Updated ,first published
Human remains believed to be those of Chris Baghsarian, an elderly widower snatched from his Sydney home and held hostage for almost two weeks in a suspected case of mistaken identity, have been found.
Robbery and serious crime squad detectives on Tuesday morning found what is believed to be the 85-year-old’s body near a golf club at Pitt Town on Sydney’s north-west fringe, police said.
Baghsarian was taken hostage on February 13 when up to three men abducted him from his North Ryde home about 5am in a suspected case of mistaken identity. Baghsarian, a grandfather and widower, lived alone, and police have repeatedly said he and his family have no links to organised crime.
Police are yet to formally confirm if the remains are those of Baghsarian. Forensics officers were on Tuesday morning combing the location where the remains were found for evidence. Tyre tracks near the remains were being measured and marked. Line searches of the crime scene and Pitt Town Bottoms Road were also being conducted.
Detectives are also investigating whether a car engulfed in flames in nearby Wilberforce, three hours after the remains were found, is related to the discovery.
Police on Sunday afternoon launched a large-scale search of dense bushland at nearby Glenorie after receiving reports a torched Toyota Corolla, since forensically linked to Baghsarian, had been seen in the area on February 14.
The car was found alight on Good Street at Westmead just before midnight on February 17 – four days after Baghsarian was kidnapped. Evidence found inside the car was linked to both Baghsarian and an abandoned Dural property where detectives believe the 85-year-old was held hostage and tortured. The car, travelling through Sydney with cloned Victorian registration plates (DVT077), was reported stolen from Victoria on February 13.
Several items found in the Corolla, including what is believed to be carpet from the Dural home, had been forensically tested and matched other evidence recovered at the property.
Police said evidence found during a search of the Dural property on Thursday night also matched video and images circulated throughout Sydney’s underworld of a severely injured Baghsarian in the same flannelette shirt and tracksuit pants he was wearing when he was kidnapped.
Strike Force Chobat detectives who had been searching for Baghsarian believe his kidnappers were targeting a relative of Sydney businessman Dimitri Stepanyan, 37, a convicted armed robber and founder of Proper Streetwear, a clothing brand linked to the Alameddine crime family.
Stepanyan’s website, which was under maintenance on Tuesday morning, describes him as a “Sydney-based entrepreneur and the creative force behind Proper Streetwear”.
Proper Streetwear has long been worn by alleged members of the Alameddine network. The phrase “never cross the family” – an alleged reference to the Alameddine family – appears on several Proper Streetwear clothing items and features on some members’ personal jewellery.
The Herald has attempted to contact Stepanyan for comment. He is not accused of any involvement in Baghsarian’s kidnapping.
CCTV footage from Baghsarian’s street shows two men, one in a high-vis shirt and the other in a dark hoodie, exiting a dark SUV and striding towards the 85-year-old’s home, triggering the sensor light at the front of the property.
They then appear to force Baghsarian out of the home while the getaway driver moves closer to the rest of the crew. Police believe three men attended Baghsarian’s home, but suspect more could have been involved in his kidnapping.
Messages published by SCN Worldstar purportedly between the kidnappers and Stepanyan show Baghsarian’s captors demanding a $50 million ransom.
Police said no ransom demands were made to Baghsarian’s family, who last week said the 85-year-old was deeply loved and a devoted father, brother, uncle and grandfather.
“The kindest person we know – someone who would never hurt a fly,” the family said in a statement released by NSW Police last Tuesday.
“Chris’ kidnapping feels surreal, and we are struggling to make sense of the fact that he has been taken, and that our family has been caught up in something that has nothing to do with us.
“We are living through a nightmare we never thought possible.”
Strike Force Chobat detectives will now shift their focus to identifying Baghsarian’s kidnappers. No arrests have been made.
More to come
Daniel Lo Surdo is a breaking news reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He previously helmed the national news live blog for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email.
