Updated February 25, 2026 — 10:39pm, first published February 25, 2026 — 7:39am
Heavily armed police have swooped on properties in Sydney’s north-west, arresting two men and charging them over the alleged kidnapping and murder of elderly widower Chris Baghsarian, who was abducted from his home in a suspected case of mistaken identity.
Robbery and serious crime squad detectives working under Strike Force Chobat arrested the men, Gerard Andrews, 29, and Daniel Stevens, 24, at their parents’ homes in Kenthurst and Castle Hill on Wednesday morning.
Detectives recovered Baghsarian’s body near a golf course at Pitt Town on Sydney’s north-western fringe on Tuesday morning.
The men were taken to Riverstone police station and on Wednesday night charged with Baghsarian’s alleged kidnapping – a charge of taking or detaining in company with intent to ransom, causing actual bodily harm – and murder. Both were refused police bail to appear in Blacktown Local Court on Thursday.
Baghsarian was taken hostage about 5am on February 13, when up to three men abducted him from his North Ryde home in a suspected case of mistaken identity. Baghsarian, a grandfather and widower born in Jerusalem, lived alone, and police have repeatedly said he and his family have no links to organised crime.
Detectives believe the kidnappers were looking for the father of Sydney businessman Dimitri Stepanyan, a convicted armed
Read More