Investigators likely looking for DNA in pipes at house on Chew Avenue in Philadelphia, expert says

Zaeni Rogers lives around the corner from the home of Eugene Horsch on Chew Avenue in Philadelphia's Olney neighborhood. She said every once in a while, she'd see him in his yard.

"He'd come outside to water his plants. I thought he was a normal guy," she said

While she never had an interaction with him beyond a casual wave, she said the deep police investigation into his activity and home has been a shock.

"He was living a movie scene. Like this is the type of stuff you see in movies," Rogers said.

Horsch was arrested last month near Independence Hall, where police say they found him with guns with "obliterated" serial numbers and fake law enforcement badges. The woman who was with him at the time of his arrest was also reportedly carrying an ID that belonged to another woman who was reported missing in 2023.

A search of Horsch's home turned up drugs, according to investigators, as well as a stockpile of chemicals and a 55-gallon drum that appeared to be connected to pipes in the home. The home is also the last known location of Amy McHale, who disappeared in 2016.

Rogers is one of many around the neighborhood who have stopped by the 400 block of Chew Avenue to see investigators at work. Since Wednesday, crews have been removing pipes from beneath the street and front yard.

They appeared to use a camera to look into the pipes Thursday.

"It's not unheard of to remove pipes," said Bill Dineen, a criminal justice professor at Stockton University and the former head of the New Jersey State Police Crime Scene Investigation Unit. "But it's not typical. So there's something steering them this way."

Dineen credited the department for taking the rare step, saying it could provide valuable information. 

"DNA, trace evidence, presence of biological evidence, blood, so forth," Dineen said. "Possibly, whatever was in that drum might be within those pipes."

Investigators say the pipes will now be sent off for forensic testing. Dineen said water running through those pipes could have carried away evidence or even diluted it, but in a complex investigation, that doesn't mean it isn't worth a shot.

"Today's forensic techniques at the laboratory are very sensitive. So [what] our eyes don't see does not necessarily mean that the forensic techniques at the lab won't pick it up," he said.

For weeks, neighbors have watched on as this investigation has proceeded. Rogers said she's heard several stories in the area. Many neighbors want to know what was actually happening in that house.

Dineen, however, says this process is likely to take some time.

"It could take a month, two months, until we have an answer," Dineen said. "So from the public perspective, this is not going to be an overnight 'this is what we found.' This is going to take a time period."