The anesthesiologist who allegedly attempted to push his wife off a cliff in Hawaii made a FaceTime call to his grown son from a previous relationship and admitted he’d tried to kill her, according to court filings.
“I just tried to kill Ari but she got away,” Gerhardt Konig said, according to a restraining order petition filed last week by his wife and obtained by People. He appeared to be “covered in blood,” the petition said, without citing the information’s source.
Konig also said he planned to hurl himself off a cliff and commit suicide, People reported.
The former University of Pittsburgh assistant professor is currently behind bars on charges of second-degree attempted murder and has not yet entered a plea. He’s been ordered by a judge to steer clear of his wife and their young sons, ages 2 and 4.
Konig’s wife said their marriage had become especially rocky when he accused her of having an affair in December, exhibiting “extreme jealousy.” She also accused him of sexually abusing her for months leading up to the attack.
The alleged murder attempt took place last Monday while the two were celebrating her birthday on Oahu, leaving their kids behind on Maui with family and a nanny. They were hiking a clifftop trail when Konig said he wanted to take a selfie together. But the cliff’s edge made her dizzy, she said, and she moved away.
Konig then allegedly grabbed his wife by the arms and started pushing her toward the cliff’s edge, yelling that he was sick of her, she detailed.
“At first I thought he was joking, but I quickly realized he was seriously trying to make me fall off the cliff,” she said in the petition.
She fought him off as he yanked her hair, bashed her in the head with a rock, and tried to inject her with material from two syringes. Her screams drew the attention of two hikers, who called 911 and got her to safety.
Konig fled, which is when he allegedly made the FaceTime call to his son. He was apprehended later that day and held on $5 million bail.