LOS ANGELES — A man was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison for the murder of a woman the day after Valentine’s Day in 2020 at her house in the Hollywood Hills.
Gareth Pursehouse, 45, was convicted of first-degree murder in connection with the murder of Amie Harwick, 38, on Feb. 15, 2020, according to KABC. Pursehouse was found guilty on Sept. 28 after jurors deliberated for two days. He was also convicted of first-degree burglary of her home.
Pursehouse was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to the news station.
The jury reportedly found a special circumstance allegation of murder while lying in wait, KCAL reported.
Prosecutors claimed that Pursehouse caught Harwick by surprise when he broke into her house, waited for a few hours, attacked her and then threw her off a third-floor balcony, the news outlet reported.
Pursehouse’s attorneys told jurors that her client lost control and was overwhelmed by emotions, KCAL reported.
An autopsy found that Harwick died from “blunt force injuries of the head and torso,” according to records from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office, per the news outlet. There was evidence of “manual strangulation.”
Harwick and Pursehouse reportedly dated for about 18 months. According to KTTV, Harwick obtained a restraining order against him in 2012.
Pursehouse was arrested at his house the day Harwick died, but was released for a few days on a $2 million bond. The news outlet reported that he was arrested again four days later on a no-bail warrant. He has been held since.
Harwick was a well-known marriage and sex therapist. According to KCAL, she was for a time engaged to comedian and “The Price is Right” host Drew Carey.
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