Philadelphia police are investigating an Olney home linked to at least five women who are presumed dead, after finding more than one million digital images, hidden chemical storage and five urns believed to contain human remains.
The investigation centres on a father-and-son pair who lived at the property. Eugene Horsch, 44, was arrested in June and faces firearms, drugs and forged-document charges. His father, R.C. Horsch, lived at the house before his death last year.
Evidence recovered from the Olney home
Police searched the house later in June after Eugene Horsch was detained near Philadelphia’s Independence National Historical Park.
Investigators found concealed spaces containing dangerous chemicals, a 55-gallon drum connected to hoses and other piping, a small marijuana-growing operation and what authorities described as 120 pieces of ballistic evidence.
They also recovered more than one million digital images, including photographs of women posed in different positions inside the property, according to Philadelphia Police Department deputy commissioner of investigations Frank Vanore.
Police have said several of the images appear to show women who had been reported missing and were last seen with Eugene Horsch. Some videos also appear to feature R.C. Horsch, while investigators said none reviewed so far included Eugene Horsch.
Authorities have identified 58 people in the material. Sixteen have been found alive but are not co-operating with police, while a further 25 have been located and have interviews scheduled.
Five women appear in photographs or videos in which they seem to be injured, police said. Investigators believe they know the identities of four of them.
Five urns were also found at the house. Police believe one contains R.C. Horsch’s remains, another contains the ashes of his sister and a third holds the remains of a friend.
However, no human remains have been confirmed at the property, including any that could belong to victims of crimes.
Five missing women linked to the investigation
The women police have linked to the Olney home are Gabrielle Amarando, Maribel Fresses, Nicole Fusaro, Amy McHale and Blair Tonzelli.
Amarando, 27, has been missing since 2012 and appears in images dated 2017 that were recovered from the house. Fresses, 26, also appears in images from that year.
McHale has been missing since 2016. Her family said she left her daughter a voicemail on the night she disappeared, saying she was at the Olney property with R.C. Horsch.
Her daughter, Amanda Stofer, said McHale and R.C. Horsch had met in the 1990s, married and later divorced, but remained friends. The family said McHale went to his house after an argument with her mother.
Tonzelli had been missing since 2023 when a park ranger encountered a woman in Eugene Horsch’s car in June. The woman was carrying Tonzelli’s identification documents, according to a criminal complaint.
The ranger’s search of Horsch and the vehicle allegedly found a switchblade, two guns, drug paraphernalia and forged documents identifying him as a Drug Enforcement Administration agent.
Police are examining a 2017 video in which R.C. Horsch and a naked woman appear together. At one point, he is seen handcuffing her to a bed and placing a zip tie around her neck, after which she appears to become unconscious.
“Appeared to be lifeless at that time, but it’s just appearing that way. I have to caution you, and emphasize, we never recovered a body here,” Mr Vanore said.
He said investigators still needed evidence to corroborate what appeared to have happened in the video, adding that some footage involved “play-acting” while other events “could be real”.
