In 2020 there were a number of cases before the courts which left the Gold Coast reeling in horror while others left the public shaking their heads in disbelief.

Here are some of the most shocking court cases of the past 12 months.

1. John Chardon dies

Millionaire businessman John Chardon died in October in the Wolston Correctional Centre where he was serving out his 15-year sentence for the death of his wife, Novy Chardon.

Ms Chardon vanished on the Gold Coast in 2013 amid a divorce dispute.

Her body has never been found.

In September 2019, Chardon was found guilty of the manslaughter for the death of Ms Chardon.

But, he was in the midst of appealing the 15-year jail term when he died of a suspected heart attack.

In December the court dismissed the appeal due to Chardon’s death.

2. Dad fatally stabbed

Beenleigh dad Raymond Harris was allegedly tracked down by a group of men armed with a hunting knife and stabbed to death in the heart of Surfers Paradise in late September this year.

The attack on Mr Harris was the third stabbing death in Surfers in about 12 months.

It was alleged the group tracked Mr Harris to a Surfers Paradise pub before the group was asked to leave.

Mr Harris was allegedly attacked on Orchid Ave by the group, one of them brandishing a 30cm hunting knife.

Jarod James Miller, 21, from Tinana, 18-year-old Jye Sebastian Webb-Italia from Pimpama and Kyle Jack Webb were later charged with one count of murder after Mr Harris’s death and three counts of assault.

Zaynn Stevannes Bekker and Webb’s girlfriend Amy Anne Ackerman were charged with accessory after the fact of murder.

All five are still before the courts.

3. Mum holds girls hands as she is raped

The details of this case were so shocking and disturbing that they were never published in full.

What was published left a lot of Gold Coasters in horror.

In a two-week trial it was revealed how a mother had sat and held her daughter’s hands as grown men raped the nine-year-old.

At other times the mother dressed the girl in “Playboy ears” and lingerie before inviting the men in to the girl’s room.

In August the mother sat motionless as she was sentenced to 10 years prison.

The woman’s calm reaction was in sharp contrast to her demeanour in March when she was found guilty in the Southport District Court to multiple offences, including maintaining a relationship with a child, deprivation of liberty and three counts of rape.

4. Police officers party with stripper

Two police officers, a stripper and a few of their friends were allegedly caught on surveillance doing cocaine and ecstasy at the end of a wild party in a luxury penthouse at the end of June.

At one stage during the party at Star Gold Coast’s Darling hotel some of the guests allegedly did cocaine from the backside of a woman.

Stripper Tyana Maree Hansen, who has starred in Ultra Tune TV ads alongside Mike Tyson, Charlie Sheen and Pamela Anderson, pleaded guilty in the Southport Magistrates Court in November to two counts of possessing a dangerous drug and one count of possessing anything used in connection with a crime.

Hansen was fined $1500 last month for possessing dangerous drugs while at the party at the Darling.

Hansen and her ex-boyfriend police officer Zachary Maidment allegedly watched as another party guest did cocaine from a woman’s buttocks.

Maidment and Todd David, a second officer accused of being at the party, are still before the courts.

Both Rapid Action Parol officers face multiple drug related charges including possession of cocaine and MDMA. Maidment has also been charged with supplying drugs, permitting use of place, possessing property suspected of being used in relation to a crime and possessing anything used in the commission of a crime.

In December another partygoer, Dylan Mark Arthur Bernoth, a mechanic, pleaded guilty to possessing drugs and was placed on a $750 good behaviour bond for nine months and ordered to participate in a drug diversion course. No conviction was recorded.

Bernoth was seen on surveillance tape snorting cocaine off a woman’s backside.

5. Criminal lawyer allegedly caught with cocaine

One of the Coast’s most well-known criminal lawyers got a taste of the other side of the law when charged in July for allegedly possessing cocaine.

Moloney MacCallum Abdelshahied Lawyers managing partner Campbell MacCallum and his company were the target of a 16-month Crime and Corruption Commission investigation into the firm.

In March a solicitor at the firm, Shaune Irving, was charged for allegedly lying when he stated his ex-girlfriend was driving his Mercedes-Benz when it was booked for speeding.

Since the initial charge the CCC has also charged Irving with 10 counts of fraud, two counts of money laundering and four counts of supplying a dangerous drug.

Two of the firm’s clients – Harley Barbaro and Craig McDonald – have also been charged for alleged perjury during the CCC investigation.

MacCallum was hit with more charges in early December including money laundering fraud and drugs charges.

He has continued to turn up for work and front up in court for clients - in July he told the Bulletin “I face things front on”.

The matters are all still before the courts.

