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He grabbed me um really forcefully by my upper arms and he said, "I'm so sick of this
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get back over there." And he starts pushing me back towards the cliff. >> You just heard from Ariel Koenig
00:00:20
testifying against her husband Gerhart Koenig recently in a Honolulu court. She said Gerhart, a former anesthesiologist,
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attacked her with a rock and syringe on a cliff during a hike on Oahu's Pali Puka Trail.
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>> I'm screaming and he's telling me shut the [ __ ] up. Nobody's Nobody's going to
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hear you out here. Nobody's coming to save you. Um and I'm saying like you can't do this.
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Everyone knows we're on a hike. Um They'll know this wasn't an accident and our kids will be orphans. You're you're
00:00:54
you'll go to jail and I'll I'll be dead. Like you have to stop. Um and again he's
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saying like you're done. We're done with you. We don't need you anymore. You're done. You're done.
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>> And it's not the only disturbing case involving a husband and wife on vacation
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that has garnered national attention over the past weeks. In the Bahamas, Brian Hooker was arrested and then later
00:01:16
released after his wife Lynette disappeared during a nighttime boat ride. He said she fell overboard off of
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their dinghy. I'm 48 Hours correspondent Natalie Morales and this is Case by Case. Each
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week the team from 48 Hours will bring you the biggest stories in true crime in real time. And joining me now for our
00:01:37
very first episode of CBS News Chief Correspondent Matt Gutman who covered the Koenig trial. Welcome, Matt.
00:01:44
>> Hey, thanks, Natalie. Of course our team at 48 Hours, you know, the reason we
00:01:47
decided to start this podcast is because we really wanted an opportunity to dive
00:01:52
deeper into the cases that are currently in the headlines each week. It pairs really nicely with what we do in our
00:01:59
long-form reporting at 48 Hours. >> Absolutely. I think it's a perfect compliment and I'm excited to be with
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you on this one. >> So, we have these two big cases involving, again, husbands and wives on
00:02:12
vacation. Now, The Onion, for those who don't know it, it's a satirical publication.
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They tried to make a joke out of this with a headline, "State Department issues travel warning for women
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vacationing with husbands." It goes on to say the State Department would soon be publishing a list of locations that
00:02:30
women should avoid when accompanied by their partner for life, such as remote hiking trails, cliffs,
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and the railings of watercraft. Clearly, Matt, they're having their fun with this, but given the true crime headlines
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that we've been reading and seeing lately, this got our attention. >> It definitely did. You know, we don't
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want to be flip about these things, but it is a little strange how bad things keep happening to people when they go on
00:02:56
vacations. >> I mean, this is not the first time that there've been cases like these. 48 Hours
00:03:01
has covered half a dozen cases of cliff pushing alone over the years. So, bringing us back to the Koenig case, you
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know, I was actually on spring break in Hawaii with my family when the trial was
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underway and trying to take a break from work, but yet there it was right in front of me. So, I was glued to the
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coverage there. It was a big story in Hawaii, but it also, of course, made for national headlines everywhere.
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>> All over the place. And And so you know, I mean, Hawaii is dotted with these incredible trails like the Pali Puka
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Trail. Gorgeous. Often not so heavily traveled, but often with really narrow ridges and really
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steep drops. And this happened on March 24th, 2025, almost exactly a year ago. And
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this was Gerhard Koenig's second marriage. He had met Ariel on eHarmony and they got married
00:03:53
in 2018. He had two children from a previous marriage and they eventually had two children together, but obviously
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there were some cracks in the relationship. At some point in late 2024, Natalie Gerhart found out that
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Ariel was having what has been called an emotional affair. She hasn't denied it,
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but it became pretty clear in this trial that this was not physical. This was an
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emotional connection between two colleagues who seemed to get along and texted each other a lot. So, it very
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much upset Gerhart. He talked to her about it. He raised the issue. He found out and he was very
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upset. They had been in therapy. They'd been trying to work on it and the idea for this trip is that this was going to
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be this healing event for the couple. Um they actually lived on Maui. This the Polipoli Trail is in Oahu. This was to
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celebrate her 36th birthday. Now, the prosecution says that this was all premeditated. He took her there in order
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to kill her somehow. Throw her off the cliff, inject her with something, and the defense denied that saying that
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this was not premeditated. They said that he had tried to act in self-defense, but the crux of it is
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prosecution said he tried to push her off the cliff. That didn't work. He then tried to inject her. He is an
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anesthesiologist after all with some sort of medical-grade anesthesia. When that didn't work and she was able to
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fend him off, they were scuffling on the ground and then the prosecution said that he
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grabbed a rock and in court they showed this rock. It was, you know, this is a big it's bigger than a
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softball jagged edges and they say he bashed her in the head. So, what started as a lovely hike on a
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beautiful day obviously ended very violently and nobody disputes that. >> Fortunately for Ariel, there happened to
00:05:47
be two women who were also coming up that very trailhead, and it was these two women who called 911 to report the
00:05:55
attack. Take a listen to the call. >> Hi, um what's going on? We've been attacked on the top of Polly Gulch.
