Man Who Murdered Drew Carey's Ex-Fiancée Sentenced To Life In Prison Without Parole
Gareth Pursehouse, an ex-boyfriend of Los Angeles therapist Amie Harwick, was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without parole, according to People.
Harwick, 38, fatally fell from her three-story balcony in February 2020. In September of this year, Pursehouse was found guilty of her murder and of first-degree residential burglary.
Pursehouse, 45, had dated Harwick a decade earlier and reportedly stalked her for years afterward. The Los Angeles Police Department reportedly arrested Pursehouse within hours of Harwick’s death, as she had filed protective orders against him that expired in 2015.
Hernando Chaves, a friend of Harwick’s, told People that Pursehouse “didn’t respect the end of the relationship” and that he “kept finding her, kept seeking her out.” Deputy District Attorney Victor Avila told the magazine that Pursehouse was evidently “obsessed” with Harwick and felt “entitled to her.”
A month before Harwick died, she and Pursehouse “bumped into each other” at an award show in a Los Angeles Marriott, Avila said. Pursehouse was reportedly “angry” and told Harwick she “ruined his life.” He eventually broke into her home to kill her.
According to court documents obtained by People, Harwick returned home on Feb. 15 from a night out with friends. Pursehouse began strangling her, and prosecutors say he threw Harwick off the balcony after hearing her roommate scream, which spurred a local 911 call.
Comedian Drew Carey and therapist Amie Harwick were engaged for a time in 2018.
Police at the time said Harwick was found “gravely injured.” She died at a hospital within hours.
Harwick reportedly graduated from high school in Philadelphia in 2001 and paid her way through college by dancing, modeling and party planning. She eventually became a sex therapist and used her experiences to help others navigate their own.
Comedian Drew Carey, who was engaged to Harwick for a time in 2018, publicly mourned her death. He said in a 2020 statement that he and Harwick “had a love that people are lucky to have once in a lifetime,” and that he was “overcome with grief.”
“I wish he never did it,” Carey reportedly said of Pursehouse in an episode of “The Talk @ Home” in April 2020. “I wish he never met her. I really try to practice instant forgiveness and unconditional love. The closest you can get to that, the better you are.”
Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) for the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
