John Chardon trial: Found guilty of manslaughter, not guilty of murder

John Chardon has been found not guilty of the murder of his wife Novy, but guilty of her manslaughter. Now claims of a sensational confession in the wake of her disappearance can be revealed.

GOLD Coast millionaire John Chardon has been found guilty of his wife Novy’s manslaughter in February, 2013.

It took a Brisbane Supreme Court jury more than nine hours to convict him of the killing, after retiring on Friday.

He was found not guilty of murder and will be sentenced at a later date.

For the first time The Courier-Mail can reveal notorious conman Peter Foster in 2015 claimed he had been a witness to a sensational confession about how Chardon shot his 34-year-old wife at Upper Coomera in 2013.

But, the jury in Chardon’s trial was never told of Foster’s evidence because the alleged confession was ruled inadmissible at the eleventh hour in a separate hearing after a court found it was too unreliable.

John Chardon has been found guilty of manslaughter and will be sentenced at a later date. File picture

A court also found it would have been unfair to the lubricant tycoon.

During Chardon’s three week trial, the jury heard Novy’s handbag, passport and bank cards were found at the property she shared with Chardon after she went missing.

Novy’s car was found nearby the Nerang train station several days disappeared.

The Indonesian-born woman’s body had never been located.

She has not seen her family, friends or children, who Justice Ann Lyons said in her summing up she “was in daily contact with”.

Chardon pleaded not guilty to the killing at the start of his trial.

The court has heard throughout the trial, Chardon’s motive for the killing was related to fears he would be denied custody of his children following a divorce from Novy.

Novy’s lawyer sent Chardon an email about their divorce, child custody and separation of assets at 3pm on the day the woman went missing, causing him to “snap”, Crown Prosecutor Mark Green has alleged.

Throughout the trial, the jury heard Chardon hired a carpet cleaner the day after Novy went missing.

Her best friend Frederika Wong told the court in evidence she felt wet carpet in the 34-year-old’s room when she came looking for the woman on February 7, 2013, when she had not turned up for a social engagement.

The crown also said Chardon visited his lubricant factory shortly before 7pm on the evening Novy went missing and “retrieved something” he used to kill her.

Novy Chardon went missing in February 2013. Her body has never been found.

Chardon’s defence barrister Tony Kimmins claimed the accused killer visited the factory to retrieve a new bottle for his water cooler.

Throughout the trial, the jury also heard a box believed to contain gun parts and handcuffs with “John” written on the front was found at the factory by an employee and later given to one of Chardon’s daughters, who attempted to get rid of it during police raids after Novy’s disappearance.

The crown say he collected the box from the factory on the night Novy went missing before giving it to his daughter Candice.

Chardon sent thousands of dollars to a Filipino man he met on the website Asiandating.com and allegedly asked him to source a hitman to kill his wife.

He allegedly asked the same man, Marshall Aguilor, to procure a gun overseas and throw Novy from a cliff or leave her body in a cave.

The court has previously heard allegations that in January 2012, Chardon visited the Philippines and asked Mr Aguilor to organise a hitman to kill Novy.

“The word that I can’t forget is that at the time he asked me: ‘Can you kill?’,” Mr Aguilor told the jury earlier in the trial.

“I just stayed calm. I asked: “Who are you going to kill? And he said ... ‘My wife’.”

Mr Aguilor said he told Chardon he could kill “depending on the situation”.

He claimed during evidence the businessman told him if he couldn’t do it, to find someone else. “He said if he can find someone he would pay $10,000 USD,” he said.

Mr Aguilor also told the court Chardon came to “support” six students in the country and would regularly send money to him so he could “check up on the students” for Chardon.

Marshall Aguilor leaves the Supreme Court in Brisbane last month. Picture: Glenn Hunt/AAP

The jury later heard Chardon allegedly told Mr Aguilor if he helped the students with education and allowances but when he came to the Philippines it was “payback time”.

“He said he doesn’t mind about helping, giving them the best that he can give, they (can go to) luxury schools, expensive schools, the best university (and said:) ‘But if I’m in the Philippines, I want my favour, I want to have sex with them’,” Mr Aguilor told the court.

He later said Chardon asked him to arrange the meetings when he visited the Philippines.

“He said: ‘They shouldn’t be fussy, I want to take them to bed’,” Mr Aguilor said Chardon told him.

Chardon also allegedly made other requests of the women.

“Of course, at the time they should really provide him what he request,” Mr Aguilor said.

“If possible, (they) should be a virgin.”

Chardon denied sleeping with his “mainline students” but said he had sex with other women he gave money to for housing and medication for their children in the country.

The defence has argued Mr Aguilor’s evidence is unreliable.

The court also heard urine was found on the floor of Novy’s bedroom, which Mr Green argued was present in the room because Novy lost control of her bladder during a violent altercation before being killed.