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>> Where? >> Um there's a man trying to kill her. She's blood all over her face.
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>> Just a horrific scene that they came upon, Matt. You know, to see Ariel on the ground like that, bloodied face, and
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they fortunately were in the right place at the right time. >> And it was very interesting to see both
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of these eyewitnesses taking the stand and questioned by the prosecution. One of them was Sara Buxbaum. She's the
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person who made the initial call, and she describes Ariel like crawling on her stomach towards her, gushing with blood.
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Let's listen. >> When I saw her, she was on her stomach crawling towards us. >> Now, how close was the man to the edge?
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>> Fairly close. >> And what was over the edge of the trail? >> Nothing. >> Now, Buxbaum says she saw the man
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holding the rock, and when she was asked to identify him in court, she pointed right at Gerhardt.
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>> Yeah, and you know, what's even more, um I think, horrifying than that 911 call
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was seeing that body cam footage that was played when the police arrived there on the scene. It was really gruesome.
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>> You know, Natalie, heads bleed a lot, and when you're bashed with volcanic rock, you know, in the side of the head,
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I think she was cut right up here, um just on the hairline and some other places.
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It's scary, and she was gushing blood. Her hair head was completely covered, and luckily these two first eyewitnesses
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were nurses, and so they're quickly trying to bandage her up, but they're also trying to figure out exactly what
00:07:33
happened here. >> I mean, she is so strong to survive that attack and to fight back the way she
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did. Um you know, I've I've hosted a couple of podcast episodes where we've interviewed people who've lived to tell
00:07:46
their stories, like Ariel, and just to see her composure on the on the witness stand. I mean, she was just remarkable.
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She didn't get very emotional at all describing the attack. You saw her pause a little bit and look down and try to
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put herself back in that place, but she really kept her composure. >> You know, she's a nuclear engineer and
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she spoke about the incident almost clinically, not robotically. Like she was very human,
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but she was very measured, she was composed, and even when the defense, time after time and for hours at a time,
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really tried to drill into this emotional affair she had with a colleague, she didn't get upset, she didn't snap
00:08:31
back at them, she just answered them matter-of-factly throughout. It It was very impressive.
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>> Well, the court heard from Gerhardt's son, Emil. This was his son from his first marriage, and after the
00:08:43
altercation, Gerhardt FaceTimed with Emil. Take a listen. >> What did the defendant tell you during
00:08:49
that call? As close to word for word as you can remember. >> That he would not be making it back to
00:08:55
Maui and to take good care of the younger kids, and that he had that Ari, my stepmom, had been cheating
00:09:04
on him. And that he tried to kill her. >> And then Emil said this. >> Um, during that call the next plan that he
00:09:13
said was to jump off the cliff. >> And how did you react to hearing that? >> Told him not to.
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>> That's a lot to take in. And by the way, he was 18 at the time of this. I mean,
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just you can only imagine what an 18-year-old is processing when he gets that kind of phone call from his father.
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>> Yeah, I mean, I can't imagine how distraught he was, but he also seemed to have a lot of presence of mind, Natalie.
00:09:42
So much so that he then went on to tell Ariel's parents about the call. Um it's also interesting that Emil referred
00:09:51
to his father when he was testifying as the defendant. Um so I don't know, we don't really know what their
00:09:58
relationship was like before this. Clearly after it was not very good. On the other hand, Gerhard later said that
00:10:07
he credits Emil with saving his life because he urged him as he just heard not to jump, not to do it.
