Philadelphia investigators are taking a closer look at the possibility that Raymond “R.C.” Horsch may have been responsible for multiple killings as authorities continue examining his former home in the city’s Olney neighborhood.
Law enforcement sources say at least seven missing women have been linked to the property at 417 West Chew Ave., with investigators now fearing that at least five of them may be dead. Horsch, who owned and lived at the home for years, died in 2025.
The investigation has grown substantially since authorities first searched the property earlier this year. Police and federal investigators have recovered more than a million photos and videos from inside the home, along with thousands of pages of writings and other material. Investigators say the digital evidence has helped identify dozens of people who appeared in the files.
Police have also reported seeing footage involving two identified women who appeared to be unconscious or dead. Investigators are examining whether the material could provide answers about women whose disappearances have remained unresolved.
Search of the Olney property continues
The investigation entered another phase in late September when Philadelphia police and FBI personnel returned to the West Chew Avenue property.
Authorities began documenting the three-story home in detail, including photographing the interior and examining floors, walls, plaster and other parts of the structure. Investigators are expected to remove sections of the home for additional forensic examination as they work through the evidence recovered during the earlier searches.
Heavy equipment is also being used around the property. Earlier excavation efforts uncovered pipes and other material connected to a complicated setup inside and around the house.
Investigators have previously examined whether chemicals and plumbing found at the property could have been used in an attempt to dispose of human remains. No human remains have been recovered from the property so far.
The latest search comes after police reviewed an enormous collection of digital evidence and continued examining the connection between the house and several missing women.
Investigators examine possible evidence of killings
One of the most significant developments in the investigation has been the discovery of video that authorities believe shows Horsch violently attacking a woman.
Investigators are examining the footage as potential evidence of a killing. Authorities have also been reviewing Horsch’s writings, photographs and videos for information that could help establish what happened to women who were connected to him.
Horsch had publicly described himself in disturbing terms and produced sexually explicit material. Some of his writings reportedly included claims about killing a woman and disposing of a body through chemicals.
Those writings are being considered alongside the physical and digital evidence recovered from the property. Investigators have not publicly established that every claim made by Horsch was factual.
The investigation also includes the disappearance of Amy McHale, who was last known to be at the Olney home in June 2016. McHale’s family has continued seeking answers about what happened to her.
A traffic stop brought the house under renewed scrutiny
The current investigation began after a June traffic stop involving Horsch’s son, Eugene Horsch, who also lived at the West Chew Avenue property.
A park ranger stopped Eugene Horsch and a woman near Independence Mall. Investigators said the woman was carrying identification belonging to Blair Tonzelli, who had previously been reported missing.
A search of Horsch’s vehicle resulted in the discovery of guns with allegedly altered or removed serial numbers, drugs and documents that authorities said falsely represented federal law-enforcement credentials.
The arrest prompted investigators to take a closer look at the Olney property and its possible connection to missing-person cases.
Eugene Horsch remains involved in a separate federal criminal case involving weapons and alleged fraudulent law-enforcement credentials. He has not been charged with killing or abducting any of the missing women connected to the investigation.
What investigators are looking for now
The focus of the investigation has increasingly shifted toward determining what happened inside the house and whether physical evidence can corroborate what investigators have found in the digital files.
Authorities have examined the home’s interior, plumbing and surrounding property while continuing to process evidence recovered during the searches. Some evidence has also been sent outside Philadelphia for additional forensic analysis.
For families of the missing women, the investigation could eventually provide answers about disappearances that have remained unresolved for years.
For now, investigators have not publicly announced that human remains have been found at the property, and the connection between Horsch and each missing woman remains under investigation.
The search of the West Chew Avenue home is expected to continue as police and federal investigators work through the physical and digital evidence gathered from the property.
