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Police reveal new details in case of missing women linked to home

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Cite

Shapiro, E. (2026, September 17). Police reveal new details in case of missing women linked to home. ABC News (US). https://abcnews.com/US/police-reveal-new-details-case-missing-women-linked/story?id=136500368

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

ABC News (US) · collected 2026-09-17 · by Emily Shapiro

Quick Summary

Philadelphia police provided new details about a case involving five missing women linked to a home where images of them appearing unconscious were found. Investigators are examining over 1 million digital files and have discovered chemicals, urns believed to contain human ashes, and evidence suggesting one woman was drugged, handcuffed, and left unconscious in the house. The police continue their investigation but emphasize there are no confirmed remains or current threats to the community.
Written by AI on 2026-09-17, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In June 2026, Raymond "RC" Horsch's home in Olney, Philadelphia, became a focal point for an investigation into multiple disappearances. Horsch, a deceased pornographer who died at age 82 in 2025, is suspected of involvement in the presumed deaths and disappearances of several women. The case began when his son Eugene Horsch, 44, was arrested with a woman using false identification belonging to one of the missing individuals. Searches uncovered over 1 million digital images, including videos that allegedly depict two missing women, Gabrielle Amarando and Maribel Fresses, who appear unconscious or injured.

Among the evidence found were chemicals in vats, five urns believed to contain human ashes (two identified as belonging to Horsch's father and a relative), and disturbing videos of women being subjected to physical harm. Police believe that Nicole Fusaro is one of at least five missing women connected to the home, with evidence suggesting she may have been strangled in a video. The investigation remains active despite no human remains or DNA having been recovered from the property.

Written for “House of Horrors Investigation” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 8 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 House of Horrors Investigation
Crime & Law · 9 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 5% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Fox News
Hedges 3 of 21 claims Outlet record 69/100
CBS News
Hedges 3 of 38 claims Outlet record 66/100
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 10 claims Outlet record 66/100
CBS News
Hedges 0 of 2 claims Outlet record 66/100
The Guardian
Hedges 3 of 18 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe unrelated incidents involving different missing persons and locations.”
CBS News
Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 66/100
Daily Mail
Hedges 4 of 40 claims Outlet record 69/100
“The articles describe different cases involving missing women linked to separate incidents in Philadelphia and Feltham, London.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 7 of 40 claims Outlet record 69/100
“While both articles discuss missing women linked to Eugene Horsch's home, they describe different aspects of the case and do not clearly reference the same specific incident.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
21
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
5%
1 of 21 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
70/100
ABC News (US)'s corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
9
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-17 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

ABC News (US) · 1292 article(s) · 3 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 3 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Emily Shapiro
7 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Nor'easter heading to New York City, Massachusetts: Tracking the storm The nor'easter could spark flight disruptions along the Northeast coast.
2026-09-24 · mixed framing · Millions brace for nor'easter: Latest forecast
🔮 Her autopsy found “no signs of trauma … that would have contributed to the death,” the coroner’s office said.
🔮 A vigil will be held in Chatsworth on Thursday evening, according to NBC Los Angeles.
🔮 Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel stressed that authorities will "dictate the pace" of the massive investigation.
Also by Emily Shapiro
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 7 articles by Emily Shapiro →

Topics

Philadelphia Philadelphia Police Vanore

Subjects

Vanore PERSON · 10× Horsch PERSON · 4× Philadelphia ORG · 2× RC Horsch PERSON · 2× Eugene Horsch PERSON · 1× Frank Vanore PERSON · 1× Gabrielle Amarando PERSON · 1× Hersch PERSON · 1× Maribel Fresses PERSON · 1× Philadelphia Police ORG · 1×

Narrative

A 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.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-17
🔮 Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel stressed that authorities will "dictate the pace" of the massive investigation.
2026-09-17 · ABC News (US)
Police reveal new details in case of missing women linked to home · assertive framing

Claims (21 extracted, 1 hedged)

Police reveal new details in case of missing women linked to Philadelphia home Investigators are combing through more than 1 million digital images and videos. asserted
Investigators → reveal → images
Police on Wednesday released new details in the case of five missing women who've been linked to a Philadelphia home after images of the women appearing to be unconscious were recovered there. asserted
images → release → women
The case began in June when Eugene Horsch, 44, was arrested; 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. uncertain
Vanore → begin → conference
In a search at Horsch's home, authorities discovered chemicals and five urns believed to hold human ashes, Vanore said. asserted
Vanore → discover → ashes
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. asserted
two → believe → remains
In the search, investigators also recovered over 1 million digital images and videos, including women "posed in different positions" in the house, Vanore said. asserted
Vanore → recover → house
Among the images were two missing women: 27-year-old Gabrielle Amarando and 26-year-old Maribel Fresses, Vanore said. asserted
Vanore → miss → images
Photos dated 2017 show the women lying unconscious in the house, Vanore said, and they are still missing. asserted
they → date → house
A 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. asserted
Vanore → date → him
"... He puts a zip tie around her neck and she becomes unconscious." asserted
she → put → neck
Vanore said investigators "still need to find evidence to corroborate what appears to have occurred in this video." asserted
what → say → video
She appeared to be "lifeless," Vanore said. asserted
Vanore → appear → ?
But he added, "it's just appearing that way," and he stressed that no bodies have been recovered. asserted
bodies → add → ?
Authorities are also looking into two other women seen in the images: a 25-year-old woman who appeared to be unconscious and a woman who has not been identified, he said. asserted
he → look → images
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. asserted
police → say → Horsch
"So that's five altogether that we've had in this house that we're concerned about," Vanore said. asserted
Vanore → have → that
Authorities added that no remains have been found connected to the house. asserted
remains → add → house
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel stressed that authorities will "dictate the pace" of the massive investigation. asserted
authorities → stress → investigation
Officials said they have "more than 1 million individual digital evidence items requiring review" and about "30% of that review has been completed." asserted
% → say → review
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. asserted
they → say → others
There's no current threat to the community, the chief said. asserted
chief → be → community
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