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 Lynwood Golf and Country Club near Pitt Town, in Sydney‘s north-west, about 8am on Tuesday.
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.
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.
Police swarmed the scene on Tuesday morning, believed to be on a disused turf farm between a golf course and vegetable farms.
A 400m stretch of road was blocked off from around 10am, meaning farm workers and golf course staff were blocked from entering.
Workers told the Daily Mail that they believed the block of land where Mr Baghsarian’s body was found was ‘not is use anymore’ and was overrun with shoulder-height grass.
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
Before his body was found, 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 his 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.
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’s 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 now runs a clothing brand.
Police could be seen directing traffic near where Mr Baghsarian’s body was found on Tuesday
The body of Mr Baghsarian was found around 40km away from his home where he was taken
Dimitri Stepanyan is pictured with his sister Katiusha – relatives of Mr Stepanyan are understood to have been the intended targets of the kidnapping
It’s understood 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.
