Five women feared dead in connection to home where disturbing images were recovered

(CNN) — What began as a search into an illegally parked BMW that led police to discover bizarre fake IDs, drugs and weapons has spiraled into a sprawling investigation into the whereabouts of five potentially missing, and feared dead, women.

Philadelphia officers first found 44-year-old Eugene Horsch in June parked illegally in a space reserved for law enforcement, with a woman in the vehicle’s back seat.

Inside his car, according to a criminal complaint, investigators found guns, drugs, weapons and a fake Drug Enforcement Administration ID bearing Horsch’s photo, though authorities say he never worked for the federal agency.

The woman with him had her own puzzling ID, police said: It showed her photo, but carried the name of a missing woman.

Searches of Horsch’s home in the city’s Olney neighborhood turned up more drugs, more weapons and a staggering trove of digital evidence, including videos – some of which police say are likely linked to Horsch’s late father, reportedly an erotic filmmaker whose work depicted violent themes.

Among what was uncovered were photos and videos of at least five women who appear unconscious or possibly dead — evidence police said in a news conference Wednesday they are still working to corroborate as the search for answers continues.

Critically, police say they have yet to find physical evidence, DNA or any bodies.

Horsch was arrested following the June traffic stop on charges related to the weapons found, and CNN has reached out to his legal representation for comment. He remains in custody.

A disturbing cache of videos

During their June search, police found over a million digital images and thousands of videos during searches of the home, strewn across computers, hard drives, flash drives, cameras and phones.

Others are videos of what appear to be unconscious, and possibly lifeless, women.

Police indicate Eugene Horsch may not have made the videos, but rather, his father: Raymond “RC” Horsch. He’s seen in some of the disturbing images, police said.

Horsch’s father was a “known drug manufacturer and erotic filmmaker who had published several works of fiction with violent masochistic themes,” the Philadelphia Inquirer previously reported. Law enforcement sources said police were considering the possibility that the writings were part of a novel or screenplay, according to the newspaper.

The elder Horsch, who was previously a resident of the home, died last year, further complicating the investigation.

New video analyzed by Philadelphia Police homicide detectives appear to show a woman being strangled by a zip tie in the home until she “appeared to be lifeless” and two more images of unconscious women with injuries, Deputy Police Commissioner Frank Vanore said Wednesday. That’s in addition to recordings recovered from the house showing two other women “apparently deceased,” police said in August.

“Let’s remember, he was making movies,” Vanore said. “Some of his movies are there on this digital evidence. So, that’s the part, where you know, some of this is play acting, and some of it we believe could be real.”

“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,” he said.

The elder Horsch was previously married to a woman who went missing in 2016, according to CNN affiliate WPVI.

The missing women

Inside the basement of the Olney home, police found what they described as a “homemade laboratory of some kind.”

Various chemicals in bottles, drums and other plastic containers littered the space, as well as a 55-gallon drum connected to water lines. Five urns believed to contain human remains were also found. Three of the urns are believed to be RC, his sister and a friend, while the other two are unidentified.

Of the five women feared dead, two have previously been named by the Philadelphia Police Department: 26-year-old Maribel Fresses and 27-year-old Gabrielle Amarando. Police have identified two other women but are not naming them at the request of the families, and one other woman hasn’t been identified, Vanore said. Two other missing women are also tied to the investigation: Blair Tonzelli, the woman whose ID was found when Eugene Horsch was arrested, and Amy McHale, whose family says she was married to the elder Horsch.

The FBI is working with the Philadelphia Police to process all of the digital evidence, with Special Agent in Charge Wayne Jacobs saying about 30% of the review has been completed.

“The volume of material, the forensic work that’s still underway, the care required in reviewing this, all of the material,” he said, “means that this process cannot be rushed.”

In total, 58 different people have been identified in the images police have seen, Vanore said. Ten later overdosed and were found at a different residence in Philadelphia, according to investigators. Authorities have interviewed 16 people, which Vanore said were “not very cooperative,” and police are scheduling interviews with 25 others.

“They don’t really want to talk about what occurred in that house,” he said of those that authorities had reached.

Three people seen in the images told police: “You’re going to see images of us, but we’re not coming in to talk to you, and we’re not coming back,” according to Vanore.

After the June search of his vehicle, Eugene Horsch was arrested and charged with a federal count of felony possession of a firearm and municipal drug and weapons charges. Court records show he has not entered a plea.

Vanore said the weapons charges were transferred to the US Attorney’s office and Horsch is in federal custody.

“At this point, the federal authorities are dealing with Mr. Horsch,” he said.

Eugene Horsch’s defense attorney, Jerry Brown, previously told CNN he plans to enter pleas of not guilty. CNN has reached out to Brown for comment on the new developments unveiled Wednesday.