Inset left: Eugene Horsch (Philadelphia Police Department). Inset right: Maribel Fresses (Department of Justice). Background: The suspect’s home in Philadelphia, Pa. (WPVI/YouTube).
A routine search of a suspiciously parked car in Pennsylvania has set the stage for a larger, unfolding investigation. Authorities now suspect that two missing women may have met a tragic fate, with newly discovered video evidence pointing to the likelihood that they are dead.
The case centers on 44-year-old Eugene Horsch, who was taken into custody by Philadelphia police this June. The charges against him are serious, ranging from gun-related offenses to drug charges, specifically manufacturing and delivering illegal substances, as well as possession of a prohibited firearm, as outlined in court documents.
This inquiry has shifted dramatically after investigators uncovered what could be damning evidence at Horsch’s residence, suggesting involvement in far graver offenses.
The pivotal moment came on a morning in June when a federal park ranger, while parking near the renowned Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, noticed something suspicious. It was around 8 a.m., and he observed a man, later identified as Horsch, bending into the back seat of his black BMW. The car seemed to be parked illegally, prompting the officer to investigate further, according to an affidavit accessed by Law&Crime.
As the ranger walked over, the driver — identified as Horsch — rolled down his window, and the officer could hear a woman’s voice in the back seat say something to the effect of, “you’re going to hurt me!”
Horsch apparently had “sores on his arms and face, which are common among illegal drug users,” and the woman had “sores on her body and was moving in a twitchy and agitated manner consistent with illegal stimulant drug use.” The defendant was also allegedly holding tweezers.
The officer asked him and the woman to give them their IDs.
“A records check confirmed the BMW was registered to [Horsch], however, the records check also established that the name the woman provided belonged to a missing person reported out of Philadelphia,” the court document states. The officer asked Horsch to get out of the vehicle.
When the officer opened the driver’s side door, Horsch reportedly “quickly reached under the driver’s seat of the BMW.” The park ranger’s partner detained the suspect, patted him down, and allegedly found a switchblade and a glass drug pipe.
Inside the vehicle were a loaded Taurus G2S gun and a loaded FIE Arminius Titan Tiger revolver, the latter of which had an “obliterated” serial number, authorities said. The woman was also detained, at which time Horsch allegedly said, “they’re not hers; she’s a good girl.”
Officers continued to search the vehicle, where they appeared to find crack cocaine, as well as “a cattle prod device,” a “collapsible baton,” and handcuffs. In the trunk was “a canvas bag with a DEA badge and a credential wallet with another DEA badge and ID cards showing [Horsch’s] photograph and identifying him as DEA Agent ‘Eugene Fredrick Steiner,'” authorities said.
Investigators noted that Horsch is not — nor has he ever been — employed by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Officers learned that Horsch is a convicted felon, having served time on drug charges and for aggravated assault.
He is charged in the U.S. Eastern District of Pennsylvania with possession of a firearm by a felon.
The search apparently proved to be a minor footnote in a major death investigation.
The Philadelphia Police Department went to Horsch’s residence on the 400 block of West Chew Avenue in the city. There, detectives “recovered a substantial volume of digital evidence, including hundreds of thousands of images and videos,” the department told Law&Crime. “During their review, investigators discovered recordings of two women who were shown alive and, in later footage, apparently deceased.”
Those women were identified as Maribel Fresses, who was last seen in February 2018 at the age of 27, and Gabrielle Amarando, who disappeared in September 2012 at the age of 22.
“The Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office reviewed the material and advised that, provided the recordings are authentic and unaltered, the women depicted appear to be deceased,” police added. “However, because their bodies or remains have not been recovered, neither woman can be conclusively declared deceased, and no cause or manner of death can be determined.”
Philadelphia Police Inspector Ray Evers said at a press conference that while he would not get into the details of what he saw in the photos and videos, “it’s dark, it’s real dark.”
Police added that they have been able to speak with other people seen in the videos, local ABC affiliate WPVI reported. Officers did not reveal what came of those conversations.
Authorities also stressed that given “the volume and complexity of the evidence,” sifting through it all “is expected to take considerable time.”
Authorities also reportedly found zip ties and a handwritten note mentioning serial killer Ted Bundy inside the home, as well as five urns in the home with apparent cremated remains inside, though it’s unclear whose remains those are.
It does not appear that Eugene Horsch has been charged with anything related to the death investigation. In his federal case, he is due in court on Sept. 8.
The post Woman giving investigator ID with name of missing person on it leads to discovery of dead bodies on video, note mentioning Ted Bundy, cops say first appeared on Law & Crime.