How R.C. Horsch's writings factor into Olney house of horrors investigation in Philadelphia
CBS News Philadelphia reviewed hundreds of pages of Raymond "R.C." Horsch's books. Much of the material is graphic, disturbing, sexually explicit and violent.
In one chapter, Horsch, who died in 2025, claims to have murdered a woman and later disposed of her body through a chemical process.
Outside 417 West Chew Ave., flowers were left for two women. Maribel Fresses and Gabrielle Amarando had been missing for years.
A week ago, police said they discovered video evidence that both women were dead inside the Olney home owned by the late Horsch.
Horsch, a self-described artist, porn performer and ex-convict, among other things, wrote several books, including "Empathy."
An overview of the 2014 book claims it's an autobiographical memoir of a caring, empathetic serial killer.
In it, Horsch claims to have strangled a woman. She was one of several women the book says he was involved with romantically.
He wrote, "I drive to an industrial plumbing supply place off Packer Avenue and purchase a hundred-pound drum of sodium hydroxide."
Horsch describes placing the victim he calls Krista into a bathtub in the home's basement.
"I open the drum of lye…. I use about forty pounds to start," Horsch wrote. "Soon the liquid boils. The heat is good because it greatly speeds the decomposition process. In five or six hours there will be nothing left of her."
Police have spent hundreds of hours at the home, digging up sewer lines and investigating hidden compartments for any sign of human remains.
Investigators said last week 50 containers of an oily substance were taken to a federal lab in Chicago.
"I haven't come across a case like this before," Vito Roselli, a retired FBI special agent, said.
Roselli said investigators on the case are busy developing a psychological profile for Horsch and identifying patterns. His books reveal the repeated preying on of women in Kensington.
"You don't know until they go through everything and make sure all the victims fit the same pattern and if there was a one-off, why to come up with a good behavioral conclusion," Roselli said.
Philadelphia police declined to comment for this story but continue to urge anyone with information to come forward.
Eugene Horsch, R.C. Horsch's son, remains in federal custody on unrelated charges. His attorney did not return a call seeking comment.