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>> And I think what was most shocking of all, at least it was to me, was when Gerhard himself took the stand in his
00:10:20
defense. Were you surprised as you were watching and covering the case? >> I mean,
00:10:25
how many murder trials have we covered, Natalie, where the defendant, even though they have an
00:10:30
interest in perhaps in taking the stand, and have always said that they want their story to be told, don't take the
00:10:36
stand because it can go so horrifically wrong. >> It's too big of a risk. Yeah. >> And typically, when the defendant,
00:10:44
especially in a murder or attempted murder trial, takes the stand, it is pretty much a Hail Mary. Um so
00:10:52
essentially what Gerhard said is that he did hit her. He didn't try to kill her. And he said
00:10:58
that he never actually confessed to trying to kill Ariel on that call with his son. And he said it was Ariel who
00:11:05
had initiated that confrontation on the trail, that she shoved him, and he wasn't exactly sure why she was
00:11:11
screaming at him, but essentially he kept saying that he was acting in self-defense. He used the rock against
00:11:17
her because she started it. >> She like was holding on to me by my testicles, basically, like that hard.
00:11:24
>> Okay. Did she grab it and let go, or did she grab and hold on? >> She grabbed it and and held on.
00:11:30
>> Now, what happens after she does that? >> Then I try to free my testicles. And so, I'm like
00:11:44
thrashing with with then I get both hands free and I'm trying to get her to let go of my testicles. Um and then she
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hits me with a rock on the side of the face. >> They also showed one of his booking
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photos and he did have a couple of gashes on his face. >> But then you see Ariel on that body cam
00:12:02
footage and you see the extent of her injuries. I mean, how do they explain that?
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>> So, he never actually disputes that he hit her with the same rock. Let's take a
00:12:11
listen. >> Why did you hit her? Why did you react that way? >> Um just on instinct to defend myself.
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>> Okay. How fast is this all happening? >> Pretty fast. >> Real fast. >> Okay. >> Gerhardt, who initially was
00:12:30
pretty composed and stone-faced during the trial, now started to break down. He gets very
00:12:35
emotional on the stand, um especially at the suggestion that he tried to kill himself. Gerhardt said he was horrified
00:12:42
that he had hurt his wife, obviously admitted to doing that, and that he felt hopeless. And again, he denied ever
00:12:48
trying to kill her, but he did admit to hurting her. >> The jury came back a day after the
00:12:55
closing arguments with their verdict. >> Yeah, and it was not for the stiffest charge, which was attempted
00:13:02
second-degree murder, but he was convicted of a lesser charge of attempted manslaughter based on extreme
00:13:09
or emotional disturbance. Um so, the jury felt like something had happened. The degree to which he had
00:13:17
planned it was unclear, but it seems clear, according to the jury, that he tried to hurt her and had
00:13:24
some intent to do so. >> Well, this was not the only married couple on vacation getting loads of
00:13:30
attention this past week. When we come back, a mystery out of the Bahamas. Welcome back. All right, Matt Gutman
00:13:42
joining us. You know, as I told you Matt, 48 hours we have covered so many cases of someone falling or being pushed
00:13:49
off a cliff, as you recall. >> Kind of shocking how many there are, Natalie. >> Yeah, well, I can I could read you a
00:13:55
list of them. I mean, there was a case back in 2015, we called it the Accidental Husband, where Harold
00:14:01
Henthorn, he claimed his first wife died in a car accident. His second wife then,
00:14:07
Tony, he claimed slipped off a cliff while hiking with him in Rocky Mountain National Park. Juries convicted him of
00:14:14
pushing her in the end in that case. There was also another case that Peter Van Sant looked into, the death of
00:14:20
Rhonda Casto. She fell about 150 feet to her death at Eagle Creek during a hike with her boyfriend, Steven Nichols.
00:14:28
Nichols claimed it was all an accident, but he later pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide. In 2013,
00:14:35
there was another case where Leslie Muller, she was a successful doctor. She slipped and fell while she was posing
00:14:41
for a photo. The question was, was it her husband who pushed her? He was actually tried twice in Colorado, but
00:14:48
the jury there both times failed to reach a verdict, so prosecutors dismissed that case in 2013 and they
00:14:55
canceled a third trial. But, this gives you just an idea. I mean, it goes on and
00:15:00
on in our archives. There are a lot of cases that we've covered like this. >> It's interesting because you think it's
00:15:05
it's so strange. Why are there that many people who were pushed off cliffs? And,
00:15:10
you know, how can that be? But, I suppose in the era of surveillance and CCTV cameras and people's video cameras,
00:15:20
perhaps if you intend to commit a crime like this, cliff sides, the water, boats where there aren't many witnesses
00:15:31
and aren't video cameras to capture you doing something possibly very sinister, it seems like the perfect venue for a
00:15:37
crime of this sort. >> Right, correct. And and you know, I don't know if you saw the New York Times
00:15:42
piece that was in the paper the other day that it was titled if he leaves you on a mountain end your relationship.
