Investigators find DNA, dig up backyard at Olney home tied to seven missing women

Police and FBI investigators found human DNA in several places inside a West Chew Avenue home in Philadelphia's Olney neighborhood after spraying luminol there Monday night, police sources told CBS Philadelphia. The DNA will undergo further testing.

NBC10 reported that law enforcement sources said the luminol revealed DNA locations, but it is not yet known whether any of it belongs to the seven missing women investigators have linked to the property. No human remains have been found, according to several outlets.

On Tuesday, Oct. 13, crews took down a wooden shed in the backyard and shoveled dirt into brown bags, NBC10 reported, citing footage from its drone. The station said a crime scene unit member was seen handing two small evidence bags to the FBI. Sources told NBC10 that investigators plan to move to the front yard Wednesday and hope to finish this phase by the end of the week.

FOX 29 reported that police have emptied the house of household items, appliances and sections of wall for testing or disposal. 6abc said investigators have been taking apart walls and floors and removed lab equipment and containers from the basement.

The home belonged to Raymond "R.C." Horsch, who died in 2025, and his son, Eugene Horsch. Police believe five of the seven women are dead. CBS Philadelphia identified women with ties to the home as Nicole Fusaro, Maribel Fresses, Gabrielle Amarando, Amy McHale and Blair Tonzelli. McHale, Raymond Horsch's former wife, has been missing since 2016. FOX 29 reported that investigators say digital files show the bodies of Fresses and Amarando, though neither has been found.

The investigation began in June after Eugene Horsch's arrest following a traffic stop at 6th and Market streets. CBS Philadelphia reported that a woman with him had Tonzelli's identification; Tonzelli was reported missing in 2023. According to court documents cited by CBS, police found crack cocaine and two handguns in his vehicle, along with fake Drug Enforcement Administration credentials. CBS and FOX 29 described his charges as drug and weapons offenses, while NBC10 reported he was arrested on charges of impersonating a federal agent. He remains in custody pending a federal trial and has not been charged in any missing person case, FOX 29 reported. His attorney declined to comment, according to CBS.

FOX 29 reported that authorities recovered about one million digital files from the home, including more than 600,000 images and 70,000 videos, and have reviewed roughly 30 percent of them.

CBS Philadelphia also reported that investigators earlier removed a 55-gallon drum and dozens of containers of oily material from the basement, and in July took two sewer pipes from the property for lab testing.

Thom Lamb, who grew up nearby, told 6abc the house frightened him as a child. "People in and out of the house, but it was always covered up," he said.

Compiled by True News from reporting by CBS Philadelphia, NBC10 Philadelphia, FOX 29 Philadelphia and 6abc Action News. Each outlet's original story is linked below.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/99