Police fear five women linked to a Philadelphia property dubbed a ‘house of horrors’ are dead after discovering disturbing footage among more than one million images and videos.
Two other women connected to the house in the city’s Olney neighborhood remain missing. No human remains have yet been recovered and nobody has been charged with killing any of the women.
Police said at a recent press conference that investigators had identified 58 women depicted across the collection.
Around 30% of the files have been reviewed, according to NBC10 Philadelphia, leaving hundreds of thousands still to be examined.
The evidence includes footage appearing to show notorious former resident Raymond ‘R.C.’ Horsch strangling a woman. Police said she took drugs and was given money before being handcuffed to a bed beforethe act occurred.
Detectives don’t know whether she died as a result of what was recorded.
Horsch worked as an erotic photographer and filmmaker before his death in 2025 at the age of 82. A self-described ‘sociopath’, he had a criminal record stretching back decades, including convictions for counterfeiting, manufacturing methamphetamine and growing cannabis.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, he once fled to New Zealand using a stolen identity. Horsch later served 54 months in prison after more than 450 cannabis plants were discovered at his home.
Nicole Fusaro, who was 27 when she disappeared in 2018, has been identified as another woman connected to the inquiry. Her cousin Jonathan Halloran-Koren told WPVI that members of the family had been meeting Philadelphia police detectives.
He said: ‘Nicole was a beautiful, kindhearted woman who deserved so much better than what happened to her. She will forever be loved and missed by her family and friends.’
Police haven’t publicly confirmed whether Fusaro is the woman shown in the strangling footage. Her cousin said relatives were told that investigators believe the recording depicts Horsch strangling her.
The investigation began after Horsch’s son, Eugene, was encountered by a park ranger near Philadelphia’s Independence Hall on June 19. A woman was with him inside a BMW.
Authorities said firearms and false law-enforcement credentials were recovered during the encounter.
The woman was also carrying identification bearing the name of Blair Tonzelli, who was reported missing in 2023.
That discovery led investigators to the West Chew Avenue property where Eugene, 44, had lived with his father. Local police and federal agents subsequently recovered dozens of hard drives containing the enormous archive.
Eugene remains in federal custody facing charges unrelated to the disappearances. Investigators haven’t publicly linked him to the deaths of any of the women.
Police have also examined pipes and sewers beneath the property. Testing is being carried out on chemicals discovered in containers in its basement.
Authorities haven’t disclosed what those substances are or established that they were used to destroy evidence. Investigators are reportedly examining whether the chemicals could have been used for that purpose.
Among the material recovered were writings that reportedly referred to serial killer Ted Bundy. Other documents are said to have discussed disposing of waste, although their authorship and significance remain unclear.
Two of the other women police fear are dead are Gabrielle Amarando, who disappeared aged 22 in 2012, and Maribel Fresses, who was 27 when she vanished in 2018. Investigators said recovered material appeared to show both women dead, although their bodies haven’t been found.
The two other women police fear are dead haven’t been publicly named.
Blair Tonzelli and Horsch’s former wife Amy McHale are the two further women who remain missing. Both had known connections to the property, but police haven’t established publicly what happened to them.
The FBI has increased its involvement as investigators continue identifying the women depicted in the files and interviewing those traced alive.
Federal agents are expected to carry out further searches of the property as the inquiry continues.