The Crime Ledger: September 17, 2026

Philadelphia: Police Investigate Olney House in Missing Women Case

Philadelphia police and the FBI gave an update Wednesday on their investigation of a house on West Chew Avenue in Olney owned by Eugene Horsch, 44. He was arrested in June on gun and drug charges after, police say, he and a companion gave officers a fake ID bearing the name of a missing woman. Philadelphia prosecutors withdrew their charges in August when federal prosecutors took over; he remains in federal custody on firearms, drug and fake-credential charges and is presumed innocent of them. He has not been charged with any homicide or with anything related to the missing women.

Investigators have turned their attention to his late father, Raymond “R.C.” Horsch, who lived in the house and died in 2025. The Philadelphia Inquirer has described the elder Horsch as an erotic filmmaker whose work depicted violent themes. Police say more than a million digital files were recovered and about a third have been reviewed. They have linked seven missing or unidentified women to the property and say images appear to show five of them unconscious or lifeless. Police named Maribel Fresses and Gabrielle Amarando among those five; two others were identified but not named at their families’ request, and one is unidentified. Police said one video appears to show the elder Horsch strangling Nicole Fusaro with a zip tie until she appeared lifeless. Blair Tonzelli, missing since 2023, is the woman whose name was on the ID in June, and Amy McHale, the elder Horsch’s ex-wife, has been missing since 2016. Police have also said some imagery may be staged “playacting.” No bodies have been recovered and no physical evidence of a killing has been reported. Police said in September that detectives had not seen Eugene Horsch in any of the videos.

Update, Oct. 11, 2026: Police and the FBI returned in early October for a weeks-long search of the house, taking apart walls and floors, testing for blood and planning to excavate the yard, 6abc and FOX 29 report. “The investigation remains active and ongoing,” a police spokesperson said.

Chatsworth: SUV Driver Faces Murder Charges in Bus Crash

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said Thursday that Bailee Lynn Rios, 36, of Simi Valley, will be charged with two counts of second-degree murder, DUI, and reckless driving in Tuesday’s Chatsworth crash.

Prosecutors allege she was drug-impaired, speeding the wrong way on De Soto Avenue, ran a red light, struck a vehicle, then slammed a Metro Line 166 bus, killing Daniel Castillo, 46, and Gage Weida, 31; six others were hurt. Narcotics were found in her Ford Expedition (the DA has not publicly named the drug). Bail sits around $4.0-4.1 million. Court Friday. She missed Thursday on medical grounds. MyNewsLA noted charges had not yet been formally filed as of the Thursday afternoon conference.

A separate NBC news helicopter covering the wreck killed reporter Eliana Moreno, pilot George Marciniw, and ground victim Edy Gutierrez Mejia. NTSB is investigating those deaths; Rios is not charged in the chopper crash. She is presumed innocent.

Italy: Christmas Poisoning Ruled Ricin Murders

ANSA’s English desk reported Thursday that Italian labs and Germany’s Robert Koch Institute now give “certain” indications that Sara Di Vita, 15, and her mother Antonella Di Ielsi, 50, were deliberately poisoned with ricin on Christmas Eve 2025 in Pietracatella, Campobasso province.

The deaths were first treated as spoiled food. Husband and father Gianni Di Vita, 50, a former mayor and accountant, recovered. Police are weighing him as a possible culprit (a smaller dose to cover tracks) against a third party, and are also checking friends and acquaintances. Investigators are on a premeditated-murder track; a Dark Web purchase has been posited. Five doctors remain under probe for negligence. Di Vita’s lawyer has urged police not to exclude accident. No named charges yet. Everyone under scrutiny is presumed innocent.

Update, Oct. 11, 2026: No one has been charged. Investigators have questioned about one in six residents of Pietracatella and are examining 155 computers at three schools, in Riccia and Campobasso, for searches about ricin, poisons and anonymous “onion” browsing, Corriere della Sera and Sky TG24 report. Corriere says one search seen by investigators asked how long the toxins stay in the body.

Thaçi Gets 25 Years for War Crimes

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague on Tuesday found former president Hashim Thaçi criminally responsible for war crimes from the 1998-99 KLA period: murder of 96 people, torture of 303, cruel treatment of 49, and arbitrary detention of 385, framed as a joint criminal enterprise.

Co-defendants: Jakup Krasniqi, 25 years; Kadri Veseli, 18; Rexhep Selimi, 13. Crimes-against-humanity counts were dropped: the chamber said a widespread or systematic attack on civilians was not proven. This is a first-instance judgment; appeals are expected. Kosovo’s Kurti and Osmani governments, and Albania’s Rama, pushed back hard. A separate witness-intimidation trial is due later this month. Defendants are entitled to appeal.

Update, Oct. 11, 2026: Thaçi said he denies any involvement in killings and will appeal; the other defence teams also plan appeals alleging legal, factual and procedural errors. The Court of Appeals Panel extended the deadline for notices of appeal to Nov. 27, Euronews Albania and the Chambers’ records show.

Samoa Charges Pair Over Lemalu Vietnam Plot

Samoa Police and the Australian Federal Police said Thursday that a New Zealand national, 31, and a Samoan national, 33, were charged Sept. 10 with conspiracy to murder under Samoa’s Crimes Act 2013 (maximum life). They appeared in a Samoan court Wednesday and got conditional bail.

Australian citizen Lorenzo Lemalu (also reported Lorenzo Lemalu Tovia) was shot dead in Ho Chi Minh City on May 21; a second Australian was seriously injured. Vietnam arrested two Samoan nationals on May 24. The AFP assisted with a search warrant, financial inquiries, witness interviews, and forensic review of electronics. The allegation is that the pair charged in Samoa conspired with the men arrested in Vietnam. AFP’s joint release does not name the accused. They are presumed innocent.

The two men have been named as James Tuisavailuu Atua, 31, of New Zealand, and Fred Oliva Junior Papalii, 33, of Samoa. Police allege they conspired with Vaa Joseph Vaa and Steve Tafia, who were arrested in Vietnam after the shooting, Samoa Global News and RNZ report. Prosecutors asked for an adjournment of several weeks to finalise the charges. All are presumed innocent.

ICE Holds Xavier Jordán in Villavicencio Case

Xavier Jordán Mendoza (one of seven people Ecuador’s Fiscalía has accused as alleged intellectual authors of the Aug. 9, 2023, assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio) was detained by ICE in Doral, Florida, on Wednesday with his spouse and is held at Winn Correctional Center in Louisiana.

Ecuador’s CNJ lodged an extradition request July 14, 2026, tied to the Metástasis organized-crime case; he also faces a preventive-prison order in the Magnicidio FV file alongside figures linked to Serrano, Aleaga, Salcedo, and Los Lobos. Ecuador’s interior minister said the U.S. path, deportation versus extradition, is still open; another accused, Serrano, was ICE’d then deported Aug. 28. Defense lawyers say asylum is pending a May 2027 hearing. Jordán is presumed innocent.

Update, Oct. 11, 2026: ICE says the detention is an immigration case for overstaying his authorised stay, not an extradition, El Comercio reports. Ecuador’s interior minister John Reimberg said he could be deported within 15 days, but no date has been set; his defence points to an asylum hearing expected in 2027. In Ecuador he faces the Metástasis case and the MagnicidioFV case over Villavicencio’s killing. He has not been convicted and is presumed innocent.

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