The crucial mistakes that brought Chris Baghsarian’s alleged killers undone

From the moment Chris Baghsarian was taken from his North Ryde home, detectives knew something wasn’t right; the 85-year-old widower lived a quiet life on his own, had never come to the attention of police, had no enemies and, as far as investigators could tell, had no reason to be the target of an abduction.

Within hours, it appeared certain that whoever snatched Baghsarian had made a grave mistake. Rather than making off with their intended target – the father of a convicted armed robber with links to the Alameddine crime family living a few doors down – the masked men had allegedly taken an innocent grandfather living out his later years in Sydney suburbia.

It would be 11 days before detectives from NSW Police’s robbery and serious crime squad recovered Baghsarian’s body, dumped near a golf course about an hour from his home on February 14, the day after his abduction. By then, though, investigators had followed a trail of evidence left behind by Baghsarian’s bungling captors that took them across Sydney’s north-west and led to the front doors of two middle-class families on Wednesday morning.

Almost two weeks after Baghsarian was abducted, Gerard Andrews, 29, and Daniel Stevens, 24, were charged with his kidnapping and murder. As detectives continue to build a brief of evidence they say identifies Andrews and Stevens as Baghsarian’s captors and killers, the public evolution of their investigation paints a picture of how the pair came to be accused of botching a crime that gripped Sydney and further blurred the line between innocent bystanders and the criminal underworld.

February 13

At 5am, as Baghsarian sleeps, two masked men force their way into his Northcott Street home and grab him from his bed. Glass smashes, a dog barks and a scream rings out, neighbours tell reporters in the hours after, as he, wearing a check flannelette shirt and grey tracksuit pants, is bundled into a waiting Toyota SUV and whisked away. CCTV captures the moment two hooded men enter Baghsarian’s home, triggering a sensor light at the front of the property, and load him into the car. Police are called and start searching the home.

Shortly after, robbery and serious crime squad detectives establish that Baghsarian is not the intended target of the kidnapping and has been mistakenly abducted. Strike Force Chobat is launched to locate him and his alleged kidnappers.

Baghsarian is driven to an abandoned property at Dural, in Sydney’s north-west, where police believe he is held and tortured. Images and video of a severely injured Baghsarian in the same clothes he was wearing when he was abducted are captured and purportedly sent to Dimitri Stepanyan, the 37-year-old founder of well-known clothing brand Proper Streetwear whose father Karo Stepanyan, 67, was believed to be the kidnappers’ intended target.

Messages supposedly exchanged between the mastermind of Baghsarian’s alleged kidnapping and Dimitri Stepanyan show a $50 million ransom being demanded for Baghsarian’s return. Detectives believe Baghsarian’s captors intended to hold Karo, a former taxi driver banned from working in the industry, to elicit the ransom from his wealthy son. “How did use [sic] get the wrong house?” Dimitri Stepanyan supposedly messages the kidnappers. “My old man would of [sic] blown your head off.”

Elsewhere, a Toyota Corolla that will form a crucial part of the investigation into Baghsarian’s kidnapping is reported stolen from Victoria.

February 14

Police make a direct appeal to Baghsarian’s kidnappers as the search for him enters its second day with little progress.

“You have the wrong person,” Detective Acting Superintendent Andrew Marks, the acting commander of the robbery and serious crime squad, says. “If there’s a member of the kidnap crew who has any common decency, tell us where he is and we’ll do the rest.”

Just after 9pm, the stolen Corolla, fitted with cloned Victorian plates, is seen travelling through Glenorie, near Dural, and nearby Pitt Town. Shortly after, Baghsarian’s body is dumped near the Lynwood Golf and Country Club. Baghsarian’s body, left metres from Pitt Town Bottoms Road, is covered with carpet from the Dural property.

The Corolla is driven to Good Street at Westmead in Sydney’s west, where its occupants unsuccessfully try to set it alight.

February 16

At the second attempt, the Corolla is set alight about 11.30pm, but not destroyed completely. Inside are several items linked to Baghsarian’s kidnapping, including carpet from the Dural property that match the video of the victim filmed at the Dural property. This masthead has chosen not to publish the video or details of it.

The items are forensically tested, and turn up traces of Baghsarian’s DNA.

February 17

Baghsarian’s family issues its first public statement since his alleged abduction.

“Our family is living through a nightmare we never thought possible,” they say in a statement issued via NSW Police.

“Chris’s kidnapping feels surreal, and we are struggling to make sense of the fact that he has been taken and that our family has been caught up in something that has nothing to do with us.

“Chris is a devoted father, brother, uncle, and grandfather. He is deeply loved, gentle, and the kindest person we know – someone who would never hurt a fly.

“As we wait for some form of closure or resolution, we ask for privacy and respectfully request that the media stop publishing photos of our extended family.

“This is an extraordinarily distressing time, and we need space to support one another and focus on navigating what comes next.”

February 19

Evidence found in the Corolla, combined with the images of Baghsarian and other intelligence investigators glean in the week since the abduction, leads detectives to the Dural property.

Police search the derelict property about 7pm, and quickly identify it as the location Baghsarian was taken to after his alleged abduction. A crime scene is established as detectives seize several bags of evidence from the “makeshift stronghold”, where they believe Baghsarian was killed on February 13 or February 14. Police appeal to members of the public – and Sydney’s criminal underworld – for any information about the kidnapping.

February 22

Police launch a large-scale search of dense bushland at Glenorie after receiving reports the stolen Corolla had been seen in the area about 9pm on February 14.

Forensics officers scour the roadside as police carry out line searches over two days. Police appeal for information from locals who may have seen the Corolla or any suspicious activity in the days after Baghsarian’s alleged abduction. Police say hopes of finding Baghsarian alive are fading.

February 24

After 11 days of constant searching, detectives find what they believe to be Baghsarian’s body dumped on the outskirts of the golf course. Initially, the remains are unable to be positively identified as those of Baghsarian because of their condition, but police are confident they have recovered him based on evidence found at the scene, including the carpet from the Dural property.

“I suppose I speak for not only the police, but the public in general, that we’re outraged at this happening, and the recklessness of these people,” Marks says after the body is found. “We’re all outraged that this would happen to an innocent man.”

February 25

With Baghsarian’s body recovered, Strike Force Chobat detectives shift their focus to the second “stream” of the investigation: locating the kidnappers. Almost two weeks after police vowed to find Baghsarian and his kidnappers, heavily armed officers descend on two properties in Sydney’s north-west.

Andrews is pulled from his parents’ multimillion-dollar estate as Marks and other detectives pursuing Baghsarian’s alleged captors watch on. Andrews is bundled into a waiting police car as his pants fall down. At Castle Hill, Stevens is arrested at his father’s home wearing only a pair of shorts.

Both are taken to Riverstone police station, where they are charged with Baghsarian’s kidnapping and murder. Detectives continue to search for a third man allegedly at Baghsarian’s home when he was abducted as they investigate if Andrews and Stevens were contracted to carry out the alleged kidnapping, or if there was involvement of an organiser offshore.

“It’s somebody’s worst nightmare,” Marks says after Baghsarian’s family welcome news of the arrests.

February 26

Andrews and Stevens appear in court for the first time. Stevens indicates he will apply for bail, but reconsiders after considering the “seriousness of the charges”.

“He understands the seriousness of it, he understands the nature and gravity of the allegations,” Stevens’ lawyer, Javid Faiz, says.

Andrews’ solicitor, Paul McGirr says his client is “no mastermind in respect to his involvement in this particular matter”.

Both are remanded in custody to face court in April.

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