Amie Harwick had filed two restraining orders against her ex-boyfriend Gareth Pursehouse when authorities allege he killed her. Harwick, a prominent marriage and sex therapist, was 38 years old. She had come home from an evening out with friends in Los Angeles. They had gone to see a burlesque show; Harwick had declined to attend an after party, preferring instead to go have tea with her friends.
Investigators have theorized that Pursehouse laid in wait and attacked Harwick upon her return in the early hours of 15 February 2020, throwing her off her third-floor balcony. Police officers found her on the ground 20 feet below, struggling to breathe. A post-mortem examination report lists her cause of death as blunt force injuries of the head and torso, and lists “evidence of manual strangulation”. Pursehouse has been charged with murder and first-degree residential burglary with a special circumstance allegation of lying in wait, which could result in his facing the death penalty. He has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.
