The tragic murder of Dr. Amie Harwick was a difficult enough story already — but the newest details are straight up infuriating!
For those who aren’t caught up on the awfulness, the Playboy model-turned-psychologist wrote the 2014 book The New Sex Bible for Women and commonly engaged with fans on social media, besides running a practice where she helped young women with relationship problems. The celebrity sex therapist also made headlines during her relationship and brief engagement to The Price Is Right host Drew Carey.
According to police reports, Dr. Harwick was attacked in her own home on Saturday. Ultimately she fell or was thrown from her third story balcony and later died from her injuries.
Related: Drew Carey ‘Overcome With Grief’, Cancels Show Tapings
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office released its official cause of death as “blunt force injuries” to the head and torso from the fall — however, they also included “evidence of manual strangulation” in their report, conveying what a brutal assault this must have been.
Who would do such a thing? Well, the police believe they have the man in custody, and considering Amie’s roommate was a witness who reportedly escaped the scene, it seems like something of an open and shut case.
The LAPD took Gareth Pursehouse into custody on suspicion of murder just hours after the crime. His bail was set at $2 million, and thus far he has not paid it. His most recently listed job title is “lead architect” at a web company… so yeah, frankly we have no idea whether that amount is something he can actually afford and is choosing not to or if the court just wanted him to stay put.
So who is the 41-year-old Los Angeles resident? He’s Amie’s ex-boyfriend, and — here’s where it gets infuriating — according to her previous court filings, her stalker.
According to old court records obtained by TMZ, Amie filed her first restraining order against Pursehouse all the way back in June 2011. At the time she claimed he was violent and scary, once having pushed her out of the car after an argument, leaving her on the side of the freeway to walk home. She also said he “choked me, suffocated me, pushed me against walls, kicked me, dropped me to the ground with force… slammed my head into the ground, and punched me with a closed fist.”
She was granted the temporary restraining order, but the case against Pursehouse was dismissed for “lack of prosecution” — which usually translates to the victim not appearing at court to go through with the hearing.
We don’t know if she thought at the time she could let it go or what, but she ended up having to file yet another restraining order just months later in April 2012. That time she claimed Pursehouse had broken into her apartment and smashed a bunch of her framed photos then texted her:
“things will get worse”
Amie claimed he then broke into her building again to leave her flowers, sent threatening emails to her friends, and once waited for her outside her building to play music at her.
The clinical psychologist was granted a restraining order which lasted for three years, until April 2015.
Unfortunately the good doctor’s ordeal was not over. The LAPD revealed Amie saw her scary ex just two weeks ago — and had “recently expressed fear” of him again. And obviously we know she was right to be scared.
So why exactly is it the police couldn’t do anything here? All the signs of a dangerous stalker were there! They can’t act until the man kills you?? We’re sorry, but this is so damned frustrating. It seems to us Dr. Amie could have been protected, and it’s just all so… senseless.
We aren’t alone in feeling that way. A friend of Amie’s, Diana Arias, has now set up a petition on Change.org to tell lawmakers to make changes to the law, including creating a registry of convicted abusers and stalkers.
What do YOU think, Perezcious readers? Do YOU think we need to change the way the laws work when it comes to dangerous and abusive men??
[Image via Good Morning La La Land/YouTube.]
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