Pictures can be misleading. People can smile through immense pain, making it seem like their lives are free from worry. But perhaps one woman wasn’t comfortable portraying a false image any longer. When her husband asked to take a picture with her near the edge of a cliff in Hawaii, she refused, and she likely had a good reason. After her refusal, her husband reportedly pushed her off the edge of the cliff. Thankfully, she managed to survive the attack and is in critical condition at the hospital. The man has since been arrested.
Gerhardt Konig, a 46-year-old anesthesiologist in Maui, allegedly struck his wife, 36, in the head with a rock and then tried to push her off the cliff. He tried to run from police before his arrest, People reports.
Konig’s wife, who has not been named, has several injuries to her head and face, according to Hawaii News Now. The couple was standing in the Pali Lookout area on Oahu, which has an elevation of 1,200 feet. During the alleged attack, Konig also tried to poke the woman with two syringes.
Konig was a partner at The Anesthesia Medical Group in Maui, according to his LinkedIn profile. The group has since suspended him pending the outcome of the investigation, according to Hawaii News Now. Prior to his relocation to Maui, Konig was an attending anesthesiologist at a women’s hospital. He was also an assistant professor of anesthesiology and bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh.
Before police apprehended Konig, he had them on a more than six-hour manhunt. Once they found him, they chased him on foot near Nuuanu Pali Drive. The story shocked people who knew the couple. But Sanoe Kaaihue, executive director of Women Helping Women, a local domestic violence advocacy group, says this is common.
“Both prominent people in our community. Not just him, but also her. Highly intelligent, highly successful folks,” Sanoe Kaaihue said. “[Domestic violence] does not discriminate. I think time and time again, people are so surprised when they hear that it’s their teachers, it’s neighbors, it’s attorneys. It’s everybody from every single walk of life can be affected.” Kaaihue says this incident is “an outward expression of the things they’ve been experiencing in the household.”
The prosecutor’s office is reviewing a second-degree attempted murder charge, Hawaii News Now reports.
If you or someone you know has been the victim of domestic abuse, you can find help and support at DVIS.org, the National Domestic Abuse Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or by contacting your local women’s shelter domesticshelters.org.
