiking trail.

Gerhardt Konig’s wife filed for divorce last month after he was indicted on an attempted murder charge. Konig, a former UPMC anesthesiologist who lived in Mt. Lebanon, has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors say he pushed her toward the edge of a cliff, attempted to inject her with a syringe and then bashed her head with a rock while they were hiking in Honolulu in March.

The couple had been visiting Oahu while their children stayed home on Maui.

An attorney representing the wife filed a motion to withhold the divorce case from the public to protect the privacy of the couple’s young children. The wife also objected to allowing news cameras to document their divorce proceedings.

According to court records, a judge denied her requests to seal the case during a hearing Monday.

“At this time, we do not have any comment except to direct the media to review our objection to the application for extended coverage and implore the general public to respect this family’s privacy during this very difficult time in their lives,” an attorney for the wife said in an email to The Tuesday.

An attorney for Konig said he and his client don’t have any comments on the hearing or ruling.

Konig didn’t oppose the wife’s motion to seal the divorce case.

Konig’s wife also filed a petition for a temporary restraining order after the hiking trail incident, which said Konig accused her in December of having an affair and that they had been in therapy and counseling. She also said her husband has sexually abused and assaulted her.

The does not name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly.

She has since agreed that the restraining order is now unnecessary because her husband is being held without bail during the criminal case against him. Her attorney said she may refile the petition if Konig’s custody status changes.