5 women 'appear to be deceased' in images recovered from Philadelphia home: Police
Images and videos recovered from a home in Philadelphia show five women who "appear to be deceased," though no bodies have been recovered and the massive investigation into the missing women is ongoing, police on Thursday.
The case began in June when Eugene Horsch, 44, was arrested. At the time, guns and narcotics were recovered, and Horsch allegedly had an ID impersonating law enforcement, Philadelphia Police Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore said at a news conference.
In a search at Horsch's home, authorities discovered chemicals and five urns believed to hold human ashes, Vanore said. One urn is believed to contain Horsch's father's remains, another is believed to be a relative, and another is believed to be a friend, officials said, adding that the remaining two are unidentified.
In the search, investigators also recovered over 1 million digital images and videos, including women "posed in different positions" in the house, Vanore said.
Among the images were two missing women: 27-year-old Gabrielle Amarando and 26-year-old Maribel Fresses, Vanore said. Photos dated 2017 show the women lying unconscious in the house, Vanore said.
Philadelphia police said Thursday that "in later images," Amarando and Fresses "appeared to be deceased." The women are still missing, police said.
Another recovered video dated 2017 shows Hersch's father, RC Horsch -- who has since died -- with a woman, and both were nude, Vanore said.
In the video, the woman used drugs, was "given money by Mr. Horsch and then affixed to the bed with handcuffs by him," Vanore said.
"... He puts a zip tie around her neck, and she becomes unconscious," and she appeared to be "lifeless," Vanore said.
Authorities are also looking into two other unconscious women seen in the images and videos: a 25-year-old woman and a woman who has not been identified, police said.
Vanore said police are respecting the wishes of the families and not releasing the names of the woman seen in the video with RC Horsch and the 25-year-old woman.
Police said Thursday there is a total of five women "who appear to be deceased" in the photos and videos, including Fresses and Amarando.
"Investigators continue working to identify the Jane Doe, locate individuals depicted in the recovered material, and corroborate what is shown in the digital evidence," police said in a statement.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel stressed on Wednesday that authorities will "dictate the pace" of the massive investigation. Officials said they have "more than 1 million individual digital evidence items requiring review" and about "30% of that review has been completed."
Authorities said they've identified 58 people in the images reviewed so far; some people have been interviewed and investigators said they're working to speak with the others.
There's no current threat to the community, the chief said.
