---
category: Crime & Abuse Networks
created: 2026-09-23
died: 2004-04-05
location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
relations:
- fn: 1
  role: daughter
  type: relative_of
  with: '[[Albert Hoersch]]'
- fn: 1
  role: sister
  type: relative_of
  with: '[[Raymond C. Hoersch]]'
- fn: 1
  role: aunt
  type: relative_of
  with: '[[R.C. Horsch]]'
- fn: 1
  role: senior editor
  type: employed_by
  with: '[[American Society for Testing and Materials]]'
summary: Philadelphia editor, daughter of Albert Hoersch and aunt of the pornographer
  R.C. Horsch, whose name appears as grantor on the 2007 deed transferring the Olney
  house to Eugene Horsch.
tags:
- Person
- RCHorsch
- Philadelphia
- Olney
updated: 2026-09-23
---

Helen M. Hoersch (died April 5, 2004, aged 83) was a daughter of [Albert Hoersch](/people/albert-hoersch/) and [Helen E. Hoersch](/people/helen-e-hoersch/) of 417 West Chew Street in the Olney section of Philadelphia, a sister of [Raymond C. Hoersch](/people/raymond-c-hoersch/), and the aunt of the pornographer and fugitive [R.C. Horsch](/people/rc-horsch/). The house was searched in the [Olney House Investigation](/events/olney-house-investigation/) of 2026.[^1][^2][^3]

### Life

She was born in Philadelphia and lived there all her life. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and worked for many years as a senior editor at the American Society for Testing and Materials, retiring at 79. She did not marry. Her father's death notice of 1972 gives the family address as 417 West Chew Street, and her brother Raymond's of 1991 lists her among the survivors as "Helen M., of Phila."[^1][^2][^4]

### Death and the House

She died on April 5, 2004, "at the home of her nephew." Her death notice names as survivors her nephew Ray Horsch and three nieces, and her funeral was arranged by the Cremation Society of Pennsylvania.[^1] In September 2026 police said they believed three of the five urns found in the Chew Avenue house held the ashes of R.C. Horsch, his sister, and a friend; one 2026 *Inquirer* account calls Helen M. Hoersch his sister.[^3][^5] *The Philadelphia Inquirer* reported in 2026 that R.C. Horsch acquired the Chew Avenue house after her death and in 2007 used a power of attorney to transfer it to his son, [Eugene Horsch](/people/eugene-horsch/), for one dollar; one of its accounts calls her his sister. The city's deed index records a deed executed on October 1, 2007, and recorded on October 26, 2007, with "Hoersch Helen M" as grantor and Eugene A. Horsch as grantee.[^3][^6][^7]

[^1]: "Hoersch, Helen M.," death notice, *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* April 7, 2004, p. B12. https://www.newspapers.com/image/201102740/
[^2]: "Hoersch, Albert," death notice, *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* July 3, 1972, p. 10. https://www.newspapers.com/image/180006503/
[^3]: "What we know about the Olney investigation into missing women," *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* June 27, 2026. https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia/olney-investigation-eugene-horsch-missing-women-20260627.html
[^4]: "Hoersch, Raymond C.," death notice, *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* November 22, 1991, as reproduced in Find a Grave memorial 233455054. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/233455054/raymond-c-hoersch/photo
[^5]: Sharber, Cory. "Police, FBI provide updates on Horsch missing women case," *WHYY,* September 16, 2026. https://whyy.org/articles/olney-home-investigation-abuse/
[^6]: "A woman missing since 2016 had close ties to the Olney house that's now the target of a massive investigation," *The Philadelphia Inquirer,* June 27, 2026. https://www.inquirer.com/news/olney-raid-missing-women-mystery-drugs-20260627.html
[^7]: City of Philadelphia, Department of Records, real estate transfer index, 417 W. Chew Ave., deed document 51798675, executed October 1, 2007, recorded October 26, 2007, via the city's open data (rtt_summary). https://phl.carto.com/api/v2/sql?q=SELECT%20*%20FROM%20rtt_summary%20WHERE%20street_address%20=%20%27417%20W%20CHEW%20AVE%27