Raymond Horsch considered "suspected serial killer" amid house of horrors probe, law enforcement sources say

Investigators believe Raymond "R.C." Horsch, who owned and lived in the so-called house of horrors in the Olney section of Philadelphia, may have been a serial killer, multiple law enforcement sources confirmed to CBS News Philadelphia. 

At least seven missing women have been linked to his house at 417 West Chew Ave., and at least five women are feared dead.

Horsch died in 2025.

"It was very alarming to hear that this was going on, and going on for years and right under everyone's noses without knowing," said Devon Rodriguez-Cayro, who works in the area and said she sometimes waited for the bus near the house.

Investigation ramping up

The investigation at the house is set to ramp up next week, and road closures are planned in the neighborhood.

Investigators are also set to use heavy machinery to excavate the property the following week, Philadelphia police said.

Police and the FBI are expected to remove any areas or furniture in the house that could have blood, tissue, hair or other fibers.

Sources say police are looking at everything in the home, including the flooring, drywall and plaster. Investigators are expected to remove pieces of the home's interior, guided by what they have seen since reviewing more than 1 million videos and images recovered from inside.

Police said they have identified at least 58 people seen in those files and have interviewed some of them. Police also said they saw two identified women in the videos who appeared to be either dead or unconscious. 

That's in addition to three other women who police believe are dead based on their investigation into the house so far — Gabrielle Amarando, Maribel Fresses and Nicole Fusaro.

Philadelphia Police Inspector Raymond Evers has described the evidence found in the house as "graphic and dark."

No human remains have been found at the house, but detectives have looked for evidence of wet cremation, which is when a mix of chemicals is used to break down human remains, law enforcement sources with direct knowledge of the case told CBS News Philadelphia. Chemicals and pipes have been removed from the property during the investigation.

Moreover, video reviewed by police showed R.C. Horsch strangling a woman with a zip tie, which sources say would implicate him in murder.

Who is Raymond Horsch?

Horsch created dark pornographic films and self-published several books and referred to himself as an empathetic serial killer.

CBS News Philadelphia reviewed hundreds of pages of books Horsch wrote and published, which have since been yanked from Amazon. Much of the material is graphic, disturbing, sexually explicit and violent.

In one book, Horsch claims he murdered a woman and disposed of her body through a chemical process.

In a 2013 podcast interview, Horsch talked about his life of sex and adult films and shared some disturbing confessions.

"I, of course, was kind of a natural as a perverted serial killer, wasn't much of a stretch at all," he said in the recording. 

Traffic stop sparks investigation

The investigation into Horsch and the house began with a traffic stop this summer. 

Horsch's son, Eugene Horsch – who also lived in the Chew Avenue house, was stopped by a park ranger at 6th and Market streets in June.

Investigators said Eugene Horsch and an unidentified woman were pulled over near a fire hydrant. The park ranger said he heard the woman tell Horsch, "You're going to hurt me."

Horsch and his nameless passenger were suspected of doing drugs. A search of his BMW revealed crack cocaine and guns — a .40 caliber and .38 Special, according to court documents.

Horsch was also allegedly carrying fake Drug Enforcement Administration credentials in his car. The woman had Blair Tonzelli's identification on her, which sources and investigators have since said set off alarms because Tonzelli was reported missing in 2023.

An attorney for Eugene Horsch — who remains jailed on weapons and narcotics offenses — has declined comment on the case. In a brief interview Friday, the attorney said he's upset the Olney home will be, in his words, destroyed by the police activity.