The ‘Killadelphia’ House of Horrors

Posted on | September 17, 2026 | No Comments

Perhaps the headline is somewhat misleading because basically anywhere in Philadelphia is horrible, but 417 Chew Avenue is particularly bad, even by Philadelphia standards. The disappearances of at least five women — at least two of whom were murdered, police believe — are connected to the house, which was home to the late pornographer Raymond Horsch. He died last year at age 82.

Raymond Horsch in a 1999 mug shot

The more you read about Raymond Horsch, the less surprised you are by the “House of Horrors” situation that police have stumbled onto at the home where he lived with his 44-year-old son Eugene. The rotten fruit did not fall far from the poisoned tree:

At least five women appear lifeless in images recovered from an Olney house linked to several missing people, officials said.
Philadelphia police and the FBI are still sifting through over 1 million photographs and videos seized from 417 Chew Ave., the home of the late pornographer Raymond “R.C.” Horsch and his son Eugene Horsch. But they have now isolated images in which five women appear to be unconscious. While no bodies have been discovered, investigators believe at least two of the victims are dead.
Those women were previously identified as Maribel Fressess and Gabrielle Amarando. Their names were released at news conference last month, during which police described “real dark” videos of the women where they initially appear alive and, later, presumably deceased. There are at least three other women in the trove of images depicted in similarly disturbing fashion, officials said Wednesday. They have identified two of the women, but declined to disclose their names. Another remains unidentified.
Police described one video with metadata from 2017 that depicts R.C. Horsch with a 27-year-old woman. They are both apparently nude and filmed with two cameras, one controlled by Horsch and the other mounted somewhere else in the room. In the footage, the woman uses narcotics and then receives money from Horsch, who handcuffs her to a bed. He then places a zip-tie around her neck and she “appears to be lifeless,” Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore said.
Vanore said the other woman they identified was 25 years old at the time she appeared in the images. He offered no other details on her background.
The investigation has identified 58 individuals in the pictures and videos, Vanore added, but most of them are still alive. Police have already spoken to 16 people and have interviews scheduled with another 25. Another 10 individuals overdosed, but not at the Chew Avenue house.
Investigators still have not uncovered corroborating evidence that “would prove what we think,” Vanore said, and thousands of files have yet to be examined. FBI Special Agent Wayne Jacobs estimated their review is 30% complete.
“The objective here is thoroughness, not simply speed,” he said.
The complicated case has been ongoing since June 19, when a U.S. Park Police ranger approached Eugene Horsch, who was parked with a female passenger in a black BMW on Market Street. The ranger discovered two illegal firearms and about $8,000 in illegal drugs in the car. Horsch produced credentials falsely identifying himself as a Drug Enforcement Administration official, investigators say, while the woman showed an ID belonging to a missing person.
This evidence led the DEA, FBI and Philadelphia police to Horsch’s home at 417 Chew Ave., where the team found evidence of a drug grow operation, unidentified chemicals, five urns containing ashes and numerous hard drives, flash drives, DVRs, computers and phones with the images currently under review. Eugene Horsch, currently in federal custody on weapons and narcotics charges, has not been linked to any of the pictures or videos at this time.
But his home is now connected with several missing women. Horsch’s companion had an ID belonging to Blair Tonzelli, who disappeared in 2023. His father’s ex-wife Amy McHale was last seen at the residence before she vanished in 2016. Fressess and Amarando had been missing since 2018 and 2012, respectively. The 27-year-old in the newest video was also reported missing, Vanore said.
Police believe three of the urns contain the remains of R.C. Horsch, his sister and a friend. They have not identified the ashes in the other two vessels.
Officials plan to return to the Olney home in late September to continue searching for evidence.

Eugene Horsch, in federal custody

Police suspect the bodies of some victims may have been dissolved:

Detectives obtained search warrants specifically seeking evidence of an illegal, homemade “wet cremation” setup. Investigators suspected that a basement lab equipped with chemicals and a 55-gallon drum connected to water lines was being used to covertly dissolve human remains to destroy evidence of foul play.
While police recovered digital evidence showing at least two missing women deceased inside the home, their physical bodies have not been found. Authorities excavated the property and sewer lines looking for chemical and forensic evidence of this process. As of late 2026, [Eugene] Horsch remains in federal custody on firearms and counterfeit credential charges, but has not yet been formally charged with homicide.

Ick. Everything about this case is just ick.

Comments

About

This is an area on your website where you can add text. This will serve as an informative location on your website, where you can talk about your site.

Subscribe to our feed

Search

Admin

• Log in
• Wordpress
• XHTML