5 women feared dead as police review recordings in Philadelphia serial killing investigation
Police believe five women seen in recordings recovered from a Philadelphia home may be dead and are investigating the disappearances of two others who had connections to the property. Investigators are reviewing more than 1 million digital evidence items, including photographs and thousands of videos, but no bodies have been found.
Police announced the latest findings on Wednesday in the investigation into 417 West Chew Avenue in Philadelphia’s Olney neighborhood. Eugene Horsch and his father, Raymond ‘R.C.’ Horsch, lived at the home before his father’s death in 2025.
Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore said detectives found a recording showing R.C. Horsch and a woman in a bedroom. Two cameras captured the encounter, one operated by R.C. Horsch and another fixed in the room.
The woman is seen using narcotics and receiving money before R.C. Horsch handcuffs her to the bed. He then uses a tool to tighten a zip tie around her neck. The woman then loses consciousness and appears to be dead, Vanore said.
WPVI, citing sources, reported that the woman is believed to be Nicole Fusaro, who was reported missing in 2018 at age 27. Vanore said the recording had metadata dating it to 2017.
Four other women were seen in images appearing unconscious or lifeless with injuries. Two were previously identified as Gabrielle Amarando and Maribel Fresses. Police have also identified a 25-year-old woman whose family asked that her name be withheld, while the fourth woman’s identity remains unknown.
In August, police said a medical examiner who reviewed images of Amarando and Fresses believed they were dead, provided the material was authentic and unaltered, according to WPVI. Vanore said neither their bodies nor their DNA have been recovered.
The other two missing women connected to the investigation are Blair Tonzelli and Amy McHale. Tonzelli was 35 when she disappeared in 2023. McHale, who had previously been married to R.C. Horsch, was 44 when she was last seen in 2016. Her family told WPVI she was last seen at the West Chew Avenue house.
Tonzelli’s identification card was recovered during the encounter that began the investigation on June 19 this year. A federal park ranger approached Eugene Horsch, 44, and a woman sitting in a BMW near Independence Mall. The woman allegedly presented an ID bearing Tonzelli’s name and said Horsch had given it to her.
Authorities recovered two firearms, narcotics and identification allegedly used to impersonate a federal law enforcement officer. A subsequent search of the home uncovered chemicals, a makeshift basement laboratory, five urns believed to contain human ashes and a large collection of electronic devices.
The discovery brought homicide detectives and the FBI into the case. Police have since executed nearly 100 search warrants involving the house and its contents.
Three of the urns are believed to contain the remains of R.C. Horsch, his sister and a friend. Authorities do not yet know whose remains may be in the other two.
Other evidence included firearms, ballistic material, a 55-gallon drum connected to water lines and an unsigned handwritten note referencing serial killer Ted Bundy and methods of disposing of trash, according to WPVI.
Eugene Horsch remains in federal custody. He was indicted in July on charges involving possession of firearms as a convicted felon, including a gun with an obliterated serial number, and fake DEA and FBI credentials.
Authorities recovered more than 1 million digital evidence items, including photographs and thousands of videos. FBI Special Agent in Charge Wayne Jacobs said approximately 30% of the review has been completed, with additional material still being processed.
Vanore said 58 people have been identified in the files examined so far. Ten later died of overdoses elsewhere in Philadelphia. Police have interviewed 16 others, are arranging interviews with 25 people known to be alive, and heard from three who refused to come in.
R.C. Horsch publicly claimed to be a serial killer in books and a podcast, according to CBS News Philadelphia. He made violent pornographic movies, some of which are among the recovered files, and authorities still need evidence to distinguish staged scenes from actual violence.
“Some of this is play acting, and some of it we believe could be real, but we’re not there yet,” Vanore said. “We need to find evidence to prove what we think.”
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
