Timeline: The suspicious death of Amie Harwick
In the early morning hours of February 15, 2020, Los Angeles police officers responding to a call for a “woman screaming” found Amie Harwick, 38, lying on the ground battered and unresponsive beneath the third-floor balcony of her Hollywood Hills home. Harwick later died from blunt-force injuries The Hollywood therapist’s final hours start the day before Valentine’s Day 2020.
February 13, 2020: A message of friendship and love
Amie Harwick texts Drew Carey, her former fiancée and host of CBS’ “The Price Is Right,” for the first time in a while since their breakup in October 2018. Carey had introduced Amie to his audience as his fiancée on Valentine’s Day 2018. In the text, Amie tells Carey in the spirit of friendship and forgiveness she “would love to get together” with him and talk. For his part, Carey was elated to hear from her, and he told her “I would love to do that … I love you.” They agreed to meet after the Valentine’s Day holiday weekend. Tragically, Amie and Carey, whose first date was at Disneyland, never had that chance to get together again.
February 14, 2020 | 6:30 a.m.: A sunrise hike
Amie begins the day with a peaceful hike with close friend, Cleopatra Slough. Together they climbed the winding roads of Amie’s Hollywood Hills neighborhood, with Amie playing tour guide, pointing out landmarks and explaining their history.
February 14, 2020: Valentine’s Day breakfast
Amie and Cleopatra stopped at the Beachwood Café, where Amie talked about how happy she was with her professional and personal lives, and how she was looking forward to doing so much more in the future.
February 14, 2020 | 7 p.m.: A night out with friends
Amie and several friends showed up at the Globe Theater, where yet another friend, burlesque impresario Miss Tosh, had organized a show with performers celebrating the holiday, whether they were single, or in a romantic relationship. That night, Amie wore her rosary bead necklace, which would later become key evidence in her death.
Valentine’s night: An ominous event
While Amie and friends were taking pictures and cheering on the burlesque performers, her roommate – who was asleep on the ground floor of Amie’s home — was awakened by what he believed was a plate smashing on the floor above him. Thinking it was Amie, he fell back to sleep. Investigators, however, would later theorize that an intruder was breaking into Amie’s home.
February 14, 2020 : Around 10 p.m.
Amie and her friends skip the burlesque after party and head off to the Nomad for tea. They remain there until after midnight.
February 15, 2020 | 1:02 a.m.: A vicious assault
According to authorities, after pulling into the driveway of her home, Amie texted a friend at 1:02 a.m. to send her snaps from the Nomad. Moments later, Amie entered her home and, police say, was viciously attacked as she made it up to her third-floor bedroom by someone who was likely lying-in wait for four hours.
February 15, 2020: Amie’s frantic roommate tries to find help
Amie’s roommate was awakened again, but this time by the sounds of Amie screaming and what sounded like bodies slamming to the floor. Unable to find his phone, he initially yelled up the stairs, hoping to scare off the intruder, and then her ran outside, scaled a fence and repeatedly knocked on a neighbor’s door. But no one answered.
February 15, 2020: Desperate to save Amie, still searching for help
Amie’s roommate ran across the street to another home, but, again, no one answered. Finally, he spotted someone on the street with a cellphone. They called 911. It was 1:14 a.m.
February 15, 2020: Amie struggles to survive
Police found Amie lying 20 feet beneath her bedroom balcony in the courtyard outside her home. She had severe injuries and deep marks on her neck, signs she has been strangled. Amie was rushed to Cedar Sinai Medical Center Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 3:26 a.m.
February 15, 2020: A murder investigation begins
Detectives soon found curious evidence at the scene. There was a trail of Amie’s rosary beads from the necklace she wore that night. The beads led from her TV room, through her bedroom and out onto her bedroom balcony, where they also recovered a syringe filled with liquid. The needle was a particularly strange piece of evidence since Amie’s friends say she did not smoke, drink or use drugs.
February 15, 2020 | Around 9 a.m.: Police look for answers
Amie Harwick’s best friend, Robert Coshland was called down to the police station, where Amie’s roommate was already talking to detectives. Coshland told police about an ex-boyfriend, Gareth Pursehouse, who had recently run into Amie for the first time in eight years at an adult film industry awards ceremony, where Amie had been accompanying a fellow therapist. Pursehouse, who was a photographer and software engineer, was working the event. Amie later told Coshland that Pursehouse went ballistic when he saw her, recited texts she had sent eight years earlier, and accused her of ruining his life.
February 15, 2020: A history of domestic violence is revealed
Coshland also told the police that Amie had told him Pursehouse physically abused her during their relationship. Amie had filed several domestic violence complaints against Pursehouse and obtained two restraining orders against him nearly a decade before. The complaints included allegations that he had choked her, suffocated her, pushed her against walls and slammed her head into the ground. Amie also suspected Pursehouse broke into her home, stole her photos and wiped her computer clean nearly four years after their breakup.
February 15, 2020: Drew Carey learns of Amie’s death
When Robert Coshland finished talking to police, he reached out to Drew Carey, letting him know that Amie was dead. The popular game show host broke down and cried, and told”48 Hours” correspondent Erin Moriarty that he remembered at one point he could barely stay on his feet.
February 15, 2020: Amie’s death becomes a homicide investigation
Thirteen hours after Amie Garwick died, detectives showed up at Gareth Pursehouse’s home and charged him with Amie’s murder. Inside Pursehouse’s home, police would later reveal they found a syringe similar to the one they recovered on Amie’s balcony. Prosecutors say that the liquid in the syringe on her balcony was filled with nicotine – which can be used as a poison and that they suspect he planned to use to kill her.
April 16, 2020
Gareth Pursehouse pleads not guilty.
September 2021
At a preliminary hearing, lawyers for Gareth Pursehouse say he did not kill Amie Harwick, and that her fall from the balcony could have been an accident. A judge, however, ruled that there was enough evidence that the case should go forward. A trial date has yet to be set.
