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Hawaii doctor accused of trying to kill his wife on a hiking trail denied bail

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Hawaii doctor accused of trying to kill his wife on a hiking trail denied bail
News

News

Hawaii doctor accused of trying to kill his wife on a hiking trail denied bail

2025-05-14 10:22 Last Updated At:10:31

A judge on Tuesday denied a Maui anesthesiologist's request to be released on bail while he fights an attempted murder charge on allegations that he tried to kill his wife on a Honolulu hiking trail.

Gerhardt Konig previously pleaded not guilty. His wife wrote in a petition for a temporary restraining order against him that they were hiking in Honolulu in March when he grabbed her, pushed her toward the edge of a cliff, attempted to inject her with a syringe and then bashed her head with a rock. Konig suggested they go on the hike while the couple were on a trip to celebrate the wife’s birthday, the petition said.

In denying the motion for bail, Judge Paul Wong said there's evidence that Konig hid from police, presents a serious flight risk and is a danger to the victim.

She has since filed for divorce. An attorney representing her is asking a judge to withhold the divorce case, filed earlier this month, from the public to protect the privacy of the couple’s young children and because of the “significant and arguably intrusive media coverage regarding the underlying events which precipitated this divorce.”

The Associated Press does not name people who are victims of domestic violence unless they consent to be identified or decide to tell their stories publicly.

What is known as “Pali Puka” trail is closed because the route is unsafe, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources said. Hikers often enter through a small clearing near a popular lookout point that offers stunning views despite a warning: “Area Closed! Do not go beyond this sign.”

At one point, Konig grabbed her by her upper arms and started pushing her toward the cliff’s edge while yelling that he was sick of her, 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 took a syringe from his bag and tried to inject her with something.

She said that she bit his arm in an attempt to defend herself.

He appeared to calm down, but then grabbed a nearby rock and “began bashing me repeatedly on the head with it,” she said.

Konig’s wife suffered major cuts to her head — from the jagged, softball-sized lava rock — and required surgery, prosecutors said.

While the couple were in Oahu, the two young sons stayed home on Maui with a nanny and family, according to the wife’s petition filed in family court. A judge signed an order saying Konig must stay away from her and their children.

Prosecutors, in opposing the bail request, said Konig “faces a realistic prospect of life imprisonment." He tried to flee after the attack and called his adult son, who he told he “tried to kill your stepmom” and told him he would turn off his phone so that police could not locate him, prosecutors said in a court filing.

He also hid in the bushes until nightfall, even though the attack happened in the morning, and led police on a search, prosecutors said.

When he was apprehended, he said, “Wait, she's not dead?" according to prosecutors.

Defense attorney Thomas Otake called it a “very small rock” and argued doctors said there wasn’t a substantial risk of death or a concussion from the wife’s injuries.

During Tuesday’s hearing, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Joel Garner said Konig was stashing lethal drugs at home, tried three different ways to kill his wife and has ties to South Africa, where he was born.

The petition for a restraining order said that in December, Konig accused his wife of having an affair.

In a court document filed Monday, prosecutors said Konig was storing at home syringes, needles and vials labeled anesthesia medication. On March 27, a few days after the alleged attack and when his wife was preparing to fly back to Honolulu for his grand jury proceedings, she discovered a fanny pack belonging to her husband that contained several syringes and several vials of what appeared to be drugs, the filing said.

“That’s not unusual that a doctor who practices medicine would have drugs,” Otake said, noting that none of the drugs were found on Oahu where the attack took place.

Konig has been held without bail since his indictment on March 28. In a motion seeking “bail at a reasonable amount,” his defense attorneys said Konig, 46, has no prior criminal convictions.

In court, Otake suggested bail between $100,000 and $200,000, arguing that while the divorce is pending he doesn’t have access to marital assets.

Otake said his client intends to go to trial: “This is going to be a ‘he said, she said’ trial.”

This version corrects the date the wife found syringes and vials at home. Prosecutors say she found them on March 27, not May 27.

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.

Gerhardt Konig, charged with the attempted murder of his wife, enters a courtroom in Honolulu on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Advertiser via AP) **NOT AN AP MEMBER**

Gerhardt Konig, charged with the attempted murder of his wife, enters a courtroom in Honolulu on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Advertiser via AP) **NOT AN AP MEMBER**

FILE - Hawaii doctor Gerhardt Konig appears before a judge via video during an arraignment hearing after being indicted on allegation of attempting to kill his wife, April 7, 2025, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia, File)

FILE - Hawaii doctor Gerhardt Konig appears before a judge via video during an arraignment hearing after being indicted on allegation of attempting to kill his wife, April 7, 2025, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia, File)

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UN conference on Palestinian state postponed because of Middle East tensions

2025-06-14 09:31 Last Updated At:09:40

PARIS (AP) — A top-level U.N. conference on a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians scheduled for next week has been postponed amid surging tensions in the Middle East, French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday.

France and Saudi Arabia were due to co-chair the conference hosted by the U.N. General Assembly in New York on June 17-20, and Macron had been among leaders scheduled to attend. The Palestinian Authority hoped the conference would revive the long-defunct peace process.

Macron expressed his “determination to recognize the state of Palestine” at some point, despite the postponement. France has pushed for a broader movement toward recognizing a Palestinian state in parallel with recognition of Israel and its right to defend itself.

After Israel's strikes on Iran on Friday, Macron said that France’s military forces around the Middle East are ready to help protect partners in the region, including Israel, but wouldn't take part in any attacks on Iran.

Macron told reporters that the two-state conference was postponed for logistical and security reasons, and because some Palestinian representatives couldn’t come to the event. He insisted that it would be held “as soon as possible” and that he was in discussion with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about a new date.

The U.N. ambassadors from France and Saudi Arabia said in a letter to the 193 U.N. member nations that the delay is “due to the current circumstances in the Middle East that prevent regional leaders from attending the conference in New York.”

France’s Jerome Bonnafont and Saudi Arabia’s Abdulaziz Alwasil said the conference will open on June 17 in the General Assembly hall, but only to propose and agree to its suspension. They invited all countries to attend the opening.

“We are determined to resume the conference at the earliest possible date,” the two ambassadors said.

Macron said the aim of the conference "is a demilitarized Palestinian state recognizing the existence and the security of Israel.” Any such state would exclude any Hamas leaders, he said.

Macron said that the Israel-Iran conflict, the war in Gaza and the situation for Palestinians around the region are all “interlinked.”

Macron spoke on Friday with 10 world leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, about the Israeli strikes on Iran and consequences.

One of the aims at the U.N. conference was to increase the number of countries recognizing Palestinian territories as an independent state. So far, more than 145 of the 193 U.N. member nations have done so. The Palestinians view their state as encompassing Gaza and the West Bank with east Jerusalem as the capital.

Netanyahu has rejected the creation of a Palestinian state, and Israel refused to participate in the conference.

French President Emmanuel Macron holds a news conference at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, Pool)

French President Emmanuel Macron holds a news conference at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, Pool)

French President Emmanuel Macron holds a news conference at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, Pool)

French President Emmanuel Macron holds a news conference at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, Pool)

French President Emmanuel Macron arrives to hold a press conference at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, Friday, June 13, 2025.. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, Pool)

French President Emmanuel Macron arrives to hold a press conference at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, Friday, June 13, 2025.. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, Pool)

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