A Bucks County connection has surfaced in the widening police investigation involving a Philadelphia home where more than 1 million disturbing images, including of missing women, and a homemade laboratory were discovered in June.
The late Raymond “R.C.” Horschand his son Eugene, 44, lived in a two-story home along a quiet treelined street in New Britain Township for 20 years before moving to the West Chew Avenue home in the city.
Raymond Horsch, a convicted felon and controversial artist whose work featured sadomasochistic themes, died last year at age 81.
Eugene Horsch is in federal custody following his June arrest on firearms and drug charges, which
led authorities to search the Olney home, which he received from the estate of his late great aunt in 2007, according to city property records.
Investigators say while executing search warrants at the home they found a homemade laboratory in the basement, unidentified chemicals and five urns containing human remains.
Philadelphia police confirmed at a Sept. 16 press conference they also seized more than 1 million pieces of digital evidence including photos, videos, drawings and writings currently under review.
Among the images are seven women reportedly missing; five of the women appear in images alive and later unconscious or lifeless with visible injuries, police said.
At this point, authorities said it is unclear if the images are real or staged as part of Raymond Horsch’s extensive erotic art portfolio. No bodies, remains or other evidence has been found of the missing women at the home, police said.
Authorities also confirmed they have not searched the Bucks County house in connection to the West Chew Avenue investigation.
What we know about Raymond “R.C.” Horsch and his life in Bucks County
Bucks County property records show Raymond Horsch purchased a home on Airey Avenue for $137,500 in September 1989, two months after his wife, Anna, 39, died following a lengthy illness. Eugene was 9.
Eugene Horsch attended Central Bucks West High School, but the district does not have a record of him graduating, district spokesman Michael Petitti said.
Before moving to Bucks County, Raymond Horsch was an established figure in the art and entertainment industries as a musician, photographer, author and pornographic filmmaker. His directorial debut was the 1973 movie “Erotic Memoirs of a Male Chauvinist Pig.”
Art critics described Horsch’s work as “blurring the distinction between art and pornography." He also worked under the pseudonym “Ich Bin Nieman,” which is German for “I am nobody.”
Horsch was known among artists for his “sociopathic tendencies and sado-masochistic lifestyle,” according to film-makerscoop.com.
“His 50-year body of work is diverse and ranges from quietly poetic to explicit and disturbing. He is cited academically, along with (artists) Hans Bellmer and Robert Maplethorpe, as an example of an artist whose transgressive work is, nevertheless, unequivocally art,” the website wrote.
The entertainment industry website Imdb.com lists Horsch as director of movies entitled “Slaves” (2003), “Nina” (2008), “Deleted Scenes: a Serial Killer’s Video Journal” (2016). “Whore” (2017) and Transgressions (2021).
A former neighbor told ABC's Action News that Raymond Horsch would bring women back to his home late at night. Another neighbor described him as “creepy,” someone that neighbors avoided and kids called him “porno man.”
The publicly available information about the Horsch family’s life in Bucks County does not paint a pretty picture.
Records show financial and legal troubles for R.C. Horsch in Bucks County
In 1993, Horsch filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 13. In the filing, he listed himself as Doing Business As Butterworth’s Hickory Pit, but no other information was available. The bankruptcy was discharged in 1998.
Twice Raymond Horsch was arrested in Bucks County, records show.
The first time was in 1997, when he was 54. New Britain Police charged Horsch with theft and receiving stolen property, according to the public docket. The case outcome is unclear.
His work as an artist inadvertently led to his second more serious arrest, which revealed his creative obsession with sexual violence.
For a few weeks during the summer of 2009, Raymond Horsch moved an admitted prostitute into his home in exchange for her letting him take nude photos of her. One day the woman was home alone and called 911 after she thought she heard someone trying to break in.
When officers arrived they didn’t find an intruder, but they did find a large-scale marijuana-growing operation.
In the basement they also found firearms and 25 pounds of gunpowder the Philadelphia Bomb Squad removed. They also found sexual bondage devices and pornography featuring women who appeared to be bleeding.
Bucks County initially charged Raymond Horsch for growing 455 marijuana plants, but months after his arrest the federal authorities took over the case and he was indicted on felony marijuana possession and firearms offenses.
Later that year, the bank filed a foreclosure complaint on the Bucks home after Horsch stopped making mortgage payments in August, the month after his arrest, according to county court records.
While awaiting trial in 2010, Raymond Horsch was accused of attempting to lure a 9-year-old Philadelphia girl into his car, but city prosecutors later dismissed the charges.
Also in 2010, the federal government put a legal freeze on the title to the New Britain home since his federal indictment meant it possibly could be subject to forfeiture, according to county court records.
In January 2011, a then 67-year-old Horschpleaded guilty to the drug and weapons charges and he was sentenced the following year to 53 months in federal prison. He was released in June 2013, according to federal bureau of prison records.
The following month the bank took possession of the New Britain home, which was sold a few months later, according to county property records.
Crime and Courts Reporter Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at jciavaglia@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Bucks County connection with Philly 'house of horror' case | Exclusive
