The Playboy Murders: What Did Amie Harwick’s Autopsy Reveal?
Disclaimer: The article contains mentions of abuse and murder. Reader discretion is advised.
The upcoming episode of the Playboy Murders will revolve around the murder of famous Hollywood sex therapist and mental health activist Amie Harwick. The fifth episode of the true crime series’ second season will be aired on ID on Monday, February 12, 2024, at 10 p.m. ET.
On February 15, 2020, former Playboy model and Hollywood sex therapist Amie Harwick was found in critical condition on the patio beneath her balcony in her Hollywood Hills home. Authorities found her after somebody reported a “woman screaming.” The police found a syringe filled with a yellowish-brown substance at the crime scene. Reportedly, it was Harwick’s roommate, Michael Herman, who reported the attack from a stranger’s phone after he was unable to find his phone downstairs, per CBS 48 Hours.
Amie Harwick’s autopsy revealed that she died from “blunt force injuries of the head and torso,” with evidence of “manual strangulation,” CNN reported. She was strangled before being thrown from her third-floor balcony a day after Valentine’s Day. Police also found signs of struggle in the house, along with bruises on her neck and defensive wounds on her hands and arms. Although she was still alive when she was found, she subsequently died after arriving at the hospital at 3:26 a.m.
A suspect named Gareth Pursehouse, who was Harwick’s boyfriend before she broke up with him more than ten years ago, was then arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department and charged with one count of murder and a single count of first-degree residential burglary. He was briefly released on a $2 million bond and was rearrested soon after with a no-bail warrant.
Who Killed Amie Harwick?
In September 2023, 45-year-old Gareth Pursehouse was convicted of first-degree murder for killing Amie Harwick. He was also found guilty of first-degree burglary, according to CBS News. Pursehouse intruded Harwick’s home and waited for hours before punching and strangling her. He then threw her from the balcony, which subsequently led to her death, The Guardian reported. This followed after Pursehouse reportedly became obsessed with her after their breakup, which happened more than a decade ago.
Amie Harwick filed a restraining order against Pursehouse in 2012 after the couple dated for about 18 months. She also took a protective order against him, which reportedly expired in 2015. A few months before she was murdered, Harwick ran into Pursehouse, where she declined his suggestions to stay in touch. She also expressed to close friends over text and mail that she was afraid Gareth Pursehouse would attempt to harm her after that.
Notably, Amie Harwick was engaged to comedian Drew Carey. She met while she was working as a bartender back in 2017. She was also practicing therapy at the time when the couple began dating. In 2018, the couple announced that they were engaged but called it off towards the end of the year. Carey told CBS 48 Hours that Pursehouse allegedly got triggered every time Carey and Harwick’s relationship made the news.
Gareth Pursehouse had been sentenced to life in prison without a chance for parole on December 6, 2023. Harwick was 38 years old when she died. She specialized in family and sex counseling. Harwick was also a mental health advocate.
The episode of the Playboy Murders on Amie Harwick’s murder will be aired on ID on Monday, February 12, 2024, at 10 p.m. ET.
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