The run-down Philadelphia home of late pornographer R.C. Horsch is at the center of a criminal investigation linked to five missing women.
Police in Philadelphia have recovered a video recording allegedly showing late pornographer Raymond Charles "R.C." Horsch strangling a woman to death inside his home, which has now been linked to multiple cases of missing women.
At the center of the probe is Horsch's dilapidated home in the 400 block of West Chew Avenue in the Olney neighborhood, which has been gradually yielding its unsettling secrets.
The latest development in connection with ongoing police and FBI investigations centered on the home was revealed last week by a cousin of Nicole Fusaro, a woman who vanished in 2018. The cousin told WCAU-TV that investigators believe the footage shows Horsch strangling Fusaro.
Earlier this summer, police shared that additional evidence indicated two other women died inside the house.
Horsch died from an illness last year at age 82 without ever facing charges in the disappearance of Fusaro or at least four other women missing since 2012, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Authorities were initially alerted to what might be lurking inside the run-down residence following the June 19 arrest of Horsch's son, Eugene Horsch, who now owns the home.
Property records show that the home was transferred to Eugene's ownership in 2007 for a disclosed price of $40,114. The prior owner, Raymond's aunt Helen Hoersch, died in the home in 2004 at the age of 83, according to her obituary.
Raymond signed the deed transferring ownership to his son using power of attorney for his deceased aunt, according to records reviewed by Realtor.com®.
Traffic stop sparks probe
The 44-year-old Eugene was driving a BMW near Independence Mall when a park ranger stopped him over a suspected disturbance involving a female passenger, Philadelphia Police Inspector Raymond Evers revealed during a press conference last month.
The woman traveling with Eugene produced a fake ID card bearing the name Blair Tonzelli, allegedly given to her by Eugene. According to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, Tonzelli has been missing since 2023.
A search of the BMW allegedly turned up two illegal handguns, $8,000 worth of illict drugs, and a forged DEA badge featuring Eugene’s photo.
Evers said that during the investigation, detectives learned that Tonzelli will "never be seen again," although the police official did not elaborate further.
Raymond "R.C." Horsch (left) was a Philadelphia pornographer who died in 2025 at age 82. The June arrest of Eugene Horsch (right), Raymond's son, led police to an investigation centering on the family's home. (S. E. Stokowski/Wikimedia / Philadelphia Police Department) Disturbing evidence uncovered
Police subsequently executed the first of 95 search warrants at the home where Eugene lived for decades with his father, Raymond, and reportedly uncovered a trove of evidence, including another illegal gun, a fake FBI badge, five urns filled with cremains, and a suspected marijuana grow operation.
Another search carried out a few days later produced a makeshift lab with 20 containers filled with an unknown oily substance. Down in the basement, officers discovered a 55-gallon drum piped to water lines, in what Deputy Police Commissioner Frank Vanore described as a "strange setup," WPVI-TV reported.
By late June, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel requested help from the FBI Evidence Recovery Team to process the contents of the home lab and a colossal cache of digital evidence collected at the scene.
The containers of oily substances were sent to a lab in Chicago in late July for testing, the results of which are still pending.
Meanwhile, a computer forensics lab has reviewed 600,000 images and 70,000 videos found on multiple hard drives, and over 10,000 pages of drawings and writings seized from the Olney home. Evers said that represents just around 5% to 7% of all the digital evidence that was gathered, which he described as "graphic and dark," according to CBS News.
The run-down house on West Chew Avenue was found to contain containers of an oily substance, a 55-gallon drum, and an enormous cache of digital evidence, including alleged videos of dead women. (Google Earth) Missing women
Among the initial files reviewed were photos and video recordings depicting two women, 27-year-old Maribel Fresses and 22-year-old Gabrielle Amarando, both appearing dead inside the Horsch home.
Amarando has been missing since 2012, while Fresses was last seen alive in 2018. Their bodies have not been recovered.
The house on West Chew Avenue is also the last known location of Raymond wife, Amy McHale, who has not been heard from since 2016.
According to a source familiar with the case speaking to NBC10, one of the writings recovered from the house referenced notorious serial killer Ted Bundy and mentioned the use of zip ties and a drum. The same note also reportedly contained a line about "disposing of trash that needs to go."
The elder Horsch spent 50 years producing violent pornographic books and films with titles like "Slaves" and "Transgressions."
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Raymond was known to solicit sex workers from city streets and pay them with cash and drugs to appear in his sadomasochistic films and photos.
Eugene has not been charged in connection with any of the disappearances or suspected deaths. He currently remains jailed on federal firearms and impersonation counts and is scheduled to return to court in January 2027.