Body of kidnapped grandfather Chris Baghsarian is found – after he was tortured in a case of mistaken identity
An innocent grandfather has been found dead after he was kidnapped and tortured by gangsters in a horrifying case of mistaken identity.
The body of 85-year-old Chris Baghsarian was found near a golf course in Sydney’s north-west on Tuesday morning.
Police swarmed a location close to Lynwood Golf and Country Club in Pitt Town, near Windsor following the grim discovery at around 8am.
The widower had been missing for 11 days after his abduction from his North Ryde home on February 13, with police saying he was not the intended target.
A club employee told the Daily Mail the body of Mr Baghsarian was not found on the golf course, but on a neighbouring property.
She confirmed his remains were not uncovered by a staff member.
Before he was found dead, a video made by the kidnappers appeared to show the innocent grandfather’s face covered and his hands tied with duct tape.
There were also images circulating of the man’s finger being cut off.
It’s understood Mr Baghsarian was then taken to a property in Dural, about 20km from North Ryde, and beaten before being forced to film a video directed at a gangland figure.
The body of 85-year-old Chris Baghsarian was found in the early hours of Tuesday morning
Mr Baghsarian was snatched from his home in North Ryde on February 13 in what police believe was a case of mistaken identity
His body was found near the Lynwood Golf and Country Club in Pitt Town, near Windsor
No ransom demands were made, with Mr Baghsarian’s family last week describing the 85-year-old as a deeply loved and 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.’
The discovery of Mr Baghsarian’s body comes one day after the intended targets of the botched kidnapping were revealed as relatives of Dimitri Stepanyan – a one-time criminal who has since become a successful Sydney businessman.
It’s understood Mr Stepanyan, who used to live on the same street as Mr Baghsarian, was contacted by the kidnappers hours after the abduction with a $50 million ransom demand.
Messages between the businessman and kidnappers over Threema, an encrypted messaging app, showed pictures and footage of Mr Baghsarian, to which Stepanyan said the criminals ‘plugged the wrong bloke’.
Police have remained tight-lipped on any motive behind the incident.
Police conducted searches earlier this week in bushland near Glenorie, NSW
The body of Mr Baghsarian was found around 40km away from his home where he was taken
A Lynwood Golf and Country Club employee told the Daily Mail his body was found on a neighbouring property
Dimitri Stepanyan is pictured with his sister Katiusha – relatives of Mr Stepanyan are understood to have been the intended targets of the kidnapping
More to come.
