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Sep 29, 2023 · By Taylor Romine, CNN. 2 minute read. Updated 11:39 PM EST, Wed December 6, 2023. Link Copied! Amie Harwick, seen here at The Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles in 2016, had been found unresponsive...
- Taylor Romine
- Overview
- A VIOLENT DEATH IN THE HOLLYWOOD HILLS
- GARETH PURSEHOUSE'S TROUBLED PAST
- "IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO ME, HE DID IT"
- THE MURDER TRIAL OF GARETH PURSEHOUSE
- JUSTICE FOR AMIE HARWICK
- "48 Hours" Post Mortem Podcast
It's been almost four years since Hollywood therapist Amie Harwick was murdered on Feb. 15, 2020. For the first time, the man who tried to save her opens up about what happened.
Harwick's roommate, Michael Herman, can never erase the memories of what happened to his friend in the early morning hours after Valentine's Day 2020.
"I remember thinking like this is so much worse than any horror movie I've ever seen," Herman tells "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty. "I just was, uh, woken up by screaming ... like bloodcurdling scream ... And I yelled up, you know, 'Amie!' And I heard choking right after that."
Herman was in a downstairs bedroom when the attack happened. He was unable to find his phone and ran to their next-door neighbor's house to get help, but there was no answer. He was finally able to use the phone of a stranger on the street.
When LAPD officers arrived, they discovered Harwick gravely injured under her third-story balcony. On her balcony, there was a strange clue: a syringe filled with a mysterious yellowish-brown substance. There was no sign of Harwick's attacker, but investigators later discovered evidence of an intruder – a shattered window of a French door. Harwick died at the hospital.
"She's gone and I'm still here," says Herman.
POLICE OFFICER (bodycam video to Michael Herman): Take a seat. Take a seat.
POLICE OFFICER (to Amie Harwick): Ma'am.
MICHAEL HERMAN: Oh, my God.
POLICE OFFICER: We — we need — we need an ambulance. … Ma'am, what happened to you?
In the early morning darkness of Feb. 15, 2020, police body cameras were recording as Amie Harwick – barely clinging to life outside of her Hollywood Hills home – was taken to a hospital.
POLICE OFFICER (bodycam video): If she says anything in the hospital, we need to know that.
Det. Scott Masterson: I was very confident that, you know, Gareth Pursehouse was our guy.
Within 13 hours of Amie Harwick's death on Feb. 15, 2020, police descended on Pursehouse's beachside neighborhood to arrest him.
Det. Scott Masterson: You could tell he was playing the old, what's this about, why do you wanna talk, who, uh — oh yeah, I know Amie, sure, yeah. …He, basically, was saying I've been at home.
Detectives weren't buying that story or the explanation Pursehouse gave for what appeared to be a fresh black eye: he blamed a home renovation.
Det. Scott Masterson: I said, "I think you better get a contractor. … if you get a hold of a power tool, you're gonna be in real trouble."
Pursehouse was charged with Amie's murder on Feb. 19, 2020, and detectives were learning about his troubled past — beginning not long after he and Amie began dating in 2009.
Emily Sears: It hit home a lot after Amie passed, in the way that she did … how dangerous it really is for women.
Emily Sears, one of Amie Harwick's therapy clients, was shaken by the news of her death.
Emily Sears: The reality is we're not safe, nobody is.
Victor Avila: In dealing with some domestic violence cases, this was a bit different because … the way Gareth Pursehouse acted in this case was more methodical.
When Deputy District Attorney Victor Avila took on the case, he was particularly troubled by evidence that Pursehouse had broken into Amie's house, hoping to catch her off guard when she arrived home.
Victor Avila: And that's at the point that we decided to charge not only the murder charge … but also the special circumstance of lying in wait.
In August 2023, more than three years after Amie Harwick's death, her accused killer Gareth Pursehouse went on trial.
Catherine Mariano: I almost didn't recognize him.
Victor Avila: Right.
In their opening statements, prosecutors Victor Avila and Catherine Mariano told jurors why and how they believe Pursehouse ended Amie's life in the early morning of Feb. 15, 2020.
VICTOR AVILA (in court): Dr. Amie Harwick was murdered by defendant, Gareth Pursehouse, because he was obsessed with her. He strangled her. … lifted her up over the balcony and dropped her to her death.
Tom Harwick: I just pray that Amie was unconscious when she was — when she went over the balcony.
Catherine Mariano: I felt nervous.
Victor Avila: Yeah.
Catherine Mariano: …because you never know.
As jurors met for a second day to decide Pursehouse's fate, the waiting for a verdict began to weigh heavily on the prosecution.
Catherine Mariano: It's incredibly, nerve-wracking. … The wait is the worst part.
And on Amie's friends and family.
Go behind the scenes with host Anne-Marie Green, correspondent Erin Moriarty and producers Lauren White and Rich Fetzer on a murder case they've been covering for the past four years.
Produced by Richard Fetzer and Lauren A. White. Michelle Fanucci and Greg Fisher are the development producers. Lauren Turner Dunn is the associate producer. Greg Kaplan and Phil Tangel are the editors. Anthony Batson is the senior broadcast producer, Nancy Kramer is the executive editor. Judy Tygard is the executive producer.
- 48 Hours" Correspondent
- 42 min
- CBS News
People also ask
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Dec 7, 2023 · Photograph: Paul Archuleta/Getty Images. California. This article is more than 4 months old. Ex-boyfriend given life without parole for murder of Hollywood therapist. Gareth Pursehouse, 45,...
- Gloria Oladipo
Dec 6, 2023 · Photo: Paul Archuleta/Getty Images. The ex-boyfriend of Hollywood sex therapist Amie Harwick — who was once Drew Carey ’s fiancé — was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without the...
- Christine Pelisek
Dec 6, 2023 · By Daniel Kreps. December 6, 2023. Dr. Amie Harwick attends the "Rock To Recovery" benefit at The Fonda Theatre on October 2, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. Getty Images. The man convicted...
Feb 26, 2020 · There, officers found 38-year-old sex therapist Amie Harwick mortally wounded after allegedly being thrown over the third-story balcony of her home. The coroner said Harwick died of blunt force...
Mar 10, 2020 · March 10, 2020. Amie Harwick was killed on Valentines Day. Robert Coshland. It was late into the evening of Valentine’s Day, a detail that would not go unnoticed later on. Dr. Amie Harwick, 38 ...
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