Australian detectives arrested two men Wednesday over the alleged kidnapping and murder of an elderly grandfather in a suspected case of mistaken identity.
Chris Baghsarian, 85, was taken from his home in Sydney’s North Ryde suburb on February 13, but police say neither he nor his family had any underworld connections.
After a long search, police said they found human remains Tuesday that they believed to be Baghsarian’s near a golf club in Sydney’s northwestern fringes.
Robbery and crime squad detectives arrested a 24-year-old man and a 29-year-old man in two dawn raids Wednesday in the city’s northwestern suburbs, police said in a statement.
The suspects were taken to a local police station “where inquiries continue”, police said.
“Early inquiries established that Chris Baghsarian was not the intended target of the kidnapping and had been taken in a case of mistaken identity,” they said.
Videos and photos obtained by local media have reportedly showed Baghsarian with serious injuries, including a severed finger.
The victim was a widower and lived alone.
Police believe his kidnappers were instead targeting a relative of a convicted armed robber and founder of a streetwear brand linked to the west Sydney-based Alameddine crime network, the Sydney Morning Herald has reported.
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