The ex-boyfriend of celebrity therapist Amie Harwick — who was found guilty of murder after he threw her off a balcony in 2020 — was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Gareth Pursehouse, 45, whom a jury convicted in September of murder and first-degree residential burglary with the special circumstance allegation of lying in wait, will spend the rest of his natural life in prison, said a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Pursehouse murdered Harwick, 38, by throwing her over a balcony at her home in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles on Feb. 15, 2020, prosecutors said.
Harwick died at a hospital.
An attorney for Pursehouse could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday night.
Following Pursehouse’s September conviction, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement that “justice was served” and that Harwick’s loved ones “endured unimaginable pain throughout this terrible ordeal.”
Police were called to Harwick’s home on the day of her murder after someone reported hearing a woman scream. Officers found Harwick beneath a third-story balcony with injuries consistent with a fall, Los Angeles police said.
Investigators found signs of a struggle in the home. Detectives learned that Harwick had recently expressed fear about Pursehouse and had previously filed for a restraining order against him, police said. The restraining order had expired when Harwick was killed.
Harwick was a therapist who advised married couples and wrote about sex and relationships. In 2014 she wrote the self-help book “The New Sex Bible for Women.”
Harwick was engaged to the comedian Drew Carey, host of “The Price is Right,” before their relationship ended.
Diana Dasrath contributed.
