John William Chardon was the epitome of a self-made Australian millionaire. Starting from humble beginnings, his sharp business acumen, particularly in the automotive lubricant industry, propelled him to immense wealth.

He owned multiple companies, invested internationally, and lived a life of luxury, sponsoring racing events and donating generously to charities. Yet, his personal life was marked by instability, with multiple failed marriages attributed to his focus on business.

In 2001, during a business trip to Indonesia , the seemingly confirmed bachelor met Novi, a young woman working at his hotel. Despite a significant age gap of nearly two decades, they quickly fell in love and married within a month. John brought Novi back to Australia, where they settled into a lavish lifestyle, first in a $750,000 home and later in a $1 million property in the Gold Coast hinterland. They had two children, Alex and Chanel.

While John expanded his business empire across 25 countries, Novi started her own beauty products business. To the outside world, they appeared to be a successful, affluent couple. However, beneath the surface, their marriage was reportedly crumbling.

On February 6, 2013, Novi Chardon, 34, disappeared. Her parents in Indonesia grew frantic when she stopped responding to messages. Their anxiety heightened when John arrived in Indonesia days later with their two children, claiming it was a business trip and that Novi had stayed behind in Australia. He told them, and later Novi’s friends and the police, that he couldn’t reach her either.

Friends in Australia, also unable to contact Novi, reported her missing on February 10. Police quickly established that Novi hadn’t left the country, nor had she used her bank cards since February 6. CCTV footage showed her at a gas station that day, and later her car arriving home. After that, she vanished. Her Volvo was found abandoned a day after the missing person report was filed, about 20 minutes from their home.

Extensive searches by friends, volunteers, and police divers in the area, including the river near their home and the location where her phone last pinged, yielded no trace of Novi. Public suspicion immediately fell on John Chardon, particularly due to his seemingly unconcerned behavior, remaining in Indonesia for weeks after his wife’s disappearance.

Upon his return to Australia on February 25, police interviewed John. He maintained his ignorance regarding Novi’s whereabouts, suggesting she might have left voluntarily, possibly taking valuable jewelry with her. Novi’s family vehemently denied she would ever abandon her children. Lacking strong evidence, police released John.

For three years, the investigation stalled, frustrating Novi’s family and friends who firmly believed John was responsible. Behind the scenes, however, authorities were quietly building a case. In 2016, Australians awoke to the news that John Chardon had been arrested. Despite the absence of Novi’s body, prosecutors were confident they could secure a conviction.

The trial began in August 2019 and lasted several months, revealing the dark underbelly of the Chardons’ marriage. Friends testified that the relationship soured around 2009, primarily due to John’s rampant infidelity. Novi reportedly discovered her husband frequented prostitutes, including teenagers, during his business trips to Asia.

Their arguments became frequent and intense. In December 2010, police responded to a domestic disturbance call made by John himself, after Novi, in a fit of rage over his cheating, smashed household items. John didn’t press charges, but the relationship never recovered. Friends stated Novi felt trapped, wanting a divorce but terrified John would use the 2010 police report against her in a custody battle, portraying her as violent and unfit.

She endured years of his infidelity and alleged emotional abuse, including belittling comments and controlling behavior. One friend, Julia Bidden, testified that John even physically abused Novi, recounting an incident where Novi woke up handcuffed, with John attempting to suffocate her with a pillow, stopping only when their eldest child cried out.

By 2012, Novi realized John would never change and began seeking solace elsewhere, briefly having an affair with a man named Ben. More importantly, she started planning her independence, focusing on her beauty business to prove she could support herself and her children. On February 3, 2013, she excitedly shared on social media that she had obtained her Australian Business Number.

She confided in friends that she was contacting a divorce lawyer. John, meanwhile, seemed indifferent, continuing his own affairs while they lived separate lives under the same roof. The prosecution’s star witness, however, provided the most damning testimony: Marshall Aguilor, a Filipino man flown in from Cebu under a special visa.

Aguilor testified that he met John Chardon on an online dating app and they began a relationship. During one meeting in Cebu, after they were intimate, John allegedly asked Aguilor if he could kill someone. John reportedly expressed fury that Novi was seeking a divorce and half his assets, especially since she had a new boyfriend (Amir) who might benefit.

Aguilor claimed John offered him 30,000 Australian dollars to find three hitmen. The initial plan was to lure Novi to the Philippines, have her taken out, and dispose of her body in a remote cave or ravine, believing the crime would go unsolved due to the perceived quality of police investigations there. John allegedly sent Aguilor an advance payment of PHP 30,000 via remittance.

Computer forensics corroborated parts of Aguilor’s story, showing messages discussing the plot. The plan reportedly shifted to bringing the hitmen to Thailand when Novi refused to travel to the Philippines.

Aguilor admitted he took the money but never intended to find hitmen, stating he wasn’t capable of such an act, despite John’s perception of him. He also testified John asked him to find poor, attractive students needing tuition money, offering financial help in exchange for intimacy.

Chardon’s defense team aggressively attacked Aguilor’s credibility, painting him as a liar motivated by the substantial reward money and a desire to immigrate to Australia.

John took the stand, denying Aguilor’s claims and portraying himself as a philanthropist who had helped numerous Filipino students since 1998 without expecting anything in return, though admitting some offered themselves.

The defense emphasized the lack of physical evidence—no blood, no signs of foul play in the house, no body. They suggested Novi’s boyfriend, Amir, might be involved. However, Amir testified via video link, proving with hotel key card data and CCTV that he was sick in his room on the day Novi disappeared. He also revealed he and Novi had broken up in 2012.

The prosecution countered with testimony from Novi’s divorce lawyer. On February 6, 2013, Novi and her daughter Chanel visited the lawyer’s office to finalize divorce papers. The documents sought significant alimony (1,200 AUD/week), child support, and sole ownership of the family home. The lawyer emailed the divorce petition to John and his attorney around 3 p.m. that day.

John contacted Novi’s lawyer almost immediately, offering a settlement of 3.5 million AUD and joint custody. Novi reportedly rejected the offer. The prosecution argued that receiving the divorce papers, detailing Novi’s demands, enraged John.

Consumed by greed and unwilling to part with half his fortune, especially to a woman he viewed contemptuously, he allegedly took Novi’s life that very night, February 6, 2013.

On September 11, 2019, six years after Novi vanished, the judge found John Chardon guilty, but controversially, of manslaughter, not murder. The judge cited the lack of a body as a key factor in reducing the charge, sentencing the millionaire to 15 years in prison. The prosecution was dismayed. John’s team appealed, but the verdict was upheld.

In October 2020, John Chardon, aged 73, passed away in prison from a heart attack. He took the secret of Novi Chardon’s final resting place with him to the grave, leaving her family without closure, forever wondering where she is.