HI - Dr. Gerhardt Konig, 46, Allegedly pushed wife off trail, hit her in head with a rock, Pali Lookout, Oahu, 24 March 2025 *Arrest*

[mickey2942]

There are a couple Datelines where the wife was killed while hiking and being thrown over the side. They all died. So happy she survived.

I have actually been keeping track of these cases, out of personal interest. There are several threads on WS, and every single one, no charges on the husband.

The only one that I remember the spouse being charged, was years ago, in Zions National Park, and while he was charged, he was not convicted, despite huge life insurance policies on his spouse.

Bottarini is cleared of all charges

Jurors on Tuesday found James Bottarini not guilty on all federal charges alleging he pushed his wife to her death in Zion National Park five years ago and lied about it to collect more than $1 million.

www.deseret.com

It really is the "perfect" crime. No cameras in most wilderness areas. Usually no witnesses. Except, in this case.

 

[ch_13]

I have actually been keeping track of these cases, out of personal interest. There are several threads on WS, and every single one, no charges on the husband.

The only one that I remember the spouse being charged, was years ago, in Zions National Park, and while he was charged, he was not convicted, despite huge life insurance policies on his spouse.

Bottarini is cleared of all charges

Jurors on Tuesday found James Bottarini not guilty on all federal charges alleging he pushed his wife to her death in Zion National Park five years ago and lied about it to collect more than $1 million.

www.deseret.com

It really is the "perfect" crime. No cameras in most wilderness areas. Usually no witnesses. Except, in this case.

There are two successful prosecutions that come to mind: Harold Henthorn who @Chimera mentioned earlier. He pushed his wife off a cliff in Rocky Mountain NP. The other is Jordan Graham who pushed her newlywed husband off of a cliff in Glacier NP. JG was just a deeply stupid person who confessed almost immediately. However, HH was pretty conniving. He was a con-artist who most likely killed his first wife as well. It took a lot of time and effort to build a circumstantial case against him.

Aside from the victim surviving, what makes this case stand out to me is that Konig apparently did this in front of witnesses. It speaks to some kind of deep rage and a lack of self-control.


Henthorn:

GUILTY Thread 'CO - Dr. Toni Henthorn, 50, dies in cliff fall, Rocky Mountain NP, 29 Sept 2012 *husband arrested*'

Nov 8, 2014

A Highlands Ranch man indicted in the murder of his second wife, who plunged to her death in Rocky Mountain National Park in 2012, also faces an investigation into the 1995 death of his first wife.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/harold-henthorn-indicted-for-2012-murder-of-wife-toni-henthorn-in-rocky-mountain-national-park

It was on their 12th anniversary and she had $4.5 million of life insurance.

The investigation that led to the federal indictment of Harold Henthorn on Wednesday pushed authorities to re-examine the premature death of his first...

• Snoopster
• Replies: 148
• Forum: Recently Sentenced and Beyond

• 
• 

Graham:

C

GUILTY Thread 'MT - Cody Johnson, 25, pushed off cliff, Glacier Nat'l Park, 7 July 2013'

Jul 10, 2013

Authorities searching for missing Kalispell man

http://www.kbzk.com/news/authorities-searching-for-missing-kalispell-man/

• CatFancier
• Replies: 234
• Forum: Recently Sentenced and Beyond

• 

 

[mickey2942]

@ch_13 thank you for the one case I missed. As for the one in Glacier, I did not include that case, as it was the wife who pushed her spouse, not the husband. And that case was an anomaly, outlier, as there the woman actually confessed to pushing her spouse off the cliff.

No one else has done that.

 

[vls12345]

I have actually been keeping track of these cases, out of personal interest. There are several threads on WS, and every single one, no charges on the husband.

The only one that I remember the spouse being charged, was years ago, in Zions National Park, and while he was charged, he was not convicted, despite huge life insurance policies on his spouse.

Bottarini is cleared of all charges

Jurors on Tuesday found James Bottarini not guilty on all federal charges alleging he pushed his wife to her death in Zion National Park five years ago and lied about it to collect more than $1 million.

www.deseret.com

It really is the "perfect" crime. No cameras in most wilderness areas. Usually no witnesses. Except, in this case.

There are two successful prosecutions that come to mind: Harold Henthorn who @Chimera mentioned earlier. He pushed his wife off a cliff in Rocky Mountain NP. The other is Jordan Graham who pushed her newlywed husband off of a cliff in Glacier NP. JG was just a deeply stupid person who confessed almost immediately. However, HH was pretty conniving. He was a con-artist who most likely killed his first wife as well. It took a lot of time and effort to build a circumstantial case against him.

