A Gold Coast businessman found guilty of killing his estranged wife amid a bitter divorce dispute is expected to be sentenced.

September 11, 2019

A Gold Coast millionaire who killed his estranged wife amid a bitter row over the custody of their two children is set to learn his fate on Wednesday.

John William Chardon, 72, was convicted of Novy Chardon’s manslaughter following a three-week trial in the Brisbane Supreme Court.

The mother-of-two, 34, disappeared from their plush Upper Coomera mansion on the night of February 6, 2013.

Her body has never been found.

Chardon’s trial heard a raft of sensational allegations, including that he had attempted to hire a Filipino hitman, had numerous affairs and asked his daughter to hide a mysterious box said to contain gun parts and handcuffs.

He was also accused of murdering his wife hours after receiving a letter from her divorce lawyer about the custody of their children.

But Chardon denied it all, saying Ms Chardon told him she was leaving.

The court heard the Indonesian-born beautician had been deeply unhappy during the last years of her marriage and was preparing for life outside her husband’s “dark shadow”.

She disappeared at the end of the couple’s year-long legal separation, during which Chardon stayed in their home to help with the children.

Prosecutor Mark Green had no direct evidence about how Ms Chardon’s alleged murder occurred.

Instead, he told the jury it was the “little things” like Mr Chardon hiring a carpet cleaner the morning after Ms Chardon disappeared and his unexplained journey to his factory the night before that proved his guilt.

But the jury disagreed and found Chardon guilty of the lesser charge.

He will be sentenced on Wednesday.