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Digital evidence recovered from Chew Ave. home appears to show 2 deceased women:
Philadelphia police have launched a death investigation after a search of Eugene Horsch's home on Chew Avenue lead to the recovery of digital evidence that appeared to show two deceased women. Police have identified both women and notified their families.
PHILADELPHIA - Images recovered from a hard drive found during the search of 44-year-old Eugene Horsch's Chew Avenue home shows what investigators believe is the bodies of two women.
Philadelphia police announced the latest development in their investigation during a Wednesday afternoon press conference.
What we know:
Philadelphia Police Inspector Ray Evers said investigators collected a massive amount of evidence during the nearly 100 search warrants executed on Horsch's Chew Avenue property.
Guns, gun parts, a marijuana grow lab, and a fake FBI badge with Horsch's picture on it were among the items found during an initial sweep of the home. Subsequent searches, however, uncovered even more, including three urns with remains.
While searching the first hard drive recovered from the home, Evers said investigators found images and videos depicting the bodies of two women.
They have been identified by police as Gabriella Armarando, 22, and 27-year-old Maribel Fressess. Amarando was last seen in 2018, and Fressess was last seen in 2012. Their bodies have not yet been recovered.
The images were presented to the Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office, who stated that if the images and evidence are real and unaltered they believe the women depicted in the images are deceased. However, without having a body or body parts to examine, the medical examiner cannot conclusively declare them deceased or provide a death certificate or official cause of death.
The only entity that can declare the women deceased is the Philadelphia Orphan's Court, according to Evers.
The families of Fressess and Amarando have been notified of the findings.
Evers stressed that investigators are not done combing carefully through the Chew Avenue property, an investigation that has already included excavating the home's sewer pipe.
"Our work is not done there," said Evers, calling on anyone with information about Horsch or the Chew Avenue property to come forward.
The backstory:
Horsch, 44, was arrested in Center City in June after officers found him and another woman inside a vehicle with drugs, two loaded guns, and a fake DEA badge. He was charged with drugs and weapons crimes.
The encounter led investigators to a home on Chew Avenue where they made several unsettling discoveries, including guns, ammunition, and drugs. A 55 gallon drum attached to water lines, and various chemicals in bottles were also found.
Agents also discovered fake federal identification, computers, and more than 120 pieces of so-called ballistic evidence. Authorities returned to the property over the last several weeks searching for evidence, including excavating part of the front yard.
'It's very unusual': 2 missing women linked to 'mysterious' investigation at Philadelphia home
As investigators continue to piece together a confusing and eerie crime scene at a property in Philadelphia, we're learning more about 44-year-old Eugene Horsch and his possible connection to at least two missing women.
Court documents obtained by FOX 29 News show Horsch was indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and another count of possession of an unlawfully produced document and authentication feature.
As the investigation continued to unfold over the last several weeks, detectives began looking into Horsch's connection to two missing persons cases.
Amy McHale, who was previously married to Horsch's late father, has been missing since 2016. Blair Tonzelli, whose name appeared on the fake ID of the woman Horsch was stopped with in Center City, has been missing for several years.
What's next:
Federal prosecutors recently took over the case, meaning state charges were dropped for federal prosecution.
Horsch has a court date scheduled for September, and he remains in federal custody, according to court documents.