Gareth Pursehouse, 45, has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of 38-year-old Amie Harwick, the ex-fiancée of comedian Drew Carey.
Per Los Angeles Daily News, Pursehouse was found guilty of first-degree murder with a special circumstance allegation by a jury in September for the killing of Harwick on Feb. 15, 2020. Prosecutors said that he broke into her property and waited for her to come home, at which point he attacked her and threw her off a third-story balcony.
Pursehouse previously dated Harwick—a marriage and sex therapist who was engaged to Carey for less than a year in 2018—for 18 months but she filed a restraining order against him in 2012. Deputy District Attorney Victor Avila described Pursehouse as a "man who couldn't move on." Harwick told friends in text messages shortly before her death that she saw him at an event and was scared of him.
Robin Bernstein-Lev, an attorney for Pursehouse, suggested Harwick fell from the balcony after a confrontation with the man. She argued he broke into her home "impulsively" in a "desperate attempt" to make contact with her. "Her death was never his goal," she added, noting that he was put on suicide watch following his arrest. He also posted a video of them together after her death and wrote, "I hope you’re lucky enough to have someone in your life that loves as much as she did."
Authorities named Harwick as the lead suspect thanks to surveillance video.
Carey called Harwick a "beautiful person who didn't deserve to die like she did" following her death, per TMZ. He said their relationship was the "best relationship of my life." He was in attendance at her wake. "I loved her very much," he said.
