Two men arrested in relation to alleged kidnapping and murder of 85-year-old Chris Baghsarian | New South Wales
Police said two people were arrested “in connection with the alleged kidnapping and murder of 85-year-old Chris Baghsarian.”
New South Wales police said a 29-year-old man was arrested in Kenthurst and a 24-year-old man was arrested in Castle Hill. They were taken to Riverstone police station while investigations continue. As of Wednesday morning, no charges had been filed.
Footage of the arrests shows half a dozen masked officers from the Raptor team arriving at the two homes where the men were arrested and entering to serve search warrants.
The arrests come 12 days after Baghsarian disappeared from his North Ryde home and a day after police believed they had found the 85-year-old’s body.
Human remains suspected to be Baghsarian’s were found near a golf club in Pitt Town, NSW, about 45km northwest of the Sydney CBD, on Tuesday morning.
On Wednesday, Baghsarian’s family said they were still “trying to come to terms with this incident” and requested privacy.
“We welcome the news of the latest arrests regarding the kidnapping of our father and grandfather,” he said in the statement.
“We will not be doing any interviews and we ask the media.” [to] Avoid shooting outside our homes.”
NSW police commissioner Mal Lanyon told 2GB on Wednesday that two men were assisting police in Riverstone as officers continued to comb Sydney’s north-west.
Initial investigations following his disappearance on Friday (February 13) revealed Baghsarian was not the intended target and had been taken away in a case of mistaken identity – reportedly by men looking to target a relative of a man with links to a reputed crime family in Sydney.
Sign up: AÜ Breaking News email
Police repeatedly told the kidnappers that they had the wrong man and urged them to release the old man, who was on daily medication.
They suspect Baghsarian’s body was likely dumped on Pitt Town Bottoms Road on Saturday, February 14, and has remained undiscovered since then.
Police said forensic evidence linking Baghsarian was found in a burnt-out car that was torched in Westmead on Monday, February 16. This car also contained evidence linked to an abandoned and derelict property in Dural where Baghsarian was believed to have been held briefly.
Det Acting Andrew Marks said on Tuesday that the car, a gray Toyota Corolla, was seen in Glenorie, just north of Dural, on the evening of Saturday, February 14, the day after Baghsarian was abducted.
A short time later, the vehicle was taken to Pitt Town Bottoms Road, where the 85-year-old man’s body was found this week. He was later seen at Westmead later that night, but was not set on fire until two days later, on Monday 16 February.