Aside from the victim surviving, what makes this case stand out to me is that Konig apparently did this in front of witnesses. It speaks to some kind of deep rage and a lack of self-control.


Henthorn:

GUILTY Thread 'CO - Dr. Toni Henthorn, 50, dies in cliff fall, Rocky Mountain NP, 29 Sept 2012 *husband arrested*'

Nov 8, 2014

A Highlands Ranch man indicted in the murder of his second wife, who plunged to her death in Rocky Mountain National Park in 2012, also faces an investigation into the 1995 death of his first wife.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/harold-henthorn-indicted-for-2012-murder-of-wife-toni-henthorn-in-rocky-mountain-national-park

It was on their 12th anniversary and she had $4.5 million of life insurance.

The investigation that led to the federal indictment of Harold Henthorn on Wednesday pushed authorities to re-examine the premature death of his first...

• Snoopster
• Replies: 148
• Forum: Recently Sentenced and Beyond

• 
• 

Graham:

C

GUILTY Thread 'MT - Cody Johnson, 25, pushed off cliff, Glacier Nat'l Park, 7 July 2013'

Jul 10, 2013

Authorities searching for missing Kalispell man

http://www.kbzk.com/news/authorities-searching-for-missing-kalispell-man/

• CatFancier
• Replies: 234
• Forum: Recently Sentenced and Beyond

• 

Another one in the UK but the woman lived long enough to tell passing hikers that her husband had pushed her:
UK - Fawziyah Javed, 31, pregnant, fell from cliff, Edinburgh, 2 Sep 2021 *husband charged*

(The husband was convicted.)

 

[Countem]

Lots of good info in this article.

Sources say [Konig and his wife] were on vacation, staying in a hotel in Waikiki and March 25 was the wife’s birthday.

A witness told us two women who saw the attack helped scare off Konig and walked the woman off the trail.

“Because there were buses up there, there was a nurse on one of the buses and they bandaged [the wife] up and waited for the ambulance to come up,” [a witness] said.

https://www.khon2.com/local-news/attempted-murder-charges-pending-against-maui-doctor-accused-of-brutal-attack-on-wife/

 

[Countem]

All these reports about the attack occurring because the wife would not take a picture with Konig makes me wonder if he was trying to get her to pose with him in a very precarious location (i.e., on the edge of a cliff) to make a “trip and fall” seem more likely, but, when she refused, he had to go with a back-up plan. MOO.

Doctor Allegedly Tried to Throw Wife Off Hawaii Cliff Because She Didn't Want to Take Picture with Him

Gerhardt Konig was arrested for "attempted murder" of his wife, per Honolulu police.

people.com

 

[LadyL]

All these reports about the attack occurring because the wife would not take a picture with Konig makes me wonder if he was trying to get her to pose with him in a very precarious location (i.e., on the edge of a cliff) to make a “trip and fall” seem more likely, but, when she refused, he had to go with a back-up plan. MOO.

Doctor Allegedly Tried to Throw Wife Off Hawaii Cliff Because She Didn't Want to Take Picture with Him

Gerhardt Konig was arrested for "attempted murder" of his wife, per Honolulu police.

people.com

yep she didn't trust him, with obvious good reason
so glad she survived and this creep will be doing life hopefully

 

[mickey2942]

This is just so scary to me. I have gone hiking at YNP, Zions, Glacier, Waterton, so many places with my spouse. How do you know?! I wonder if there are any signs?

I know in the case I posted earlier, Patricia Bottarini, their marriage had issues, and they were "working" on them.

Just so random and scary. The one that really has bothered me is the case in Greece, it didn't get a lot of press,

Pregnant US Teacher Dies After Falling 164 Feet Down A Gorge While Hiking In Greece

The couple was trekking near the Preveli Monastery on the Greek Island of Creteabat on December 23 when she "slipped and fell" 164 feet down a gorge.

www.ndtv.com

 

[MrsWatson]

There was also the case of Lauren Key; her father threw her off a cliff because he didn't want to pay child support. I followed that one back in the day.

Dad Threw Girl Off Cliff To Get Revenge At Mum

The British mother of the four-year-old victim cries in an LA court as her nearly 15-year wait for justice comes to an end.

news.sky.com

 

[Countem]

There is a mugshot at the following article. Official charge is second-degree attempted murder. Bail is set at $5 million. The first court appearance was set for Thursday morning, so hopefully we will hear more soon.

