Two men have been arrested in Sydney over the kidnapping and murder of a beloved grandfather who was snatched from his home by masked thugs and killed in a horrific case of mistaken identity.
NSW Police raided two homes in Kenthurst and Castle Hill in the city’s northwest on Wednesday and arrested the pair, aged, 24 and 29. They were taken to Riverstone Police Station to be interviewed, but are yet to be charged.
The men were arrested after police on Tuesday found human remains belonging to Chris Baghsarian, 85, near a golf course in Pitt Town 11 days after he was abducted from his home where he lived alone in North Ryde.
Two men, 24 and 29, have been arrested over the mistaken identity alleged kidnapping and murder of a grandfather in Sydney.
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The widower and his family have no links to organised crime, police said, and the intended target of the kidnapping and $50 million ransom demand is believed to be convicted armed robber turned wealthy businessman Dimitri Stepanyan, 37, whose family live on the same street. Both men are of Armenian descent.
Mr Baghsarian’s family responded to the news of the arrests in a statement on Wednesday, saying: “We welcome the news of the recent arrests in relation to the kidnapping of our father and grandfather.
“As we continue attempting to come to terms with this incident, we ask that media respect our privacy. We will not be conducting any interviews and we kindly ask media refrain from filming outside our homes.”
Mr Stepanyan, who is not accused of any wrongdoing is the founder of popular brand Proper Streetwear, which linked to the the notorious Middle Eastern Alameddine crime family, and detectives have been investigating connections between the kidnapping and the criminal network.
He has been involved in several private companies since spending seven years in jail for a botched armed robbery on Sydney’s Northern Beaches in 2009.
Mr Stepanyan and his co-accused signed into Forestville RSL under their own names while rehearsing the heist, which involved a security guard who was in on the robbery agreeing to be shot during the $25,000 heist.
Mr Stepanyan, who is believed to have been living overseas for some time, was contacted by the kidnappers with a $50 million ransom demand hours after the robbery, but told them they had “plugged the wrong bloke”.
A video of Mr Baghsarian tied up circulated in the underworld, and led police to an abandoned home in Dural where they believe the elderly man was held.
Police have also examined a Toyota Corolla sedan found burnt out in Westmead on February 16 that they believe was linked to the Dural property, and seen in the Glenorie area the day after the abduction.
No ransom demands were made of Mr Baghsarian’s family who said he was deeply loved and a “devoted father, brother, uncle, and grandfather. He is deeply loved, gentle, and the kindest person we know – someone who would never hurt a fly”.
Header image: Left, right, the men arrested on Wednesday. Inset, Chris Baghsarian (NSW Police).
