Nicholas Nagle is seeking answers about the disappearance of his biological mother, Blair Tonzelli, after her name emerged during a police investigation into the Horsch family in Philadelphia.
Tonzelli was reported missing in 2023. Nagle said he was five years old the last time he saw her and was later adopted by other relatives. He has spent the past three years trying to establish what happened to her.
His concerns intensified after a June traffic stop involving Eugene Horsch, the son of the late Raymond “R.C.” Horsch. Investigators found identification bearing Tonzelli’s details during the stop, and police later confirmed that she had previously worked as a caretaker for Raymond Horsch.
“I already knew that something probably crazy had happened, and I’ve told people this before, but this is way crazier than I expected,” Nagle said.
Police have been examining the Horsch family’s former home in Philadelphia as part of an investigation involving at least seven missing women. Officers have recovered photographs, videos and other material, although authorities have not charged Eugene Horsch with Tonzelli’s disappearance or with the death of any missing woman.
According to reporting by The Philadelphia Inquirer, investigators also found five urns containing cremated remains at the property. Three have reportedly been identified as belonging to Raymond Horsch, his sister and a friend, while efforts continue to identify the other two. Police have also examined chemicals and other material recovered from the basement.
Nagle said a close friend of Tonzelli’s had previously told him that he reported her missing and tried to draw attention to the case.
“He said he reported it, but no one followed up on it,” Nagle said.
He also questioned why Tonzelli was not entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System until after her identification was found.
“The only reason she was added is because her identification was the one they found,” he said. “Imagine if it was a completely other woman that he made the fake ID in the name of.”
“There could be 30 more women missing,” he added.
The investigation has also raised questions about Raymond Horsch’s alleged links to a Kensington crematorium. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that he allegedly gave drugs and money to an employee in return for access to the facility, where he photographed and filmed human remains. Horsch, who died in May 2025, was not charged in connection with the earlier body-parts scandal involving the crematorium.
Philadelphia police have said they have not recovered digital evidence establishing what happened to Tonzelli or Amy McHale, Raymond Horsch’s former wife, who was also reported missing after last being seen at the property.
“I just think we should be focused and asking ourselves who else was involved with this and why was he so easily able to get away with it,” Nagle said.
He said he wanted Tonzelli and the other missing women to be remembered as people with families and loved ones, rather than simply as names in a police investigation.
“She was a smart woman, she went to high school, Catholic school. She was going to go to college,” he said. “She had a family, she had loved ones and so did all these other women.”
Eugene Horsch remains in federal custody on separate gun and drug charges. The investigation into the missing women remains active.
