Man Walks Outside To Find Decapitated Roommate | Forensic Files

Hey sir, how can I help you? My roommate was attacked. I know it. I heard I heard
it. She's screaming. She was thrown to the ground. [laughter] Sir. [music] Sir, come here.
This man just led police to a dead body. The victim, Amy Harwick, a celebrity therapist, was found lying unconscious
under her thirdstory balcony. Officers were immediately [music] suspicious of Amy's roommate, Michael Herman.
Hey, can I see your hands? Yeah, that's what I poked it on the climbing over the fence.
Okay, got it. I don't know, dude. Something Something's off. He might be a blood.
The blood on Michael's hands and the signs of struggle found inside Amy's bathroom made it clear that this was a
crime scene and Michael is the prime suspect. Do you still hear screaming? I still heard screaming when I was when
I was leaving. I yelled up there, "Hey, mother." Cuz I wanted her to think I was
coming upstairs that maybe he'd like stop and run. However, detectives began to have
doubts. The further they investigated, the clearer it became that there was more to this crime than meets the eye.
And as they dig deeper, they uncover that Amy had a history of troubled relationships. And many people had it
out for her. But one relationship stood out from the rest. One that was plagued with stalking, violence, and abuse,
leaving disturbing clues that would lead detectives to one deranged killer. I have so much I need to say. Please
give me a chance to just say it, please. At 1:11 a.m. on February 15th, 2020, 911
received a harrowing call from Amy's roommate. I want to reduce 434. Yeah. Somebody just attacked my roommate.
We're at 286 Street. Find out. How was he assaulted? What happened? I don't know. I was downstairs. I heard
screaming. Uh, please get a cop. You're okay. Who's screaming inside? Um, can't think right now. Um, Amy Amy
Carwick. I mean, who is she to you, sir? She's my roommate. Okay. Is she screaming for help?
Yes. Okay. Did you see anything? No. Okay. No, I heard I heard her screaming and I
heard her being All right. So, I'm going to find out that somebody's screaming. Okay. Since
you didn't see anything, you don't know she's being attacked. You're not sure. Yes, I know she's being attacked. I
heard it got thrown to the ground. With sirens blaring, multiple law enforcement agents rush to the scene.
The information that they have as they arrive is limited. All they know is that there is a situation with a screaming
woman and that somebody appears to be in danger. As soon as they arrive, Michaelin, Amy's roommate, is the first
person to come into contact. Hey, sir. Hi. How can I help you? My roommate was attacked. I know it. I
heard I heard it. She's screaming. She was thrown to the ground. I I couldn't find my phone. I couldn't find anything
else. Okay, hold on. Okay, so you have access to here. Is there anybody else inside
the house? My roommate. Just your roommate by herself? Yes. You didn't check on her,
dude? I heard screaming. I don't know if that guy had a guy a gun or a knife. I came running trying to I couldn't find
my phone. Is there somebody else inside? I think there's Okay, sir. Do me a favor. Do me a favor.
Calm down. Calm down. Other than your roommate, is there anybody else inside the house?
I don't know. I don't know. So, you didn't see anyone? You just heard? No, I just heard her screaming. I found
it. She got thrown to the ground. I've been calling for her through these windows. Nobody's answering. Nothing.
So, you're Where's your key at? Inside. Downstairs. The back door is open. Hey, you're good. You're good. You're good.
[groaning] Shoot. 6815 advises the responding unit that we had to hop the fence. We're going to be
at the rear of the location. Sir, sir, come here. Relax. Take a seat. Take a seat.
Oh my god. What was going on tonight? Yo, I'm asleep. I've been asleep all night.
When officers move into the courtyard, there lies Amy Harwick, 20 ft beneath her third floor balcony, going into
continuous seizures with glass surrounding her body, bro. She's having a seizure. Oh, Jesus.
Amy lived in a relatively safe area in Hollywood Hills and was a well-known family and marriage therapist. So her
home being broken into was unusual and whoever did it made sure she had a painful death. She was thrown off her
balcony resulting in several serious injuries. The trauma to the head was so severe that it had resulted in a subgal
and a subdural hemorrhage sending her into continuous seizures. Not only that, but her neck showed signs that she had
been strangled before falling off her balcony. Even though Amy started receiving urgent care, this situation
was far from over. Not knowing whether the asalent is still in the house, officers began to breach and clear the
ground floor. Do you know if there's anybody else inside the house? I don't. I don't.
What happened to you? Anyone else inside? It's the LAPD. Come out with your hands up.
Hey, somebody pat him down, please. He might be on my couch. Anyone else inside? This is
LAPD. Come out with your hands up. Got you. My light. I got your light. Okay. All right. So, you guys can move up in
unison. Ready? On you guys. Just hold it. They're going to move up in unison. You You're good.
Pause. Whenever you guys are ready. Go ahead. Go. Go. Go. Go. Go back in. All right. I got an open room. There's a
There's a balcony to the top. Got couches. Looks like a kitchen to the right. Unfortunately, the one
responsible for Amy's condition has managed to escape. And [music] as cops make their way through the home, they
notice that everything is organized and spotless besides a few areas of interest. It's sticky
bees. This is urine. Urine, but not in the bathroom. Amy's bedroom was a mess with the covers
thrown off and a pool of urine in the connecting bathroom. Often when a victim is strangled, it results in the
involuntary loss of bowel control. Moreover, officers would discover something strange. Right on the balcony
from where Amy fell, a syringe filled with nicotine had fallen to the ground. Um, so there's a loaded syringe on this
right here. Extreme doses of nicotine like the one found in this syringe act as a poison causing organs in the body
to fail and slowly kill an individual as they suffer from vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, and severe abdominal pain.
Strangely enough, these types of drugs were never even present in the home. And [music] even if they were, Amy would
never take them, as her roommate explains. Um, a lot of sarin. So sir, do you know her history of drug
use? No, she's sober. She doesn't drink and she doesn't even drink. She doesn't drink.
