The Olney House Update: A Week of Bones
Luminol on Monday. Human DNA on Tuesday, per police sources. An excavator in the backyard, a shed torn down, and dirt sifted three feet deep like a mass grave. Then on Thursday, the medical examiner pulled up to 417 West Chew Avenue because somebody found bones.
Nobody knows yet whether they’re human. Philly PD isn’t confirming a damn thing. And Eugene Horsch’s lawyer went on CBS Philadelphia to call the whole investigation a “runaway train,” which is a bold choice for a man whose client was arrested with a cattle prod in his car.
This week I walk through the entire Olney case from the beginning. A park ranger, an illegally parked BMW near the Liberty Bell, and a woman saying “you’re going to hurt me.” Then everything that’s happened since, through the biggest week of the investigation so far.
In this episode: The June 19 traffic stop: fake DEA and FBI credentials, a missing woman’s ID, and a car full of weaponsWho R.C. Horsch was: counterfeiter, meth cook, pornographer, and self-described “empathetic serial killer”His book “Empathy” and why Amazon pulled everything he wroteThe 2025 narcotics search that walked through the house and never mentioned a missing womanGabrielle Amarando, Amy McHale, Maribel Fresses, Nicole Fusaro, and Blair TonzelliWhy women from Kensington fall through the cracks, and how a predator used that gapThe basement lab, the 55-gallon drum, five urns, and more than a million images and videosThis week, day by day: luminol, DNA, the backyard dig, and the bonesA Jane Doe’s account of the second-floor bedroomWhat alkaline hydrolysis is, and why the bones may or may not matterEugene’s lawyer, his negotiations with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and where Eugene’s case standsWhat to watch next week, including the Chalfont house nobody has searched
R.C. Horsch died in 2025 and was never charged. Eugene Horsch faces federal gun, drug, and fake-credential charges. He is not charged in connection with any woman’s disappearance or death. As of recording, police have not publicly confirmed any human remains.
If you have information: call the Philadelphia Police tip line at 215-686-TIPS (8477), or reach the homicide unit directly at 215-686-3334.