A 19-year-old man has become the fourth person charged over the kidnapping and murder of 85-year-old Chris Baghsarian, who was abducted from his Sydney home in February in a case of mistaken identity. Police allege the teenager provided the firearm used in the initial abduction.
The man, who was arrested on Tuesday, faced Mount Druitt local court on Wednesday. Three other men have already been charged and remain before the courts in connection with the February incident.
New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said the teenager was involved in supplying the weapon for the kidnapping. 'We are seeing young people predominantly being contracted online to conduct very serious criminal activity,' he said, adding that many do not understand the consequences, as murder carries a life sentence.
Baghsarian, a widowed grandfather, was taken from his home in Sydney's north in the early hours of 13 February. Police later confirmed he was not the intended target. Despite public appeals for his safe return, his body was discovered on 24 February near a golf club in Pitt Town, in Sydney's north-west.
Investigators believe Baghsarian was killed on the night of 14 February at a makeshift stronghold in Dural, about half an hour's drive from where his remains were found. His family described the ordeal as a nightmare, remembering him as a devoted father, brother, uncle and grandfather 'who would never hurt a fly.'
