Stalker sentenced to life in prison for brutal murder of Drew Carey’s former fiance Amie Harwick
A California man was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Wednesday, December 6, for the murder of a sex therapist who was engaged to Drew Carey once. Two months ago, stalker Gareth Pursehouse, 45, was convicted of first-degree murder for killing 38-year-old Amie Harwick at her Hollywood Hills home in February 2020.
Gareth Pursehouse (L) has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Drew Carey’s (R) ex-fiance Amie Harwick (R) (Law&Crime Network screenshot/YouTube, Drew Carey/Instagram)
Gareth allegedly stalked Amie for ten years after they broke up. He broke into Amie’s Los Angeles home on February 15, 2020, and waited for her to return. He went on to strangle her and throw her off the balcony of her third floor.
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‘Justice to Amie has been served’
Before the sentencing, many family members of Amie spoke before the court. Her father Tom Harwick said, “My name is Tom Harwick, and I am the forever grieving father of my dearly departed daughter Amie. I will be reading the following words from a paper out of fear I will forget, but you may be assured that these words are being recited from deep within my heart.”
Tom thanked the presiding judge, prosecutors, and jury for bringing Gareth to justice. He also thanked the Los Angeles emergency officials for responding to the crime scene at the time Amie was murdered. “I am totally grateful for the services you’ve rendered to me and my family during this horrible ordeal,” he said, adding, “justice to Amie has been served.”
Amie’s mother, Penny Harwick, spoke up about how it has been since her daughter was killed. Gareth sat silently as the family members spoke. He has been ordered to pay $7,500 for Amie’s funeral cose, a ceremony that was attended by Drew. He will also be responsible for restitution to the victim’s parents for travel, lodging and food costs during the court proceedings. Gareth has also been slapped with a charge for the first-degree burglary of Amie’s home.
What Drew Carey said about Amie Harwick
While Drew did not attend Wednesday’s court proceedings, he did speak about Amie and her death in an interview with 48 Hours in 2022. “When I heard that she got murdered, right away, I thought: ‘It’s gotta be that guy’,” he said. “I got a text from her [two days before], ‘I would love to get together with you and talk,’ the 65-year-old continued. ‘I said, “Yeah, I would love to do that. I love you’.”
Gareth had pleaded guilty to Amie’s murder. His sentence will begin immediately.
