Police in Australia have discovered human remains believed to be those of 85-year-old Chris Baghsarian who was kidnapped in what authorities say was a case of mistaken identity.
New South Wales acting detective superintendent Andrew Marks confirmed the discovery on Tuesday near Linwood Golf Club in Pitt Town, approximately 46km from Baghsarian’s home.
“We suspect those remains to be Mr Baghsarian,” Mr Marks said. “There will be a formal process to try and identify those remains, there will be forensic examination of the remains.”
Baghsarian, a widower and grandfather, was forcibly taken from his North Ryde residence just before 5am on 13 February. CCTV footage captured a group of masked men bundling him into an SUV, sparking an immediate, large-scale search by police.
Investigators believe Baghsarian was not the intended target.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that the kidnappers may have been aiming for a relative of Sydney businessman Dimitri Stepanyan, a convicted armed robber with alleged ties to the Alameddine crime family.
Messages seen by ABC reportedly show the kidnappers realised their mistake, but Baghsarian’s family never received any ransom demand.
“They were intending to take somebody, but have taken the wrong person,” Mr Marks said a few days after the kidnapping.
“The family are in distress. All they want is their father to be returned, their grandfather to be returned.”
In the days following the abduction, police located a burnt-out grey Toyota Corolla, which had cloned Victorian plates (DVT 007) but was believed to be stolen.
The car was seen in Glenorie on the night of 14 February and later in Pitt Town at 9.05pm, before being set alight in Westmead on 16 February.
“We’ve traced that vehicle that we suspect was involved and that can forensically link the vehicle to Mr Baghsarian, and to the stronghold that we have spoken about in Dural,” Mr Marks said.
Forensic evidence inside the car connected it to a derelict property in Dural, which police believe was used as a makeshift stronghold by the kidnappers.
“Putting that together is why we believe it’s Mr Baghsarian.”
“Nobody lives there,” he said. “It was a suspicious house among other properties in that area that led us to that premises.”
Mr Marks added that Baghsarian had likely been held there at some stage after his abduction. In the car, police found a blood-stained carpet believed to have come from the Dural property.
Footage circulating in Sydney’s underworld reportedly showed Baghsarian tied up and seriously injured.
Detectives repeatedly appealed to the kidnappers for the elderly man’s safe return, emphasising his need for daily medication.
New South Wales premier Chris Minns had also suggested the kidnappers drop Baghsarian off at a shopping centre or an emergency department or even a nursing home. The discovery of human remains comes ten days after Baghsarian’s disappearance.
Mr Marks said police will continue to use every resource available to identify and apprehend those responsible.
“We’re all outraged this would happen to an innocent man … [and] we will continue to investigate to identify those responsible and bring them before the courts,” Mr Marks said.
Baghsarian’s family said earlier in a statement: “Our family is living through a nightmare we never thought possible. 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.
“Chris is 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”.
Police continue to appeal to the public for any information or footage of the grey Toyota Corolla in the North Ryde, Glenorie, or Pitt Town areas.