6. Robber too small for dock

A judge asked a 12-year-old armed robber to move out of the dock at court so he could be seen while being sentenced for a knifepoint holdup.

The boy’s head was barely visible over the one-metre high timber partition at the Southport Children’s Court in February this year.

When the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, sat down he was not visible at all from the public gallery.

Judge Katherine McGinness, who sits on an elevated platform in the courtroom, said she was unable to see the boy even when he stood.

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Instead she asked him to sit next to his lawyers for the duration of the proceedings.

When he sat in a large office chair next to his lawyer, the boy’s legs hung at least 30cm off the ground.

He pleaded guilty to one count of robbery and had spent 82 days in detention.

The boy was sentenced to restorative justice.

7. Candyman sues for defamation

Tobacco tycoon The Candyman started a legal spat with neighbours after he took issue with them allegedly called him “an ignorant a***hole” and “weak as piss”.

Travers “The Candyman” Beynon took James Blackledge a neighbour in his Helensvale estate to the Southport District Court seeking $30,000 compensation, for allegedly damaging his reputation and causing him hurt and embarrassment through a series of emails to other residents.

Mr Beynon had an early win when, in November, a Judge ruled in a number of emails could be considered even though they were outside the limitation period.

The tobacconist tycoon is also known for his wild house parties.

The defamation battle is ongoing with more documents expected to be filed in court in the coming months.

8. Seamstress’ bump at Bunnings

A Gold Coast seamstress is suing Bunnings for $317,000 for allegedly being hit in the head by a boom gate.

Angela Julienne Kraay claims she has become reclusive and anxious and has been unable to sew quickly after suffering a traumatic brain injury.

The Upper Coomera woman in May lodged a claim against the hardware giant in the Southport District Court.

It is alleged Ms Kraay was walking through the timber yard of the Bunnings warehouse at Oxenford on August 21, 2015 when a boom-gate “suddenly lowered and a sharp metal sign” struck her on the front left side of her forehead.

Ms Kraay claims the incident left her with a mild traumatic brain injury which impairs her memory and cognitive ability.

Bunnings fired back in court documents in October that the gate was lowering and Ms Kraay walked into it.

In its response to Ms Kraay’s claim, Bunnings claims the area where the incident happened was a “vehicle exit for the timber yard” and not usually used for pedestrians.

“It was not reasonably foreseeable that (Ms Kraay) would act as she did,” it is claimed in the defence filed in court.

The matter is still before the courts.

9. Ex-bikie stabs millionaire

An ex-bikie was heard telling someone to “take care of my wife and kids” moments before he stabbed a millionaire businessman in a Gold Coast park over a sexually suggestive message to his wife.

Steven Edward Smith pleaded guilty in the Southport District Court in June to grievous bodily harm and assault occasioning bodily harm.

The court heard the 34-year-old went to the Mudgeeraba Sports field on August 1, 2018 to confront property management rights baron Paul Picone after he found out the millionaire had an alleged sexual encounter with his wife, Carly Smith.

Smith, a former Black Uhlans bikie, arranged for the meeting after seeing Mr Picone send a sexually suggestive message to Mrs Smith on Snapchat, the court heard.

Judge Katherine McGinness sentenced Smith to four years prison to be suspended on February 5 next year. He was also sentenced to 18 months prison for the assault occasioning bodily harm, to be released on parole in February next year.

10. Ex-real estate agent offers hush money after rape

A former Gold Coast real estate agent offered a woman he had drugged and raped twice $100,000 to keep her mouth shut.

Steven Chen, 47, even drew up a written agreement for the victim to sign.

Chen had pleaded guilty in the Southport District Court to two counts each of rape and using a drug to stupefy for the most recent attack in January 2018.

He was in May jailed for nine years for the “callous” January 2018 attack, during which the woman was drugged for 18 hours and raped twice.

He will not be eligible for parole until February 2027.

Six years before the rape, Chen had been let off on a good behaviour bond for groping another woman.

The jailed attacker should not be confused with a real estate agent with the same name, Steven Chen of The Agency.

11. Fatal stabbing allegedly over name

A woman was charged with murder after allegedly killing a former Gold Coast law student in Surfers Paradise in April after he refused to tell her his name.

Freedom Anderson allegedly spoke with Nicholas Braid before inflicting a 1cm length wound to his chest outside the Surfers Paradise Beachcomber Apartments on a Tuesday night in April.

Police allege an argument erupted between 20-year-old Anderson and Mr Braid, 35, just after 7pm because he wouldn’t tell her his name.

Anderson allegedly said: “What is your name, why did you lie to me?”. Braid replied: “I don’t have to tell you my name”.

Anderson is accused of pushing Mr Braid. He allegedly fell to the ground and was seen pulling down the neck of his shirt and bleeding from his chest.

