Police and FBI investigators have returned to a Philadelphia property to excavate its backyard with heavy equipment, the latest escalation in an investigation into a potential serial killer that has already yielded apparent “snuff” films, ash-filled urns and evidence connected to seven missing women.
Photos from the scene show an excavator digging in the yard as investigators in hazmat suits, face masks, rubber gloves and protective booties move in and out of the house. Tents have been erected in both the front and back of the property, and tarps cover portions of the lawn. One crime scene investigator was seen wearing what appeared to be a chemical-spraying backpack, and a crime scene photographer was also on site Wednesday. Yellow police tape surrounds the property, with uniformed officers posted on watch.
Joseph Giacalone, a retired NYPD cold case sergeant who now teaches at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said the number of personnel involved is unusual for this stage of an investigation.
“The sheer number of crime scene technicians that are going in and out of this house — usually you try to keep it to a minimum because you don’t want people trampling on things and stuff like that,” Giacalone said. “I just think that there’s so many different nooks and crannies that they have to cover that they need this many people. So, I mean, we’re not talking three or four, we’re talking 10, 12, or 14 people going in and out of this place at one time.”
Investigators have visited the home repeatedly in recent weeks, including a trip earlier this month in which they carried out boxes of evidence, one marked “glass vials.” A Philadelphia Police Department spokesperson would not discuss the specifics of the continued searches on Thursday, citing the active and ongoing nature of the case.
“Investigators continue to examine evidence and pursue all available leads,” the spokesperson said. “At this time, we are unable to provide specific details regarding investigative activities at the property, any potential findings, or the status of efforts to authenticate the previously recovered images and videos.”
The property once belonged to Raymond “RC” Horsch, a producer of BDSM-themed pornography and books who died last year at age 82. Police began searching the home after arresting his 44-year-old son, Eugene Horsch, in June. Eugene Horsch was arrested in a car alongside a woman who was carrying an ID belonging to one of the seven missing women now connected to the case.
Earlier searches of the property turned up images and videos that police say depict four of the seven missing women, along with a drum of chemicals that had been hooked up to the house’s water system.
James Gagliano, a retired FBI supervisory agent and Fox News contributor, said repeated visits to a scene are common when evidence keeps pointing investigators in new directions.
“Investigations predicated on forensic evidence can sometimes result in repeated trips back to a crime scene,” Gagliano said. “You find something that initiates a search into a different area. We saw how early release of a crime scene in Tucson led to so many questions. They won’t make that mistake here.”
Only some of the seven women have been publicly identified. Philadelphia police earlier named Maribel Fresses, 26, who vanished in 2018, and Gabrielle Amarando, 27. The woman found with Eugene Horsch during his arrest was carrying an ID for Blair Tonzelli, 38, last seen in Philadelphia in February 2023, police told Fox News Digital in September.
Two more of the women have been identified through local reporting and are listed as missing persons in the National Missing and Unidentified Person System, or NamUs. One is Horsch’s ex-wife, Amy McHale, who was 44 when she was last seen on June 13, 2016, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. The other is Nicole “Nikki” Fusaro, who was 27 when she disappeared near the intersection of Kensington and Allegheny avenues in July 2019, according to CBS’s Philadelphia affiliate, which cited local police sources.
Investigators say they have also identified dozens of other people appearing in the recovered images, though no arrests have been made in connection with the missing women. Police have previously excavated underground pipes at the property, but no bodies have been found.
Eugene Horsch’s arrest stemmed from an unrelated matter and is not connected to the disturbing material found at his late father’s former home. He has not been charged in connection with any of the women’s disappearances.
