Stuart MacGill’s partner ‘caught in horrible situation’ amid alleged kidnapping

The partner of cricket great Stuart MacGill has broken her silence after her brother was charged with his gunpoint kidnapping.

Former Test cricketer Stuart MacGill and Maria O'Meagher. Picture: Supplied

The partner of former star Australian cricketer Stuart MacGill says she has been “caught in the middle of a horrible situation” after her brother was charged with his gunpoint kidnapping.

Breaking her silence about the stunning events, a “shocked” Maria O’Meagher said she and MacGill remained together as a couple and declared she had nothing to do with his abduction from a Sydney street last month.

“I was not involved in this situation in any way and you all know more than I do,” Ms O’Meagher told The Australian on Thursday.

Ms O’Meagher’s brother Marino Sotiropoulos was one of four men charged on Wednesday with kidnapping MacGill, 50, who was assaulted and held at gunpoint for an hour in an alleged bid to extort money from him last month.

Mr Sotiropoulos, 46, has also been charged with supplying a commercial quantity of prohibited drugs.

“I am totally shocked and surprised,” Ms O’Meagher said. “I really do not understand what happened or why either and my parents are even more in the dark.

“Stuart is safe and we are both OK as are our children.

“Unfortunately I am caught in the middle of a horrible situation but all I can do is support Stu and my parents.”

MacGill and Ms O'Meagher at Aristotle's Greek restaurant at Neutral Bay. Picture: Instagram

MacGill and Ms O’Meagher own and run a popular Greek restaurant, Aristotle’s, in Sydney’s Neutral Bay.

In a show of unity, a photograph of the couple was posted on the business’s Facebook page on Thursday.

“We look forward to seeing you all soon at Aristotle’s at Neutral Bay,” stated a message accompanying the picture.

Customers posted supportive messages promising to return, generating grateful replies from Ms O’Meagher.

It is understood that since the alleged kidnapping was made public, Ms O’Meagher has received concerning messages on social media that have left her worried for her safety.

Ms O’Meagher said she and her brother “led very different lives” and that although they were siblings they “weren’t that close”.

Richard Schaaf.

Frederick Schaaf.

Ms O’Meagher said reports that she had said the couple were “finished” had been misunderstood during a doorstop interview, in which she said she was finished talking to the media.

She said she had “nothing more to say and for the sake of Stuart‘s and my children, all I ask is for the media to please respect our privacy”.

Mr Sotiropoulos and co-accused Son Minh Nguyen, 42, alleged Comanchero outlaw motorcycle gang associate Richard Schaaf, 29, and his brother Frederick Schaaf, 27, have been charged with kidnapping MacGill.

Mr Nguyen has been charged with directing a criminal group, and the other three men have been charged with participating in a criminal group.

The two younger accused have been described by police sources as the alleged “hired help” in the kidnapping.

MacGill in his playing days. Picture: AFP

There are no allegations against MacGill, a former leg spinner who police have said was purely the victim.

Prodigiously talented but famously overshadowed in his career by Shane Warne, MacGill played 44 Tests for Australia and claimed 208 wickets before retiring from international cricket in 2008.

Police allege he was confronted by Mr Sotiropoulos about 8pm on April 14 at an intersection near his Cremorne home, before being forced into a vehicle by two members of the “criminal gang” and driven to a property at Bringelly, more than 60km away in Sydney’s south west.

“I believe the motive was purely financial – he was seen as someone they could get money from,” Detective Acting Superintendent Anthony Holton said on Wednesday.

MacGill took six days to report the alleged kidnapping, reportedly hiding out in a motel for days before he walked into the Chatswood Police Station at lunchtime on April 20.