Amie Nicole Harwick (May 20, 1981February 15, 2020) was an American writer and

marriage and family therapist Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

Biography

Harwick was adopted as a child. She worked as a ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the Plan_(drawing), plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a mea ...

and dance performer to pay for her postsecondary education. She studied

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

California State Polytechnic University California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona, CPP, or Cal Poly"Cal Poly" may also refer to California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in San Luis Obispo. See the ''California State Polytechnic University, Pomo ...

in Pomona, earned a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree from

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and t ...

clinical psychology Clinical psychology is an integration of social science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and persona ...

, a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

from the

non-accredited Unaccredited institutions of higher education are colleges, trade schools, seminaries, and universities which do not have formal educational accreditation. Educational institutions may not be legally required to obtain independent accreditation, d ...

Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality The Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality (IASHS) was a private, non-accredited, for-profit graduate school and resource center for the field of sexology in San Francisco, California. It was established in 1976 and closed in 2018. D ...

, and later became a licensed

. Harwick was a well-known therapist in

West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most ...

, specializing in family and sex counseling. She regularly appeared on podcasts, TV, and her YouTube channel to discuss her work. She was the author of the book, ''The New Sex Bible for Women: The Complete Guide to Sexual Self-Awareness and Intimacy'' published in 2014. At the time of her death, she had started working with Pineapple Support, an organization of sex-work-positive mental health professionals that had been founded in late 2017 in the wake of a rash of adult-industry suicides.

Personal life

Harwick and comedian

Drew Carey Drew Allison Carey (born May 23, 1958) is an American comedian, actor and game show host. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, he gained stardom in his own sitcom, ''The Drew Carey Show'', an ...

first met at a party in the summer of 2017. Carey posted a photo of them together on Instagram with the caption: "The face of a lottery winner (''L'')." Within a year Carey proposed to her and they became engaged. The engagement was called off in 2018 and the split was reported as amicable. After her death, Carey told

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

that Harwick was "A positive force in the world and an unapologetic champion of women."

Death

On February 15, 2020, Harwick was found under a balcony at her home and died after being taken to the hospital. The initial investigation found that she had been strangled and thrown from the third floor after a fight. The suspect, ex-boyfriend Gareth Pursehouse, against whom she had twice filed

restraining order A restraining order or protective order, is an order used by a court to protect a person in a situation involving alleged domestic violence, child abuse, assault, harassment, stalking, or sexual assault. Restraining and personal protection or ...

s, was

arrested An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be questi ...

the next day and was charged for

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

with the special circumstance of '

lying in wait In criminal law, lying in wait refers to the act of hiding and waiting for an individual with the intent to kill or inflict serious bodily harm to that person. Because lying in wait involves premeditation, some jurisdictions have established that ...

breaking and entering Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the intention of committing a criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, robbery or murder ...

, and home

burglary Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the intention of committing a criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, robbery or murder ...

. He was released under a $2million

bail bond Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required. In some countries ...

, then re-arrested after pleading not guilty on April 16, 2020. His preliminary hearing date has been rescheduled several times since June 2020; , it was set to May 17, 2023.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harwick, Amie 1981 births 2020 deaths American writers Deaths from falls American murder victims