Five Urns, Millions of Images Found in Philadelphia Missing Women Probe

By Andrew Powell (/journals/andrew-powell)

Philadelphia police have uncovered images of seven missing women while reviewing more than 1 million files seized from a home in the city that also contained five urns believed to hold human ashes. Two of the women, 27-year-old Gabrielle Armando and 26-year-old Maribel Fresses, appear unconscious and injured in images taken in 2017, Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore said during a Wednesday news conference, per Fox News. Both women remain missing, and investigators have not recovered their bodies or DNA evidence. The home on Chew Avenue belonged to the late Raymond “R.C.” Horsch and was occupied by his 44-year-old son, Eugene Horsch. The investigation began after Eugene Horsch was arrested June 19 following a federal park ranger’s investigation near Philadelphia’s Independence Mall. Authorities said officers found two firearms, narcotics, and identification falsely representing him as a federal law enforcement officer. A female passenger with Horsch also allegedly provided false identification using the name of Blair Tonzelli, a woman who has been missing since 2023. Her actual identity has not been released, and Tonzelli remains missing. A subsequent search of the Chew Avenue property turned up what police described as a homemade laboratory, five urns believed to contain human ashes and extensive digital evidence, including computers, hard drives, flash drives, cameras, phones and DVR equipment. Investigators have so far identified 58 people in the photographs and videos recovered from the residence. Vanore said four of those people appear lifeless in the material, with video showing what may have happened to one of them. One video allegedly shows R.C. Horsch handcuffing a woman to a bed before using a zip tie around her neck until she became unconscious. Police identified the woman as Nicole Fusaro, who had been reported missing in 2018, according to FOX 29 Philadelphia. Other missing women connected to the investigation include Amy McHale, R.C. Horsch’s former wife, who has been missing since 2016. Police have also linked two additional missing women to the home, though one has not been publicly identified. Authorities stressed that the investigation remains ongoing. Thousands of videos still need to be reviewed, while investigators work with the FBI to verify the digital evidence and determine what physical evidence can support their findings. Watch the video below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih9EnVuknog