Bones Unearthed at Philadelphia 'House of Horrors' Linked to Seven Missing Women

Forensic teams have discovered bones in the backyard of a Philadelphia home linked to the disappearances of seven women, as FBI investigators continue to excavate the property once occupied by convicted methamphetamine producer and pornographer Raymond ‘R.C.’ Horsch.

A concealed safe was also found beneath the floorboards of the dilapidated West Chew Avenue residence.

Raymond Horsch, whose work often depicted violence against women, died last year at age 82. The investigation into the disappearances gained momentum after his son, Eugene Horsch, 44, was arrested in June.

On Thursday, October 15, forensic teams recovered the bones, prompting the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office to be called to the scene. Officials have not yet determined if the remains are human or animal.

The discoveries intensify scrutiny of the property, where investigators have been meticulously examining a vast collection of material. FBI Evidence Response Team agents have collected soil samples from various locations and depths, with searches expected to expand to the front of the property.

Forensic analysis will be crucial in determining any connection between the latest discoveries and the missing women.

This latest development is part of an ongoing, unsettling investigation that began in earnest following Eugene Horsch's arrest. Authorities have previously 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 sifting through an extensive digital archive reportedly containing hundreds of thousands of images, tens of thousands of videos, and thousands of pages of writings and drawings.

Among the most disturbing materials are alleged ‘snuff films,’ including one that appears to show a woman being strangled. Police have not confirmed if the woman in the footage is one of the missing individuals or if the killing depicted is 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. At that time, detectives had reviewed only about five to seven percent of the content, which Evers described as ‘graphic and dark.’

Images and videos reportedly show two missing women, Gabrielle Amarando and Maribel Fresses, alive inside the property and later seemingly dead. Amarando disappeared in September 2012 at age 22, and Fresses was last seen in February 2018 at age 27. 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.

Amy McHale, Horsch's former wife and a film collaborator, was last seen at the property in 2016 and remains missing. Blair Tonzelli, who vanished in 2022 and was reported missing in February 2023, is also part of the investigation. A disturbing photograph of Tonzelli, reportedly posted on Horsch’s erotic website after she went missing, showed her nude with a black eye and blood on her lip. Archived records indicated the image remained on the website for months after Tonzelli was reported missing.

Horsch, who died in May 2025 at age 82, was known in adult entertainment circles for his photography, films, and writings. An investigation by The Philadelphia Inquirer found his work ranged from conventional erotic content to disturbing imagery with violent themes.

Eugene Horsch was found with a woman who presented officers with a fraudulent identification card bearing Tonzelli’s name. The woman stated that Eugene created the ID and instructed her to use it if she encountered trouble. Police recovered illegal firearms, knives, drugs, and a fraudulent Drug Enforcement Administration badge belonging to Eugene. Subsequent searches of the family home uncovered additional fake identification documents with Tonzelli’s name and one of her bank cards.

Eugene Horsch remains in federal custody on a firearms charge. He has not been charged in connection with the women's disappearances or suspected deaths.