Australian detectives have charged a 51-year-old woman in connection with the alleged kidnapping and murder of 85-year-old Chris Baghsarian, who was taken from his Sydney home in a case of mistaken identity. The woman is the 12th person to be charged in the investigation.
Arrest in Lethbridge Park
According to NSW Police, at about 10.40am on August 11, strike force detectives, with assistance from Northwest Metropolitan Operations Support Group, arrested the woman in Lethbridge Park, about 29 miles from Sydney's city centre. She was taken to Mt Druitt Police Station and charged with accessory after the fact to murder.
Police said the woman has been refused bail and is set to appear at Mt Druitt Local Court in Western Sydney on Wednesday, August 12.
Mistaken identity and abduction
Mr Baghsarian, a widower, was kidnapped from his north Sydney home by masked assailants at about 5am on February 13. New South Wales Police later said the pensioner was likely taken by mistake, with detectives and family urging his kidnappers to return him safely. His body was found 12 days later, nearly 30 miles from where he was last seen alive.
Grainy CCTV footage aired on Australian news channel Nine showed two men, one wearing a high-visibility jacket, arriving at the elderly man's North Ryde home in a dark four-wheel-drive. Mr Baghsarian was seen being pushed into the vehicle, the last time he was seen alive, before the car sped away.
Investigation and previous charges
Police later found an abandoned dark Toyota SUV, believed to be linked to the abduction, more than eight miles away, completely burned out. New South Wales Police Detective Acting Superintendent Andrew Marks said at the time officers were “a million per cent confident” the kidnappers had taken the wrong man, stressing that Mr Baghsarian and his family had no links to organised crime.
New South Wales premier Chris Minns described the family as “distraught” and called on those responsible to do the right thing. “This is a man over 80 years old,” Mr Minns said. “Please return him to his family.”
The investigation led to the charging of Gerard Andrews, 29, and Daniel Stevens, 24, with murder and abduction. Andrews was arrested and taken to a police car, with his trousers falling down as he was frogmarched by officers. The latest charge brings the total to 12 people charged in connection with Mr Baghsarian's death.
