A Gold Coast businessman has denied murdering his estranged wife and disposing of her body after he received a letter demanding custody of their children.

September 2, 2019

A Gold Coast man accused of murdering his estranged wife amid a bitter divorce row received a letter demanding custody of their children and half his assets the night she disappeared, a court has heard.

Novy Chardon, 34, went missing on February 6, 2013 – the same day her husband John William Chardon, 71, received a letter from divorce lawyers demanding custody of their two children and 50 per cent of his assets.

The mother-of-two’s body has never been found and more than six years after she disappeared Chardon is fighting a murder charge in the Brisbane Supreme Court.

Chardon told police when he woke up on February 7 his wife was gone, suggesting she may have sold $70,000 worth of jewellery to fund her departure.

But investigators have found Ms Chardon’s passport and she hasn’t used her bank accounts or social media accounts.

Crown prosecutor Mark Green put it to Chardon that his account of his wife’s disappearance was fabricated and asked what he had done with her body.

“No it’s not (and) I didn’t do anything with it,” Chardon retorted in an exchange that at times became heated.

He also denied another person had helped him dispose off the body or that he became “furious” after he received a letter from Ms Chardon’s lawyers the night she disappeared.

“No … I was just curious about what she told her lawyer … I knew it could never happen,” Chardon replied.

The court heard Ms Chardon ignored her husband when he tried to discuss the matter.

“She said ‘I’ve got to go away. I am going away’,” Chardon said.

Chardon had thought the couple had agreed on joint custody of their children and offered his wife a $3.5 million divorce settlement, the court heard.

But the letter he received on February 6 demanded 50 per cent of all his assets, including their Upper Coomera home, two factories and other investments.

Ms Chardon also wanted half the company Chardon started in 1986 with his first wife, Maureen.

The trial continues on Monday.