Police recover thousands of brutal pornographic images from Olney home under investigation into missing women

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Investigators in Philadelphia said they have recovered more than 1 million pieces of digital evidence of physical and sexual abuse from a home in the city’s Olney section linked to the disappearances of at least five women.

On the 400 block of West Chew Avenue, Philadelphia police and the FBI found thousands of videos, as well as cameras, computers, hard drives and phones. Authorities also found five urns in the basement that they believe contain human ashes.

The investigation is connected to 44-year-old Eugene Horsch, who is facing federal charges for weapons possession and impersonating a federal officer after being arrested June 18 outside Independence Mall.

In July, police, with help from the FBI and the Philadelphia Water Department, began excavating a pipe at the home, uncovering chemicals, drugs, guns and nearly 120 pieces of ballistic evidence.

During a press conference Wednesday at police headquarters in Center City, officials confirmed video of multiple unconscious women was found in files dating back to 2017; however, they did not confirm if they had passed away.

Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore said some of the videos were made by Eugene’s late father, Raymond “R.C.” Horsch, a “self-described sociopath” who produced adult films and had a criminal history. His remains are believed to be in one of the five urns discovered.

One video showed the elder Horsch with an unidentified woman, both not wearing clothing. During the recording, the woman used narcotics and was given money by Horsch before being handcuffed to a bed. The video appears to show the woman becoming unconscious after a zip tie is placed around her neck.

“I’ve got to caution you and emphasize we did never recover a body here,” Vanore said. “Mr. Horsch is deceased at this time, and we still need to find evidence to corroborate what appears to have occurred in this video.”

Authorities have identified at least 58 people in the videos reviewed so far. Vanore said four “appear to be lifeless,” while 10 later died of overdoses at different locations in Philadelphia. Investigators have also interviewed 16 people seen in the videos, though Vanore said they were not very cooperative.

“There’s 25 people that we know are now alive that we’re scheduling interviews with,” Vanore said. “But again, they were seen in various states, and we’re just not sure what they were doing when they were in there.”

Wayne Jacobs, an FBI Philadelphia special agent, said the “scale of evidence is significant” and that only 30% of what’s been gathered so far has been reviewed.

“This is simply not a matter of moving through a queue,” Jacobs said. “There are multiple layers that make up the review process. We have a significant number of FBI personnel examining items one at a time for potential evidentiary or investigative value.”

Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel urged the public to have patience during the investigation, saying, “We’re going to dictate the pace.”

“We have to get this right,” Bethel said. “We’re going to walk through methodically. It may not move at the pace that folks want. Folks want to get to the finish line before we actually go through.”