Two men have been charged with the kidnapping and murder of 85-year-old Chris Baghsarian whose body was found on the outskirts of Sydney after disappearing from his home in North Ryde.
A 29-year-old man from Kenthurst and a 24-year-old man from Castle Hill were charged on Wednesday night with murder and taking/detaining in company with intent to ransom and occasion actual bodily harm, police said in a statement.
They were refused bail to appear in Blacktown local court on Thursday.
The men, who were previously known to police for “insignificant matters”, were arrested earlier on Wednesday at addresses in Kenthurst and Castle Hill where police said they had been living at their family homes.
A further search warrant was executed at a property in Lake Macquarie where it was believed one of the alleged kidnappers had travelled after the alleged offence.
However, police said “our work is not done” as the search continued to find “other people involved” in the alleged kidnapping and murder of the grandfather and widower.
Footage of the arrests showed half a dozen masked police from the Raptor squad arriving at the two homes where the men were arrested, and breaking in to execute search warrants.
Fronting the media on Wednesday afternoon, Det Acting Supt Andrew Marks said he believed the men had been part of a “joint criminal enterprise” with others to kidnap Baghsarian and reiterated he was taken in a case of mistaken identity.
“I suspect the intended target was going to be kidnapped where a ransom was going to be asked for,” he said, confirming media reports that the figure to be requested was $50m.
“We know that there’s others involved,” he said.
Marks said that during their searches detectives had seized “electronic devices, clothing and other items that will suggest a link to the kidnapping and murder of Mr Baghsarian”. That included two electronic devices at Lake Macquarie.
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The arrests came 12 days after Baghsarian disappeared from his North Ryde home, and a day after police said they believed they had found the 85-year-old’s body.
Human remains suspected of being those of Baghsarian were found on Tuesday morning near a golf club in Pitt Town, about 45km north-west of the Sydney CBD.
Marks said forensic testing had confirmed overnight that the remains were Baghsarian, however, his cause of death was yet to be confirmed via autopsy.
“While the family welcome the news of the arrests, they are still devastated by the loss of their father and grandfather,” he said.
“Our work is not done and we will continue to identify those that were also involved in this horrible, horrible matter.
“It’s somebody’s worst nightmare, right? The fact an innocent man was taken from his home is not acceptable, people need to be held to account.”
On Wednesday, Baghsarian’s family said they were still “attempting to come to terms with this incident” and asked for privacy.
“We welcome the news of the recent arrests in relation to the kidnapping of our father and grandfather,” they said in a statement.
“We will not be conducting any interviews and we kindly ask media [to] refrain from filming outside our homes.”
Early inquiries after his disappearance on Friday 13 February established that Baghsarian was not the intended target and had been taken in a case of mistaken identity – reportedly by men who intended to target a relative of a man linked to a well-known Sydney crime family.
Police repeatedly told the kidnappers they had the wrong person and publicly urged them to release the elderly man, who relied on daily medication.
They suspect Baghsarian’s body was likely dumped off Pitt Town Bottoms Road on Saturday 14 February, remaining undiscovered since then.
Police have said forensic evidence linked to Baghsarian was found in a burned-out car that was torched in Westmead on Monday 16 February. That car also contained evidence linked to an abandoned and derelict property in Dural where it was believed Baghsarian was briefly held.
Marks said the car, a grey Toyota Corolla, was seen in Glenorie, just north of Dural, on the evening of Saturday 14 February – the day after Baghsarian was kidnapped.
Shortly afterwards, it was driven to Pitt Town Bottoms Road, where the 85-year-old’s body was found this week. It was then seen in Westmead later that night but not set alight until two days later – on Monday 16 February.
Marks said the men in custody were identified via the canvassing of CCTV footage and identification of vehicles allegedly used during his kidnapping.
He said police would allege they “were involved at some stage with that car”.
“We suspect he did die at the property in Dural and was deceased at the time he was dropped off at the location where he was found,” he said.