Maui doctor charged after allegedly trying to kill his wife, bail set at $5M

46-year-old anesthesiologist Gerhardt Konig has been charged with second-degree attempted murder.

www.kitv.com

 

[Countem]

I was able to pull the following information from Hawaii’s online court records. The Case ID is 1DCW-25-0000940.

Initial Appearance: 3/27/25 08:31 a.m.

eCourt Kokua​

 

[angkg]

There is a mugshot at the following article. Official charge is second-degree attempted murder. Bail is set at $5 million. The first court appearance was set for Thursday morning, so hopefully we will hear more soon.

Maui doctor charged after allegedly trying to kill his wife, bail set at $5M

46-year-old anesthesiologist Gerhardt Konig has been charged with second-degree attempted murder.

www.kitv.com

I have a very strong feeling he planned this. Uugghhh How horrible!

 

[Cedars]

I happened to recently listen to a podcast about this 2012 Colorado case Harold Henthorn gets life sentence for shoving second wife off cliff

The story is so convoluted, there's been a number of dramatizations. I listened to the FBI agent who assisted the park warden to solve it. The podcast was on FBI Retired Case File Review, broadcast in Oct/23.

It's not just men targetting their wives https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/jorda...years-for-pushing-husband-off-cliff-1.2589399

 

[ilovewings]

How do they know what happened since the wife probably can't tell
Law,enforcement?

 

[ChatteringBirds]

How do they know what happened since the wife probably can't tell
Law,enforcement?

It seems she was able to speak. Critical condition doesn't mean you can't speak:

Doctor accused of trying to kill wife charged with attempted murder

Gerhardt Konig has been charged with attempted murder in the second degree. His bail has been set at $5 million.

www.hawaiinewsnow.com

Also it sounds like there were witnesses to at least some of it:

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/25/us/hawaii-doctor-wife-attack-arrest/index.html

IMO/JMO.

 

[whitelilac]

There was also the case of Lauren Key; her father threw her off a cliff because he didn't want to pay child support. I followed that one back in the day.

Dad Threw Girl Off Cliff To Get Revenge At Mum

The British mother of the four-year-old victim cries in an LA court as her nearly 15-year wait for justice comes to an end.

news.sky.com

This happened in my area, from a place I've often hiked (closed now due to the unstable landslide area). It was shocking, I will never forget it. He was finally sentenced to life, after 15 years and 3 trials.

Father Sentenced to Life in Prison for Throwing Daughter Off Cliff

A father was sentenced Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for throwing his 4-year-old daughter off a cliff.

www.nbclosangeles.com

I hope so much for Mrs. Konig to fully recover, and that her horrible husband gets everything deservedly coming to him.

 

[mickey2942]

Interesting, 2 witnesses saw the assault. This guy isn't going to go anywhere.

Prayers for his wife.

 

[Knox]

Thread 'AZ - Sedona, Zaynab Joseph, 40, (visiting from California) fell off 140-foot cliff (now deceased) whilst hiking with her husband and toddler 4/15/24'

Apr 16, 2024

California mom falls to her death while hiking in Sedona with husband and toddler

A California mom fell to her death while hiking in Sedona with her husband and 1-year-old child on Monday morning.

www.azcentral.com

Sheriff: Woman falls to her death in Sedona

The California woman was visiting Sedona with her family.

www.12news.com

• BenjaminJAndersonAlly
• Replies: 114
• Forum: Up to the Minute

• 
• 
• 

Don't forget Zaynab Joseph ...

 

[acutename]

Thread 'AZ - Sedona, Zaynab Joseph, 40, (visiting from California) fell off 140-foot cliff (now deceased) whilst hiking with her husband and toddler 4/15/24'

Apr 16, 2024

California mom falls to her death while hiking in Sedona with husband and toddler

A California mom fell to her death while hiking in Sedona with her husband and 1-year-old child on Monday morning.

www.azcentral.com

Sheriff: Woman falls to her death in Sedona

The California woman was visiting Sedona with her family.

www.12news.com

• BenjaminJAndersonAlly
• Replies: 114
• Forum: Up to the Minute

• 
• 
• 

Don't forget Zaynab Joseph ...

just looking her up... no charges... no further explanation

 

[Knox]

just looking her up... no charges... no further explanation

As it is with many similar cases. Her family is convinced she was pushed by her husband.