Anderson was denied bail is has been remanded in custody while her case works it way through the court system.

12. Panic at border checkpoint

A labourer who fled police at the Gold Coast Airport border checkpoint claims he panicked because he did not know a warrant was out for him.

Kodi Ned Brown ran into a nearby home and stole some clothes in an attempt to stop police from following him.

The 24-year-old’s flight from police on July 27 this year was captured by a Gold Coast Bulletin photographer.

Brown pleaded guilty in the Southport Magistrates Court in November to entering a premises to commit an indictable offence and obstructing police.

Magistrate Pam Dowse sentenced him to six months prison with immediate parole eligibility.

Brown had been in custody since July.

13. Ex-Titan allegedly caught up in drug ring

Former Gold Coast Titans rugby league player Michael Gordon was a “little fish caught up in a net” when police raided properties across the Tweed and Gold coasts in November, his lawyer claims.

Gordon, 37, was one of seven people charged on November 21. He was accused of supplying cocaine and ecstasy.

Properties were raided at Casuarina and Terranora in New South Wales, and Robina, Burleigh Waters and Miami.

Police allegedly seized cocaine, MDMA, steroids, more than $60,000 cash, mobile phones and drug paraphernalia as part of the wider raids.

Gordon was allegedly found with a small amount of cocaine at his Casuarina property.

His case is still before the courts.

14. Bird fight leads to death

A man charged over the death of his pensioner neighbour following a dispute about feeding birds in November allegedly kicked him while he was on the ground and hit him to the head twice with a broomstick, a court has heard.

Trevor Dale Wheeler, 48, was refused bail in the Southport Magistrates Court.

He’s been charged with manslaughter and serious assault of a person over 60.

His case is still before the courts.

15. Strip club boss flees after extortion attempt by crime gang, commission told

An ex-Gold Coast strip club boss fled a Middle Eastern crime gang which “bashed” him to recover an alleged drug debt or in an extortion attempt – leaving a wealthy Glitter Strip entrepreneur mate in fear of his life, it was alleged in the Fair Work Commission in September.

The explosive claims are detailed in a Fair Work Commission decision after a failed unfair dismissal bid by former Toy Box Showgirls director Jimmy Seoud who ran the club for then-friend Sean Buckley’s NRA Enterprises.

The FWC decision details the staggering breakdown of a long friendship-turned-business-partnership between Mr Seoud and Ultra Group of Companies executive director Mr Buckley “who splashed cash” at him for years.

Mr Buckley, behind the Ultra Tune car repair and roadside assist empire infamous for controversial TV ads starring Mike Tyson and Charlie Sheen, appointed Mr Seoud to run Toy Box in June 2018. Mr Buckley via NRA had purchased the venue after the pair were banned from Hollywood Showgirls at Surfers Paradise, the commission states.

It was not explained why they were banned from Hollywood but it’s understood Mr Buckley had a falling out with Hollywood’s owner.

But within 18 months the Toy Box business venture and friendship began to crack after Mr Seoud somehow became entangled in a spat with a Middle Eastern crime gang, the FWC decision states.

16. Death threat to Premier and CHO

A Gold Coast bricklayer accused of threatening to “mow down” the Queensland Premier and chief health officer has fronted court for the first time.

Aaron Marriage, 43, was in September charged after detectives executed a search warrant at his Nerang property as part of an investigation into alleged threats made against Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and chief health officer Jeannette Young.

Marriage was self-represented when he briefly appeared in the Southport Magistrates Court in October on a charge of using a carriage service to make a threat to kill.

The matter is set to be before the court again on January 18.

17. Man giggles and records video after bashing mate

Callaghan Phillip Sievers beat his childhood mate unconscious on the beach.

Instead of using his phone to call for help, he pressed record on a video.

The footage captured him “giggling” and saying ‘He is so f***ed up, he is lying in the dirt f***ed’, crown prosecutor Jessica Guy told the Southport District Court in August.

The then 18-year-old turned the camera to his friend of 10 years showing him lying on the Surfers Paradise beach covered in blood and sand.

The beating came after Sievers had found out his friend has slept with his on-and-off girlfriend.

It would be about another hour, about 1am on August 27 last year, that a member of the public would find the teen crawling, vomiting and unable to stand.

The 19-year-old was rushed to hospital where he crashed and needed to be resuscitated. The teenager was left with a lacerated kidney, a fractured vertebrae and severe bruising.

Sievers had returned to a Surfers Paradise nightclub.

Sievers was jailed for three-and-a-half years after pleading guilty to grievous bodily harm.

The prison term will be suspended after he has served 10 months.

lea.emery@news.com.au