Episode Details

For her 36th birthday,  anesthesiologist Gerhardt Konig whisks his engineer wife, Arielle, away to celebrate her birthday with a romantic getaway.  Gerhardt secretly plans the vacation, having family members and a hired nanny stay with their two boys. The couple decide to hike a popular trail up a ridge of the Ko’olau mountains, leading up to the Pali Puka, a gorgeous rock formation frames the east side of O’ahu. 

The trip is intended to help ease tension after months in couples therapy from Gerhardt accusing Arielle of infidelity.  Arielle denies his accusations and doesn’t understand where they are coming from so she wants her husband’s trust back, but it seems Gerhardt is only becoming more jealous and abusive, including sexual assaults, since he accused her of infidelity. 

During the romantic birthday hike, Arielle wants to brave it and make it to the top, but when she sees the last uphill stretch, she chooses to stay where she is, waiting for Gerhardt as he completes the climb. When Gerhardt returns, he grabs a picture of Arielle up in a tree, but suggests the couple get a selfie from the edge of the trail, overlooking Oahu. Arielle smiles for the photo, but immediately after asks her husband to step forward so she can get away from the edge.  As Arielle follows her husband, he suddenly turns, grabs her upper arms and pushes her toward the edge, telling her “Get back over there. I’m so f***ing sick of you!”

At first, Arielle thinks Gerhardt is playing, but when he shoves her toward the edge of the cliff again, pins her down, pulls a syringe and a vial from his bag attempting to fill the syringe to inject her. Arielle knocks the syringe from Gerhardt’s hands, however the doctor digs in his bag again, possibly looking for another. But instead, he reaches for a rock and bashes his wife in the head repeatedly.

Other hikers hear Arielle's screams and run to her aid. Gerhardt Konig takes off into the woods, covered in blood and facetimes his adult son, Emile, who is shocked from his father’s appearance. Konig tries to explain what happened, but stops mid sentence and says, “I just tried to kill Ari, but she got away.” Konig also tells Emile he wants to jump off the cliffs and kill himself. 

Joining Nancy Grace today, 

• Philip Dubé - Former Court-Appointed Counsel, Los Angeles County Public Defenders: Criminal & Constitutional Law, Forensics & Mental Health Advocacy  
• Dr. Bethany Marshall - Psychoanalyst, Author: "Deal Breaker,”  featured in hit show: "Paris in Love" on Peacock www.drbethanymarshall.com/ , Instagram & TikTok: drbethanymarshall, Twitter: @DrBethanyLive
• Bill Hernandez - Domestic violence and sexual assault Detective,  California
• Dr. Catherine Hannan - Chief of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery at the Veteran's Affairs Medical Center Washington DC and owner of Washington Women Plastic Surgery,  washingtonwomenplasticsurgery.com, Instagram and Facebook @DrHannanDC
• Mahealani Richardson - Four-time Emmy Award Winning Anchor / Reporter at Hawaii News Now, hawaiinewsnow.com, on Instagram @maheaTV, Facebook @MahealaniRichardson  

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