A Chew Avenue house has become the focus of an investigation after “graphic” videos revealed that two missing women, Maribel Fresses and Gabriella Amarando, died there. Many other shocking items were recovered during searches at the "mystery house" in Philadelphia's Olney neighborhood.
The house is reportedly 44-year-old Eugene Horsch’s. He is also being investigated.
Philadelphia Police Inspector Raymond Evers shared details about the probe during a press conference. He explained how this investigation began and what detectives have found.
Timeline of the investigation
Deep Dive
What evidence was found at Eugene Horsch's house in the Olney mystery house investigation?
Why has Eugene Horsch been indicted in the Olney mystery house case?
How did investigators determine that Maribel Fresses and Gabriella Amarando died at Horsch's house?
June 19, 2026: A park ranger stopped a BMW on the 600 block of Market Street near Independence Mall. Inside were a male driver and female passenger, Evers said. The driver was identified as Horsch, and the woman provided fake identification with the name Blair Tonzelli. According to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUS), Tonzelli went missing in 2023. The park ranger found two handguns and $8,000 in illegal drugs inside the house.
June 19, 2026 (later that day): Later that day, a search warrant was issued at Horsch's house on the 400 block of West Chew Avenue. Inside, the DEA and the Philadelphia Police Department found at least one more illegal gun, a marijuana grow operation, another fake FBI badge and five urns filled with cremated remains.
{{/usCountry}}June 19, 2026 (later that day): Later that day, a search warrant was issued at Horsch's house on the 400 block of West Chew Avenue. Inside, the DEA and the Philadelphia Police Department found at least one more illegal gun, a marijuana grow operation, another fake FBI badge and five urns filled with cremated remains.
{{/usCountry}}June 25, 2026: Another search warrant was conducted by Philly's Homicide Division, ATF agents and a bomb disposal unit. During the search, authorities found computer parts and what appeared to be a home lab with several containers of an unknown oily substance.
Also Read | Who were Maribel Fresses and Gabriella Amarando? Olney ‘mystery house’ probe reveals missing women died
June 27, 2026: Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel requested assistance from the FBI Evidence Recovery Team to process the lab, containers and digital evidence.
July 9: A K9 team searched the house and around it.
July 22, 2026: Another search warrant was served to remove a sewer line, lateral and trap at the house to see inside.
July 27, 2026: The containers with the oily substance were sent to a Chicago lab to be reviewed.
Beginning of August: A computer forensic lab started to review the digital evidence from the house. They reportedly went through 600,000 images, 70,000 videos and more than 10,000 pages of drawings and writings, which is just 5% of the digital evidence, according to Evers. As many as 95 search warrants were issued for the house and its contents.
What more we know about the case so far
Images and videos recovered from a hard drive found during the search of Horsch's Chew Avenue home show what investigators believe are the bodies of two women, Fox29 reported. While some videos showed them alive, others showed them appearing to be dead.
"I'm not gonna get into exactly what I saw, it's dark. It's real dark. But what we saw is these two girls alive. There was a period of time and what appears to us that they're deceased. There's pieces of the video that we don't have yet," Evers said during the press conference.
The women are identified as Fresses, 27, and Amarando, 22. Both of them were born in 1990, Evers said. While Fressess was reported missing in February 2018, Anarando has been missing since September of 2012.
Their bodies have not been found. Evers explained that the only entity that can declare the women deceased is the Philadelphia Orphan's Court. The women’s families have been notified of the findings.
Horsch was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges connected to false FBI credentials, NBC10 reported. At a preliminary hearing on August 6, Pennsylvania state prosecutors withdrew all five charges against him.
Horsch is still facing federal charges for possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of an unlawfully produced document and authentication feature. He was transferred to federal custody after federal prosecutors charged him. A jury trial in the federal case has been scheduled for September 8.
It has been revealed that Amy McHale, who was previously married to Horsch's late father, has been missing since 2016.
The Philadelphia Police Department has urged anyone who may have been inside this house or interacted with Horsch or his father to call them at 215-686-TIPS. If you wish to speak directly with an investigator from the Homicide Division who is assigned to the case, call 215-686-3334.