PHILADELPHIA (WOLF) — A sprawling investigation into a Philadelphia home linked to seven missing or potentially deceased women has a connection to northeastern Pennsylvania.
Raymond “R.C.” Horsch, the late photographer and filmmaker whose work and former Philadelphia home are at the center of the investigation, was born in East Stroudsburg in Monroe County in 1943 and grew up on a farm there, according to reporting by The Philadelphia Inquirer. His family later moved to Chalfont in Bucks County, where Horsch graduated from Central Bucks High School in 1961.
Horsch died in 2025 at the age of 82.
Philadelphia police are now examining more than one million photographs and videos recovered during an investigation of the home on West Chew Avenue in the city’s Olney neighborhood, where Horsch lived with his son, Eugene Horsch.
Investigators said this week they have identified 58 people depicted in the material reviewed so far. Police believe five women shown in photographs or videos may be dead, while two other women associated with the property remain missing.
Police have identified three of the women depicted in the material as Gabrielle Amarando, Maribel Fresses and Nicole Fusaro. Two other women connected to the home, Amy McHale and Blair Tonzelli, remain missing. Investigators have not found human remains belonging to any suspected victims at the property.
Authorities said some of Horsch’s photography and films depicted staged violence, complicating efforts to determine what was simulated and what may document actual crimes.
Philadelphia Deputy Police Commissioner Frank Vanore said investigators recovered video that appears to show Horsch strangling one woman until she became unconscious. Police have emphasized that no body associated with that video has been recovered and that investigators are continuing to seek evidence establishing exactly what happened.
Searches of the property also uncovered hidden compartments, containers holding chemicals and a 55-gallon drum connected to water lines. Authorities continue to test evidence recovered from the home.
The investigation began after Horsch’s son, Eugene, was encountered by a National Park Service ranger near Independence Hall in June. A woman with Eugene allegedly presented identification belonging to Blair Tonzelli, who had been reported missing since 2023.
A subsequent search of Eugene’s vehicle allegedly uncovered guns, drugs and fraudulent law enforcement credentials, leading investigators to the Olney property. Eugene Horsch remains in federal custody on gun and drug charges. Police said they have not found evidence connecting him to the deaths or disappearances of the women.
The FBI is assisting Philadelphia police with the massive amount of digital evidence. As of this week, investigators said only about 30% of the recovered material had been reviewed.
Authorities plan to return to the West Chew Avenue property as the investigation continues.