Police released new CCTV footage today showing the moment an 85-year-old North Ryde man was kidnapped from his home in the early hours of 13 February 2026. The release of the footage comes weeks after Chris Baghsarian was taken in a case of mistaken identity, a detail that has defined this extraordinary case from the start.
The CCTV footage from a nearby home shows three men bundling the widower into an SUV about 5am. Detectives say this moment captures a turning point that would ultimately end in tragedy for the 85-year-old grandfather and his family.
Within hours of the abduction, early inquiries established that Chris Baghsarian was not the intended target of the kidnapping and had been taken in a case of mistaken identity. NSW Police immediately alerted the kidnappers to their mistake in successive press conferences, urging them to abandon the grandfather at a safe location. That plea would go unheeded.
A video of Baghsarian allegedly being assaulted by his captors was sent with a ransom demand, which led them to a property in Dural. By the time detectives identified the location, Baghsarian had vanished. Human remains suspected of being Mr Baghsarian were located about 8am on Tuesday 24 February 2026 near a golf club in Pitt Town, eleven days into the search.
The case represents a stark failure of the mistaken identity safeguard that normally protects innocents in kidnapping situations. Kidnappings are rare in Australia, and in past situations, people are released once they realise they have got the wrong person. This case departed sharply from that pattern.
On February 25, police arrested 29-year-old Gerard Anthony Andrews in Kenthurst and 24-year-old Daniel Stevens in Castle Hill. Both were charged with murder and with kidnapping or detaining in company for ransom resulting in death. Police suspect that at least three people are involved in the fatal abduction, and they expect to make further arrests.
The release of the CCTV footage may assist investigators in identifying the third person involved. The case has exposed vulnerabilities in how crime syndicates source targets, and raised questions about whether criminal groups are becoming more willing to dispose of mistaken identity victims rather than release them.
Baghsarian's family requested privacy as they grieve. They described him as someone who would never hurt a fly. The new footage serves as a record of the moment an innocent man's life was altered forever by a single mistake.