00:15:49
The so-called Alpine divorce, you know, certainly not the same thing pushing somebody off the cliff that these women
00:15:56
are talking about being abandoned though in in tough terrain, their partners leaving them behind going off on their
00:16:03
own. The onion also mentioned remote hiking trails, but water and watercraft also is
00:16:10
something to be thinking about. >> Yeah, years ago I covered the disappearance pretty extensively of
00:16:15
Robin Gardner and she was visiting Aruba with her call call him boyfriend at the time,
00:16:23
Gary Giordano, who had just before they left taken a million-dollar insurance policy out on her life. They went
00:16:31
swimming one day and he claimed, "Well, the the current came in, there were these waves. I saw her swept away and
00:16:37
she was never seen again." And literally, they have not found a trace of her and Giordano always insisted he
00:16:44
had nothing to do with it. He was arrested, he was detained, they had questioned him for weeks and weeks and
00:16:49
weeks. Eventually, they released him and he has never been charged with a crime either.
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So, obviously, there there is a certain trend here that we're seeing. >> Yeah, if you think back to the case that
00:17:01
we've been talking about in the Bahamas. >> Yeah, I I thought that that's where this
00:17:05
was leading. Yeah, that's a that's an interesting case. >> A Michigan couple, they're the Hookers.
00:17:09
They're experienced sailors, they're out at sea on their dinghy when the husband says that his wife Linette
00:17:17
went apparently overboard and she happened to have the lanyard with the key of the dinghy in the boat on her
00:17:24
neck. And she goes missing. >> You know, they've been traveling on and off for years and they documented their
00:17:31
their sailing together on Instagram and other social media. So they were kind of
00:17:35
known. They weren't like big influencers, but you know, there were reports that this marriage wasn't great
00:17:41
despite what Instagram seemed to show. They'd up temporarily in 2024. And at one point
00:17:50
Linette apparently texted a friend that you know, it was real bad. I can't be out there with him. But they did end up
00:17:57
reconciling. >> And Linette's daughter apparently said that this is not the picture-perfect
00:18:03
couple and there was fighting, there was drinking. In fact, there had even been allegations in the past of domestic
00:18:09
violence. So, you know, this was a couple that had their battles. >> And we want to be clear Natalie that
00:18:16
unlike Gerhard Koning, nobody has been charged in the case of Linette Hooker. Brian was detained, but he has been
00:18:24
released and he has not been formally charged with anything. He did speak to CBS News just after his
00:18:31
release and he said that he still has hope that somewhere out there that maybe Linette is still alive.
00:18:37
>> You want to keep looking for Linette? >> I'm going to need somebody with more
00:18:41
authority to tell me to stop. >> When our correspondent asked him so what happened on the boat? Hooker's
00:18:49
lawyer ended the interview. >> Yeah, well, Brian Hooker is free, but local police say he does remain a
00:18:55
suspect, that he can still be charged if the evidence warrants and we'll of course continue to watch the
00:19:02
developments in that case. >> And Natalie, there's another story that we should mention and that one involves
00:19:07
influencer Ashley Robinson. She's known as Ashley Genelle on social media. And And this happened in Zanzibar off the
00:19:14
east coast of Africa. There she mysteriously died on a trip with her boyfriend while celebrating her
00:19:20
31st birthday. And we were told that on this trip her boyfriend even proposed to her.
00:19:25
>> I've been just following that this story as well. I know that he's being questioned right now by authorities as
00:19:30
of this recording. They're holding his passport until autopsy reports are complete, but it's still very much a
00:19:37
mysterious case and not a lot of details. >> Now her family and and CBS has been
00:19:42
talking to them are obviously deeply disturbed, deeply concerned. They found out that Ashley was in the
00:19:49
hospital from the fiance. Okay, that seems normal, but then communication ceased and they only learned that she
00:19:55
died from the hotel. Authorities had told the media that Ashley's fiance initially was not
00:20:02
suspected of any wrongdoing, but we're going to stay on this story. We're going to keep talking to Ashley's family and
00:20:07
obviously update as needed if there are any developments in this story. >> Yeah, to be continued on that one. Well,
00:20:15
very very interesting first episode of Case by Case. Thank you Matt Gutman for joining us. Appreciate you always and
00:20:22
and your insights. >> And I was so happy to be with you Natalie. Congratulations.
00:20:27
>> Thank you Matt. Now, we will be back next week with another episode of Case by Case. Be sure to rate and review and
00:20:33
let us know which cases you are following. To catch up on our investigations into
00:20:39
hiking and vacation deaths, join us on our YouTube channel at 48 Hours.