She doesn't even drink. She's sober. Drugs. So no, nobody in this house is is doing
drugs. Um I I smoke pot and stuff. Yeah. Okay. What do you mean stuff? Well, I smoke pot rooms every now and
then. Okay. So she's sober completely. She's sober completely. How how how sure of that are you?
I'm positive. I'm absolutely sure. I don't know, dude. Something something's off.
That rig is is loaded completely. Yeah. Hasn't been used yet. It hasn't been used.
Hey, can I see your hands? Yeah, that's what I poked on the climbing over the fence.
Okay, got it. What about this one here? I don't know what that is. Uh, I guess Can you Can you pull your uh Can you
pull your uh sleeve back on this one right here? Oh, no. On this one right here. This
Can you flip it for me? Can you do me a favor? Look up. Can you pull your shirt down a little
bit? Sure. Really? So, this is really like shady shaky. This whole thing's very weird.
And then, did you see that? How it's wrapped around him? It's weird. Although Michael seems incredibly
suspicious, finding out whether he's guilty comes second. The first priority is to ensure Amy's survival, whose
condition was worsening by the second. Her pulse was nearly non-existent and she was rushed to a nearby hospital
where it was determined that she had sustained many serious injuries since dropping about 20 ft from the balcony,
including lacerations to her liver and brain damage. And despite [music] the best attempts from doctors, Amy Harwick
was soon pronounced dead. The syringe filled with nicotine, Amy's injuries before the fall, and no missing
items. These were all clues that this was not a burglary gone wrong, but a planned murder. For police, this would
make sense because working as a specialized sex therapist, and one that was very public with several shows and
media presence at the time was risky. There could have been too many people who had it out for her since therapists
often have to deal with emotionally problematic and sometimes obsessive individuals. For now though, Michael
Herman was the only person around Amy when she was murdered, making him the first suspect. Michael was already a
suspicious individual, as his frequent cannabis use led officers to believe that he had at least some knowledge of
drugs and could be behind the nicotine syringe. But more telling was the fact that his arms were covered in blood and
scratches, which made him look even more guilty. So to get to the bottom of this,
Michael was brought in for an interview where he would stay adamant about his innocence.
Can you remember? Do you still hear screaming? I still heard screaming when I was still
hearing scream. And when we were at the house, you was when I was yelling cuz when I was
leaving, I yelled up there. Hey, mother. Really loud. Cuz I wanted her to think I
was coming upstairs. So maybe he'd like stop and run, you know? That was You would know that he's not in the
house with two of them. Right. Right. Right. Right. And I didn't know if it was like, you know, I didn't
know if it was multiple people. I, you know, I just didn't know. and and [music]
um I just hope that that would like that that would make the person flee. Michael claims that after returning
home, he heard screams from inside the house and then shouted loudly to scare off the potential attacker. He then
entered the home to find the front door open and Amy Harwick's body on the ground. He immediately called 911 and
attempted to provide aid while waiting for emergency responders. Not only does Michael fully cooperate with law
enforcement, but he also has a solid alibi and witness testimony supporting his account. Additionally, there is no
forensic evidence linking Michael to the crime. Still, detectives can't rule out
Michael just yet, [music] as there are no other suspects, and nobody had seen anyone outside of Michael enter or leave
the building. But this is when police received footage from a nearby Ring doorbell camera. A crucial piece of
evidence that would turn the entire case upside down. When the cops looked at the
footage, they saw Michael come running out of the home trying to wake up the neighbors and call for help. This was
exactly what he told them he had done, which confirms the fact that he was likely only a witness to all of this.
But the camera also picks up someone else at the scene. A strange male figure wearing gloves, hopping fences, and
running through backyards. In many cases, this man can even be seen covering cameras with a gloved hand.
Undeniably, this masked individual was the one responsible for this murder. But finding out who this could be was
difficult. As they began looking into her life, there were very few people who wanted to hurt her. She was on good
terms with her family and friends and had almost no enemies. So, police began to believe that this may have been a
case of one of Amy's past relationships coming back to haunt her. But yet again,
almost all of her boyfriends came up clean. All but one of them, Gareth Purouse, a man who was reported by Amy's
friends to be an obsessive ex-lover and someone who had previously stalked her. But before officers look into Gareth,
they decide to consolidate all of the evidence they have first. Because of the presence of the syringe filled with pure
nicotine, detectives believe that whoever broke into Amy's apartment intended to kill her by injecting her
with the syringe, but that their plans somehow went arry. Amy began resisting, and a physical altercation occurred that
would be proven by a black rosary that Amy had been wearing around her neck. Beads of this rosary were found trailing
all the way from her bedroom to the balcony. Not only that, a black leather jacket that was turned inside out was
also discovered at the scene. It is likely that the attacker snuck up behind her, grabbed her by her jacket, and a
struggle ensued. The attacker then likely choked Amy, dragged her out to the balcony, and threw her over the top.
With all of this in mind, officers began looking for somebody who would want to hurt Amy in this manner. Undeniably, the
masked individual was responsible for the murder. However, identifying them could be challenging because despite
being a well-known public figure, Amy had no known enemies. Police start their investigation by questioning friends and
family of Amy, looking for any clues on who could have committed this heinous crime, and it wouldn't take long for
them to get a strong lead. Amy's friends revealed to police that about a month before her murder, they began receiving
concerning messages from Amy. She expressed fear for her life, mentioning that she had recently encountered a
