@meghannmcuniff: In his closing argument today, Deputy Prosecutor Joel Garner reminded jurors of what he described as Gerhardt Konig's "confession" to his son Emile after he attempted to murder his wife on the Pali Puka Trail on O'ahu last year. He also pointed to Konig's testimony in trial, which he called "unbelievable." Konig told jurors he acted in self-defense after his wife, Arielle Konig, attacked him on the trail after telling him she still wanted to work and travel with a coworker with whom she'd been exchanging flirtatious text messages. "The defendant's story is that somehow Arielle, on her birthday, on an unfamiliar hike next to a massive cliff, decided to start an argument. Does that make sense to you? No," Garner said. "Does that make sense that Ariel would bring this up on that cliff side? No. It contradicts common sense. It even contradicts the defendant's own testimony," Garner said, reminding jurors that Konig said "they don't talk about this outside of counseling." "The next part the defendant's story: 'She pushed me.' Defendant says he felt a hard push from behind that he was looking out over the cliff. He barely holds himself on. He turns around, and Arielle's already five to 10 feet away. Ladies and gentlemen, unbelievable," Garner said. "If Ariel was trying to push him off that cliff, she wouldn't be that far away. She would have been right behind him trying to push him again." "Defendant's story: 'She pulled me down on top of her.' Think about how that makes sense. Defendant's story is that then he approached Arielle ... that he grabbed her arms, and Arielle somehow responded by pulling him down on top of her and not letting him go. Defendant's bigger than her. Defendant's stronger than her. Ask yourself, what person would hold a bigger, stronger person on top of them as an act of aggression? It doesn't make sense. It's unbelievable," Garner said. Jurors deliberated about three hours today (Tuesday, April 7) and will continue deliberating Wednesday at 9 a.m. Hawaii time. You can watch more of Garner's closing here @Meghann Cuniff and some of defense attorney Thomas Otake's closing here @Meghann Cuniff and here @Meghann Cuniff, and you can watch the entire arguments on my YouTube channel and Facebook page. #law #crime #court

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Wednesday 08 April 2026 03:03:01 GMT