(NewsNation) — A friend of Amie Harwick, Miss Tosh, is questioning the “scary reality” of how little restraining orders actually protect victims of stalking.
Gareth Pursehouse, the ex-boyfriend of Harwick, is accused of killing the popular marriage and sex therapist, who was found fatally injured underneath her balcony in Feb. 2020.
Before her death, Harwick had a high-profile engagement to comedian and “Price is Right” host Drew Carey in 2018. The two had called it quits before she died but remained close.
Harwick’s 2012 breakup with Pursehouse was long before that, but friends say he was obsessed and threatening, prompting two restraining orders against him, the second of which had expired.
Miss Tosh saw Harwick at a “Galentine’s” celebration just hours before her death.
“We always opened Amie into our events, our social spaces with open arms. And she just was never judgmental, always completely loving and supportive,” Miss Tosh said. “She really had a lot ahead of her. She had a lot of great work to do.”
Prosecutors argue Pursehouse broke into Harwick’s home and waited hours for her to return before strangling her and throwing her body off the balcony.
A syringe filled with a lethal dose of nicotine was also found on the balcony. The defense says Pursehouse was suicidal and intended to use it on himself. Further, it argues Harwick fell from the balcony by accident.