Grandfather’s body dumped at golf course day after kidnapping

Human remains believed to be those of Chris Baghsarian, an elderly widower snatched from his Sydney home in a suspected case of mistaken identity, have been found near a golf course where his body was dumped almost two weeks ago.

On Tuesday morning, robbery and serious crime squad detectives 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.

“We suspect those remains to be Mr Baghsarian,” Detective Acting Superintendent Andrew Marks, the acting commander of the robbery and serious crime squad, said on Tuesday afternoon. The remains are yet to be formally identified because of their condition.

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.

“I suppose I speak for not only the police, but the public in general, that we’re outraged at this happening, and the recklessness of these people,” Marks said.

“We’re all outraged that this would happen to an innocent man.”

On Tuesday morning, forensics officers were combing for evidence at the location where the remains were found. 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.

On Sunday afternoon police 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 around 9pm on February 14.

Investigators identified the Pitt Town crime scene as the possible location of Baghsarian’s body after the Corolla was spotted in the area about the same time it was seen at Glenorie. Evidence found with the remains matched other items linked to Baghsarian, whose body police believe was dumped that night.

“Putting that together is why we believe it is Mr Baghsarian,” Marks said.

The car was found alight on Good Street at Westmead just before midnight on February 16 – three 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.

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, police said. Marks did not comment on the injuries Baghsarian had sustained.

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.”

Marks said Baghsarian’s family was “deeply upset”.

Strike Force Chobat detectives will now shift their focus to identifying Baghsarian’s kidnappers. No arrests have been made.

“We had two trails in this investigation,” Marks said.

“One was to locate Mr Baghsarian, and the second was to identify those responsible.”

NSW Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane said her thoughts were with Baghsarian’s family.

“The community rightly expects safety, and it’s therefore important we support NSW Police in finding those responsible and giving Mr Baghsarian’s loved ones answers as to how this occurred,” Sloane said.