A fourth man has been charged over the kidnapping and murder of an elderly Sydney man, who was allegedly abducted in a case of mistaken identity.
More than two months after 85-year-old Chris Baghsarian was abducted from his home in Sydney’s north in the early hours of 13 February, police arrested a 19-year-old on Tuesday over two offences, including murder.
The man was due to face Mount Druitt local court on Wednesday.
Three others have been charged and remain before the courts.
The New South Wales police commissioner, Mal Lanyon, said the teenager arrested on Tuesday was involved in Baghsarian’s initial abduction.
“We’re alleging this 19-year-old actually provided a firearm that was used in his initial kidnapping,” Lanyon told 2GB radio on Wednesday.
Investigators are continuing to look into other possible suspects, he said, adding that Sydney was now dealing with a very different organised crime environment.
“We are seeing young people predominantly being contracted online to conduct very serious criminal activity,” he said.
“There are a lot of young people who are seeing what they believe to be an easy dollar but not understanding the ramifications … the crime of murder carries life.”
Soon after Bagsharian’s disappearance, police revealed that the widowed grandfather was not the intended target and had been taken in a case of mistaken identity.
They made several public appeals, urging the kidnappers to release the 85-year-old and return him to his family.
But on 24 February his body was found 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 a half-hour drive from where his remains were found.
Baghsarian’s family described the ordeal as a nightmare, remembering him as a devoted father, brother, uncle and grandfather “who would never hurt a fly”.