An ex-boyfriend of Amie Harwick was charged on Feb. 19 with killing the former sex therapist in her Hollywood Hills apartment by throwing her over a balcony, officials said.
Gareth Pursehouse, 41, was charged with one count of murder and one count of first-degree residential burglary, according to a press release from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. The special circumstance allegation of lying in wait means he is eligible for the death penalty.
It is unclear if he has an attorney.
Harwick, the 38-year-old who was previously engaged to comedian Drew Carey, was found unresponsive beneath a third-story balcony in her home with injuries consistent with a fall early Saturday, according to a statement from the LAPD. She was transported to a local hospital where she died.
The therapist, who specialized in family and sex counseling, had previously filed a restraining order against Pursehouse, police said.
Pursehouse was arrested by an FBI-LAPD Task Force Saturday afternoon and released Tuesday evening on a $2 million bond. He was re-arrested Wednesday on a no-bail warrant, the DA said in a release. His arraignment is scheduled for Thursday.
Reports of ‘Woman Screaming’
When LAPD officers responded to reports of a “woman screaming” early Saturday morning, they met Harwick’s roommate in the street who told them Harwick was being assaulted inside the home.
They found her beneath a third-story balcony, where she was “gravely injured” and unresponsive, LAPD said. An investigation showed forced entry into the home and a struggle upstairs.
Harwick had recently expressed fear about a former boyfriend and filed a restraining order against Pursehouse, the statement said, but the restraining order had expired. The LAPD said she’d seen the man two weeks before her death.