Ashley Rivera, now 26, has described how she escaped an attempted abduction by Raymond “RC” Horsch in Philadelphia in 2009, when she was nine. Horsch allegedly lured her towards his Jeep, grabbed her and tried to pull her inside, but Rivera’s stepfather intervened after hearing her screams. The account matters because Horsch has since been linked to several missing women and disturbing evidence found at his home.

Rivera said Horsch had been circling her neighbourhood before asking her to enter his vehicle and calling her “sexy”. Police found binoculars, a camera, a telephoto lens and a condom in the Jeep, while Rivera later identified him and testified against him in court. Investigators have examined more than a million images and videos recovered from Horsch’s home, with footage reportedly suggesting that several missing women, including Gabrielle Amarando, Maribel Fresses and Nicole Fusaro, may have been killed.