stalker. A stalker which it would turn out she had an abusive relationship with a decade prior. 41-year-old photographer
Gareth Purse House. Amy and Gareth had met 10 years earlier in 2011 when Gareth had worked as a photographer on a
therapy event Amy attended. They dated briefly, but Amy's friends took note of the relationship being far from normal.
In May of 2011, Amy tried to file a restraining order for the abuse she suffered in the relationship. Gareth
often suffocated her, slamming her against the walls, dropped her on the ground, and punched her. Yet somehow,
this order was denied as authorities believed there was a lack of evidence. Of course, this meant a quick end to the
relationship, at least for Amy. This was unacceptable for Gareth as he started obsessing heavily over Amy and his
emotional state worsened. But Amy was the one who'd have to face the brunt of Gareth's mental decline. In the months
after the breakup, weird occurrences began happening at Amy's residence. She would walk into her home to find picture
frames were smashed. Sometimes there would be roses taped to her front door. And on other occasions, Gareth would
refuse to leave her doorstep for hours. A year later in 2012, Amy tried to file another restraining order against Gareth
because he had once again assaulted her and dragged her out of a car. Fortunately, this time the order would
be approved by a judge, barring Gareth from seeing Amy for 5 years. However, according to her closest friends,
Gareth's behavior became even more creepy and intense in the years after the restraining order was issued. If
Gareth couldn't see her physically, he'd tarnish her reputation on every one of Amy's social media pages. [music] Every
single time she posted, she would get derogatory comments, and all of her publications in her field as a therapist
would get bombarded with comments criticizing and degrading her work. But things would take a turn for the worst
one month before Amy's murder. On January 17th, 2020, Amy was attending the XBiz Awards, where she was a
panelist of an organization called Pineapple Support, which was meant to focus on therapy related to workers in
the sex industry. However, as Amy was having drinks before her segment began, she would hear a familiar voice,
Gareth's voice, who was working as a photographer at the event. At this point in time, Amy had not seen Gareth in
nearly a decade. Yet, he would approach Amy angry and upset, saying that she ruined his life. One of Amy's friends
would outline what the two talked about as Amy called him for help. The first phone call when she called, I couldn't
hear. It was a lot of loud commotion. It was chaotic. [music] So, I couldn't understand and I hung up. And then 30
seconds later, I received another phone call from from her as well. And all I could hear amongst the chaos or the
sounds that were sort of the the loud sounds was get the f over here. Initially seen them walk away. I first
checked in with my friend who called me and she told me this guy is freaking out
on your friend. So I then walked over to where the two of them had walked to. And as I was
walking towards them, the only words I heard was, "Ruin my life, you bitch." After this event, Amy was extremely
scared of Gareth and told friends and family that if anything happened to her, Gareth would be responsible. And he had
sent her voice messages after the event. I have so much I need to say. Please give me a chance to just say it,
please. and her concerns were proven to be true because when officers matched a picture of Gareth to the man seen on the
Ring doorbell footage on the night of the murder, it was an exact match. But for authorities to be sure that Gareth
is the same man they're looking for, they needed to search his home. Obtaining the warrant itself was not
hard because the sheer amount of evidence against Gareth gave officers reasonable suspicion to do so. However,
this suspicion would soon turn into shock as syringes filled with nicotine were discovered in Gareth's home,
exactly like the one found on Amy's balcony. Not only that, but Gareth himself had sustained injuries [music]
on his body and had bloody clothes scattered all over the home. But there was one piece of evidence that proved to
be a definitive breakthrough in this case. A DNA comparison between the fingernail scrapings of Amy's body and
Gareth would turn up an exact match. Detectives knew that this was exactly the man they were looking for. So by
about 5:00 p.m. the day after the murder, the cops locate and approach Gareth Pur House. In the face of
Gareth's history with Amy and him being caught on camera, officers decide to charge him with Amy's murder. While
sitting in jail awaiting a murder trial, Gareth doesn't show an ounce of remorse.
In fact, while on a jailhouse phone call with some of his buddies, he cracks jokes and makes light of the whole
situation. He even tells them that due to the public's interest in him, they could become millionaires by selling old
jokes he told while working as a stand-up comic. But this is far from the strangest thing he says. Turn those into
a book. Try to find try right now actually try to find a uh publisher that'll give you money ahead of time for
for that just based on my name because of the media. Like that could be a million bucks. I don't know. Uh but I I
do have a joke for you. Uh what's what's the most feminine candy bar? Huh? Hershey's. [snorts]
[laughter] At least you have your sense of humor. Yeah. You got your sense of humor.
You're making the best of it and everything. Yeah. Uh well, and also people are posting like crazy hate and there's like
why why bother? So So you you said you're not getting out. Correct. Ever. Is that what you're trying to say?
Yes. I've I've seen what's coming at me and it's not good. I'm not getting out. Super fun.
Gareth Pur House has made it very clear that he believes he is going down for Amy's murder and he has completely
accepted that. One could likely assume that if this man were not truly guilty of this horrific crime, he would not be
speaking this way. Despite this, Gareth was bonded out of jail before his trial began. But Gareth was certainly
panicking because right after he was released on bond, the first place he visited was Los Angeles International
Airport to escape the country. Normally, a person who has their bond posted is not allowed next to any airports or
borders to prevent them from leaving the country. And if they're found doing so,
they're arrested immediately and given no chance for a second bond. exactly what would happen to Gareth as he was
arrested once

