Two more men charged over alleged kidnap murder of Sydney grandfather Chris Baghsarian
By The Times of Australia
Two more men have been charged over the alleged kidnapping and murder of 85-year-old Sydney grandfather Chris Baghsarian, a case that still sits like a cold weight on the city months after police say he was taken from his North Ryde home by mistake.
NSW Police said Robbery and Serious Crime Squad detectives arrested a 19-year-old man at Shalvey about 7.15am on Tuesday, after executing a search warrant with help from the Northwest Metropolitan Operations Support Group. A short time later, investigators arrested a 21-year-old man in Silverwater.
Both men were taken to Mt Druitt Police Station and charged with murder and taking or detaining a person in company with intent to ransom occasioning actual bodily harm. The 19-year-old was also charged with failing to comply with a digital evidence access order direction.
Police said both were refused bail and were due to face Mt Druitt Local Court on Wednesday, 17 June.
The new charges bring the number of people before the courts over Mr Baghsarian’s death to six. Four others had already been charged as part of Strike Force Chabot, the investigation set up after the 85-year-old was allegedly snatched from his home in the early hours of Friday, 13 February.
That detail remains the gut-punch in this case. Police say early inquiries showed Mr Baghsarian was not the intended target. In plain language: investigators believe the wrong man was taken.
Officers from Ryde Police Area Command were first called just after 5am that morning after reports an elderly man had been kidnapped from North Ryde. The State Crime Command’s Robbery and Serious Crime Squad then moved into a coordinated recovery operation.
Eleven days later, about 8am on Tuesday, 24 February, Mr Baghsarian’s remains were found near a golf club in Pitt Town.
It is the kind of alleged crime that strips away any glamour people sometimes attach to Sydney’s underworld. An elderly man. A suburban home. A mistaken target. A family left with a police investigation instead of answers.
Wednesday’s update matters because it shows detectives are still working through the chain of people they allege were involved. Police have not said the file is closed. Strike Force Chabot remains active, and investigators are still asking for information about organised criminal activity.
The case also lands in a wider moment where police across NSW are publicly leaning hard on organised crime groups, kidnappings, shootings and alleged revenge violence. But this one stands apart because of who was killed and why police say he was taken. Mr Baghsarian was 85. He was not, according to police, the man the kidnappers were after.
Anyone with information that may assist the investigation has been urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Police reminded the public not to send information through NSW Police social media pages.
Source: NSW Police Force, latest news release published Wednesday, 17 June 2026.
