A former UPMC doctor and assistant professor at Pitt was arrested after police in Hawaii said he tried to push his wife off a hiking trail and hit her in the head with a rock.
Honolulu police said they arrested Gerhardt Konig after a short chase on foot near Pali Highway on Monday evening. Earlier in the day, police put out a poster with Konig’s photo, saying he was wanted for attempted murder at Pali Lookout.
Police said Konig was on Oahu with his wife Monday morning when he tried to push her off a trail and used a rock to hit her in the head. She was taken to the hospital in critical condition, police said, and was able to tell officers it was her 46-year-old husband who attacked her and left her for dead.
(Photo: Honolulu Police Department/Facebook)
In an update Monday evening, Honolulu police said Konig was taken into custody and charges are pending.
The Nuʻuanu Pali Lookout is perched over a thousand feet above the Oahu coastline, offering panoramic views of the Koʻolau cliffs and Windward Coast, according to gohawaii.com.
Konig was a doctor with the Anesthesia Medical Group and has since been suspended pending investigation, CBS affiliate KGMB reported. He was employed by an independent contract and provided medical services to facilities on Maui, the TV station reported.
Before that, the doctor was an anesthesiologist at UPMC and an assistant professor of anesthesiology and bioengineering at Pitt. UPMC said it hasn’t employed Konig for more than two years.
KDKA-TV talked to former neighbors and friends who said Konig worked at UPMC until he moved his wife and two small children to Maui to take his dream job.
Ben Brown lived next door to the Konigs in Mt. Lebanon for several years. While he wasn’t particularly close with the couple, he says they were friendly and considered them good neighbors. He said he was surprised by the news.
