Five missing women feared dead after images and videos found in Philadelphia home

At least five women are feared dead in the US city of Philadelphia in connection with a home where guns, drugs, fake IDs and disturbing images were recovered by authorities.

Eugene Horsch, 44, and his father shared the home where Philadelphia police said they found a trove of digital video and images – some showing five women who appeared to be deceased.

Investigators said on Wednesday that they were still working to corroborate that video evidence and find more information.

No remains related to the investigation have been found at the property, police said. Horsch has not been charged with any crime connected to the women in question.

An illegally parked car leads to disturbing discoveries

The investigation began in June when a park ranger found an illegally parked BMW near Philadelphia’s Independence National Historical Park, according to the criminal complaint.

The ranger found Horsch and a woman inside, along with drugs, fake federal law enforcement badges and ammunition. Officers said the woman also had an ID card with the name Blair Tonzelli, a different Philadelphia woman who has been missing since 2023.

Horsch was arrested, and authorities searched his home. In the basement and hidden areas, police alleged they found dangerous chemicals, ballistics, a marijuana operation and a 55-gallon drum connected to the house water lines.

Police also found over one million digital materials, including photos and videos of “lots of people, women, posed in different positions within that house,” Philadelphia Police Department Deputy Commissioner of Investigations Frank Vanore said this week.

Five women appear to be deceased, police say

Among the vast amount of photos were some of Gabrielle Amarando, 27, and Maribel Fresses, 26, who were both reported missing, police said. In some of the photographs, police said, they seem to be alive in the house and then appear deceased in other images dating back to 2017.

Homicide detectives also found photos and videos of three more women who they said appeared to be deceased. They were able to identify two, but the third is unidentified, referred to as a “Jane Doe”.

One explicit video appears to show a woman being strangled, allegedly by Horsch’s father, Raymond “RC” Horsch, who had lived in the house, but died last year, police said. They said they had identified the woman, but were not sharing her name.

Police suggested the elder Horsch was responsible for making the videos, but they remain unsure how much of the footage shows real crimes.

“Let’s remember, he was making movies,” Vanore said. “Some of this is play acting, and some of it we believe could be real.”

As of Thursday, police said a total of seven missing women have been associated with evidence found in the house, located in the Olney neighbourhood of Philadelphia.

They include Amarando, Fresses, the two unnamed women police have identified, Jane Doe, Tonzelli, whose ID was found in the younger Horsch’s car, and Amy McHale, whose family spoke to police when they learned of the investigation.

They said McHale had been married to RC Horsch and later disappeared.

The recovered images contain 58 people overall, police said on Wednesday, and of those, 25 were co-operating with police. Another 16 were found by police, but are not co-operating.

“They don’t really want to talk about what occurred in that house,” Vanore said.

The FBI is also involved in the case, working with the Philadelphia Police Department to trawl through the digital evidence. Police have reviewed about 30% of the materials.

It’s unclear whether Eugene Horsch is connected to the digital evidence and missing women.

He has not been charged in relation to them, but he remains in federal custody where he faces felony weapons charges and other drug charges. He has not yet entered a plea.