This man just led police to a dead body— The victim, Amie Harwick, a celebrity therapist was found lying unconscious under her third-story balcony. Officers were immediately suspicious of Amie's roommate Michael Herman…

This video was made for educational purposes only. The video is presented to provide genuine footage of police incidents to promote transparency in government while providing educational, informative and newsworthy content allowing viewers to examine and assess public safety material. This is a fact-checked documentary using authoritative sources. The individuals shown in this video have not been convicted of any crime and are legally presumed innocent unless proven otherwise in a court of law. This material is intended solely for educational and informational purposes and represents personal analysis and commentary. Nothing presented should be interpreted as legal counsel, and the observations provided may not include all circumstances or reflect the final charges in each case. This video features real police-related footage shared to support public awareness and government transparency. The content is designed to inform and educate viewers on public safety matters and is presented as a documentary relying on verified and credible sources. All materials used were lawfully obtained through public records requests and are available to the public. The footage is utilized strictly for journalistic, documentary, and educational purposes under the Fair Use doctrine outlined in Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act.**

Brief Summary

Amy Harwick's murder leads police to suspect her abusive ex-boyfriend Gareth Pursehouse after a complex investigation reveals chilling evidence.

Key points

The Attack on Amy Harwick. Amy Harwick, a celebrity therapist, was found unconscious under her balcony after a brutal attack.
Michael Herman's Suspicion. Michael, Amy's roommate, becomes the prime suspect due to blood on his hands.
The Discovery of the Syringe. A syringe filled with nicotine is found at the crime scene, raising questions about the murder.
Gareth Pursehouse's Connection. Gareth, an obsessive ex-lover, emerges as a suspect after Amy's friends reveal her fears.
The DNA Match. DNA evidence links Gareth to the crime, solidifying his role in Amy's murder.
Gareth's Guilt. Gareth Pur House believes he is going down for Amy's murder, showing signs of panic.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I have so much I need to say.

Michael's desperate plea to be heard.

1:35WatchOct 3, 2024

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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