A two-month forensic search of a North Philadelphia home has uncovered graphic video evidence revealing the deaths of two missing women, police announced Wednesday, in a case that began with a routine traffic stop near Independence Mall — and which is now linked to two other missing women.
Philadelphia Police Inspector Raymond Evers said during a news conference that digital files recovered from the West Chew Avenue property showed Maribel Fresses and Gabriella Amarando alive and then dead.
Fresses was reported missing in February 2018 at age 27, and Amarando, who was born in 1990, disappeared in September 2012.
Authorities have not yet found their remains. The Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed that the images and videos showed both women deceased, though an official cause of death cannot be determined without physical remains, according to reports from NBC10 Philadelphia.
Investigators have issued more than 95 search warrants at the Olney neighborhood residence, seizing five urns containing cremated ashes, more than 20 containers of unknown chemical compounds and dozens of digital storage devices. The property was inhabited by 44-year-old Eugene Albert Horsch and previously also by his father, Raymond “R.C.” Horsch, an erotic artist who died in May 2025.
Here is a breakdown of what is known about the case, the evidence seized and the ongoing multi-agency law enforcement investigation.
What happened?
The investigation began on June 19, when a federal park ranger stopped a BMW on the 600 block of Market Street. Inside the vehicle were Eugene Horsch and a female passenger carrying counterfeit identification under the name Blair Tonzelli — a woman who disappeared in 2023, according to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.
Search records show rangers found two handguns and $8,000 worth of illegal drugs inside the vehicle.
Following the traffic stop, federal agents and Philadelphia police executed an initial search warrant at Horsch’s West Chew Avenue residence. There, officers discovered a fake Drug Enforcement Administration badge under the name “Eugene Frederick Steiner,” an additional firearm, a marijuana grow operation and five urns filled with cremated remains.
Later searches escalated in scope:
June 25: Homicide detectives, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents, and a bomb disposal unit raided the property, securing computer components and a suspected home laboratory containing various containers of an unknown oily substance.
June 27: Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel formally requested assistance from the FBI Evidence Recovery Team to handle the laboratory equipment and digital evidence.
July 9: A specialized K9 unit conducted searches of the residence and surrounding grounds.
July 22-23: Investigators excavated a section of the property, removing a sewer pipe, lateral and trap to inspect the plumbing lines using specialized camera equipment.
July 27: The seized containers of chemicals were delivered to a specialized laboratory in Chicago for forensic analysis.
What did police find on the hard drives?
Beginning in early August, a computer forensics laboratory began examining more than 50 hard drives and electronic devices seized from the residence. Forensic analysts are currently reviewing an estimated 600,000 images, 70,000 videos and more than 10,000 pages of written and visual materials.
Evers stated that the completed analysis represented roughly 5 percent to 7 percent of the total digital media recovered. Within those files, detectives discovered footage showing Fresses and Amarando inside the residence.
“I’m not gonna get into exactly what I saw, it’s dark. It's real dark,” Evers said during Wednesday’s press conference. “But what we saw is these two girls alive. There was a period of time and what appears to us that they’re deceased. There's pieces of the video that we don't have yet.”
Evers added: “The amount of information and digital evidence we got was astonishing.”
Search warrants also yielded a written document referencing serial killer Ted Bundy, zip ties, a 55-gallon drum and phrases regarding killings and “trash that needs to go,” according to NBC10 Philadelphia.
Former FBI agent JJ Klaver, who worked in the bureau’s Philadelphia division, noted that proceeding without physical remains created significant investigative hurdles, “because there’s no easy source of DNA to match to any potential forensic evidence they find in the house,” as reported by 6abc Philadelphia.
Klaver added that “a witness coming forward could be the thing that breaks open the case.”
“They're going through that house with a fine-tooth comb, if you will,” Klaver said. “I mean, they're going to be looking for the tiniest fragment of forensic evidence that can tie him to victims and missing persons.”
Who are the suspects?
Eugene Horsch remains in federal custody. On July 9, a federal grand jury indicted Horsch on charges of possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of an unlawfully produced document and authentication feature, relating to the false DEA credentials and a fraudulent FBI badge seized during the searches.
During an August 6 preliminary hearing, state prosecutors withdrew five state-level charges against Horsch. He remains held on the federal indictment, with a jury trial scheduled for Sept. 28.
Investigators are also examining the history of the property’s former owner, Raymond “R.C.” Horsch. The elder Horsch was a fugitive and artist whose ex-wife, Amy McHale, went missing in June 2016.
McHale's daughter, Amanda Stoffer, told NBC10 Philadelphia that while her mother struggled with addiction and was receiving methadone treatment, her last known location was the West Chew Avenue residence.
The female passenger detained during the June 19 traffic stop told investigators that Blair Tonzelli had worked as a home healthcare aide for the elder Horsch before her disappearance.
The passenger stated she believed Tonzelli and the younger Horsch had a financial dispute, adding that Eugene Horsch had previously claimed to know how to use chemicals to dissolve human remains so they “could be flushed down a toilet,” as reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Who are the missing women?
Four women have now been connected to the investigation or the West Chew Avenue address:
Maribel Fresses: Born in 1990 and reported missing in February 2018.
Gabriella Amarando: Born in 1990 and missing since September 2012.
Blair Tonzelli: Missing since 2023. Her identity credentials were being used by the passenger found with Horsch in June.
Amy McHale: Missing since June 2016. Her last known location was the Olney home she previously shared with Raymond Horsch.
Authorities noted that while some people identified in the recovered digital files have been located alive, others remain unaccounted for.
Where does the investigation go from here?
Police presence at the West Chew Avenue property will increase in the coming days as homicide detectives re-examine specific areas of the home.
“This investigation will take time,” Evers said. “There’s a lot of evidence to go through.”
The Philadelphia Police Department is requesting that anyone who has visited the West Chew Avenue home or had contact with Eugene Horsch or Raymond Horsch contact the tip line at 215-686-TIPS, or reach the Homicide Division directly at 215-686-3334.
The Independent has contacted the Philadelphia Police Department for comment.
