Bones Found in Philadelphia 'House of Horrors' Linked to Seven Missing Women

Bones have been unearthed in the backyard of a Philadelphia property linked to seven missing women, as FBI investigators also uncovered a hidden safe concealed beneath the floorboards. The discoveries were made at the dilapidated home formerly occupied by convicted methamphetamine producer and pornographer Raymond ‘R.C.’ Horsch, who died last year at age 82.

Forensic teams recovered the bones on Thursday, October 15, prompting the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office to be called to the scene. Officials have yet to determine if the remains are human or animal. The grim findings intensify scrutiny of the West Chew Avenue property, where investigators have already recovered a vast collection of material.

FBI Evidence Response Team agents have been collecting soil samples from various locations and depths. These samples will undergo forensic analysis to establish whether chemicals are present in the ground and if the discoveries are connected to the missing women.

The excavation is the latest development in an increasingly unsettling case that began when Eugene Horsch, Raymond's son, was arrested in June. Authorities have since recovered containers with unidentified substances, illegal weapons, fraudulent law-enforcement credentials, and five urns believed to contain cremated remains from the property. Investigators are also examining a large digital archive containing hundreds of thousands of images, tens of thousands of videos, and thousands of pages of writings.

Among the most disturbing material are alleged 'snuff films,' including one reportedly depicting a woman being strangled. Police have not conclusively established that the woman in the footage was one of the missing individuals or that the events depicted were real. During an August briefing, Philadelphia Police Inspector Raymond Evers stated that investigators had recovered approximately 600,000 images, 70,000 videos, and over 10,000 pages of written material, describing it as 'graphic and dark.'

Significant discoveries include images and videos that police say appear to show two missing women, Gabrielle Amarando and Maribel Fresses, alive inside the property and later apparently dead. Amarando disappeared in September 2012, and Fresses was last seen in February 2018. Police believe both women are deceased, but their remains have not been found, preventing the medical examiner from determining the cause or circumstances of their deaths.

Investigators are also probing the disappearance of Amy McHale, Horsch’s former wife and a film collaborator, who was last seen at the property in 2016. The investigation into Blair Tonzelli, who vanished in 2022 and was reported missing in February 2023, has also drawn renewed attention. A disturbing photograph of Tonzelli, allegedly taken around 2020, reportedly remained on Horsch’s erotic website months after she was reported missing. The image appeared to show the 35-year-old nude with a black eye and blood on her lip. The website has since been taken offline.

Horsch, who died in May 2025 at age 82, was known in erotic art and pornography circles for his extensive work. An investigation by The Philadelphia Inquirer found his work ranged from conventional erotic portraits to disturbing imagery with violent themes. Archived website material reportedly documented thousands of images over several decades, featuring at least three dozen women. Horsch also wrote about a serial killer who murdered people struggling with addiction, raising questions about the interpretation of the fictional material recovered from his home. Several women who lived at or passed through the property later died from overdoses, including Horsch’s longtime companion Krista Killen.

The investigation gained momentum after Eugene Albert Horsch, 44, was arrested on June 19. He was found with a woman who presented officers with a fraudulent identification card bearing Tonzelli’s name. The woman told investigators that Eugene had created the ID and instructed her to use it if she encountered trouble. Police found illegal handguns, knives, drugs, and a fraudulent Drug Enforcement Administration badge bearing Eugene’s photograph. Subsequent searches uncovered more material, including unidentified substances, five urns, and a section of pipe removed for testing.

Eugene Horsch remains in federal custody on a firearms charge and has not been charged in connection with the women's disappearances. Investigators have not publicly clarified whether he participated in his father's pornography business.