Philadelphia police are trying to determine what happened to several missing women after discovering more than 1 million images at the home of a deceased pornography photographer. Some of the files reportedly show women who appear to be unconscious or dead.
The case focuses on Raymond “R.C.” Horsch, a photographer who allegedly spent years evading authorities while facing drug-related charges.
Investigators believe five women shown in the files may have died, though officials stress that the evidence is still being examined and that the investigation remains complex and ongoing.
Investigation Begins After Eugene Horsch is Arrested on Firearms and Drug Charges
The inquiry began June 19, when a federal park ranger found two people sitting in a BMW outside Independence Mall. One was later identified as Raymond’s son, Eugene Horsch, according to a press conference streamed by WPVI. A woman who was with Eugene allegedly presented identification belonging to Blair Tonzelli, who had been missing for several years, Fox 29 reported.
Philadelphia Police Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore said the encounter led to the recovery of two guns, narcotics and identification that allegedly falsely represented Eugene as a federal law enforcement officer. Eugene was subsequently charged.
Police then obtained a warrant to search Eugene’s residence. Inside, detectives found chemicals, what Vanore described as a possible homemade basement laboratory, five urns containing what appeared to be human ashes and a substantial collection of electronic evidence.
According to Vanore, investigators recovered more than 1 million digital images stored across numerous hard drives, flash drives and other devices located throughout the house.
Investigators Uncover Over 1 Million Images, Including Dead or Unconscious Women
The collection reportedly included photographs and thousands of videos allegedly created by Raymond before his death. Many showed nude women, with some appearing to be unconscious or deceased.
Two women in the files were identified as missing persons Maribel Fresses and Gabrielle Amarando. Metadata indicated that the images were created in 2017 and showed both women unconscious, with what Vanore described as apparent injuries.
Police have also identified three additional women in the photographs or videos who appear to be dead, according to a statement provided to Oxygen.
“The Medical Examiner’s Office has reviewed the images involving the three additional women and advised that, if the images are authentic and have not been altered, the women depicted appear to be deceased,” police said. “The Medical Examiner’s Office previously reached the same assessment after reviewing images involving Fresses and Amarando.”
Vanore described two videos showing the same event from separate angles. In the footage, Raymond allegedly handcuffs a naked woman to a bed before using channel-lock pliers to tighten a zip tie around her neck. He then appears to choke her until she loses consciousness and seems lifeless.
Vanore emphasized that investigators have not recovered a body connected to the footage. “Mr. Horsch is deceased at this time, and we still need to find evidence to corroborate what appears to have occurred in this video,” he said during the press conference.
Although Vanore did not identify the woman, Fox 29 reported that she was Nicole Fusaro, 27, who disappeared from Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood in 2018.
A Philadelphia Police spokesperson told Oxygen that the department would not publicly name the woman shown in the footage, citing the family’s wishes.
“Nicole was a beautiful, kindhearted woman who deserved so much better than what happened to her,” her cousin Jonathan Halloran-Koren told the outlet. “She will forever be loved and missed by her family and friends, and we are determined to honor her memory by helping ensure that fewer families ever have to endure the pain and uncertainty that ours has.”
Raymond’s former wife, Amy McHale, also vanished in 2016. Her relatives told WPVI that she was last seen at Raymond’s residence on Chew Avenue.
Police Speak to Woman Who Posed in Some of Raymond Horsch’s Images
Vanore said 10 women appearing in the files later died from overdoses in incidents believed to be unrelated. Investigators have also located and spoken with 16 women shown in the material who are still alive.
Those women have generally been reluctant to discuss what may have taken place inside the house, Vanore said, describing them as “not very cooperative.”
Police are continuing their efforts to locate and interview 25 additional people identified during the investigation.
Vanore said the investigation—which will now include the FBI—remains ongoing.
“There [are] thousands and thousands of videos that need to be gone through,” he said. “So, at this point that’s where we’re at. We need to corroborate what we see. We need to find evidence to prove what we think and the FBI is here to help us.”
Who Was Raymond “RC” Horsch?
Before his death in 2024, Raymond led an eclectic life and made mob-backed pornographic films, counterfeited cash and ran a meth lab, according to a report from The Philadelphia Inquirer.
After he was charged in a 1985 federal drug manufacturing case, Horsch went on the run and spent several years living in New Zealand. There, he was known as Stanley Stokowski and worked at an ethanol plant.
Oxygen reached out to the U.S. Marshals Service to find out more about Horsch’s time on the run, but did not receive an immediate response.
A psychological profile conducted before his sentencing in the federal drug case described him as being “consumed by anger” and manipulative.
As psychologist Don Seraydarian wrote in the report, obtained by the outlet, “He is grandiose, mistrustful, suspicious and excessively controlling.”
Seraydarian added that Horsch—who had an IQ of 140—often tried to avoid questions, spoke in the third person about his criminal acts to seemingly distance himself from the crimes and spoke of a fear of “losing control,” according to the outlet.
He later continued his pornographic film career, often focusing on sexual violence against women, though he claimed the images were staged.
In 2013, Raymond said in an interview, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer, that he was running out of ways he could push the boundaries in his work, saying that the problem was he had “no fantasies left.”