John Mislov, accused of murdering missing woman Susan Goodwin, is ex-husband of Port Lincoln Mayor Diana Mislov
Police have charged a 64-year-old man with murder after unearthing human remains in Port Lincoln, as the accused's daughter reveals her family's shocking connection to the case.
A man accused of murdering missing woman Susan Goodwin is the ex-husband of Port Lincoln mayor, Diana Mislov who left him in the 1990s.
John Mislov, 64, has been charged with murder after police unearthed human remains in the backyard of his former Pamir Court home in Port Lincoln on Wednesday.
The grim discovery came during a fresh excavation by Major Crime detectives, who later took Mr Mislov into custody.
In a Facebook post on Sunday in which Mr Mislov’s estranged daughter, Johana Page, also tagged her mother Port Lincoln mayor Diana Mislov, she clarified that he was her biological father.
Ms Mislov served a term on the City of Port Lincoln from 2014-18 and became Mayor in the last council elections in November 2022.
In her post, Ms Page said her mother had left Mr Mislov in the 1990s.
“I don’t owe anyone an explanation, but I also respect that in small towns people talk, people have questions, and our community is processing some really heavy things,” she said.
“He has not been part of our lives for 30 years … we’ve always lived in the same town as him … and this news has brought up some very complex emotions for both of us.
“Most of all, my heart goes out to Susan Goodwin’s family, I’m so sorry it has taken more than two decades for you to reach even this stage of closure and I cannot imagine the depth of your pain.
“I hope the discovery of her remains brings you some measure of peace after so many years of unanswered questions.”
A visibly dishevelled Mr Mislov represented himself in court on Thursday and fired off a barrage of expletives at Magistrate Luke Davis while making his bail application.
The prosecution told the court they opposed bail and outlined details of the allegations.
“It is alleged that the accused murdered the deceased 23 years ago and then buried her remains in the yard of his premises, resulting in the murder being concealed for a period of 23 years,” the prosecution said.
“There’s a strong prosecution case. The defendant, whilst in the cells in Port Lincoln, made admissions to police under caution to killing the deceased and to burying her in his yard.”
When the magistrate asked him if there was anything else he should consider, he said: “ Yeah I’m a human being, even though I made a mistake.”
When bail was refused, Mr Mislov then laughed and told Mr Davis: “You can shove it up your ass.”
He later told Mr Davis to “stop acting like a f*****g d******d.”
Ms Goodwin, then 39, vanished from her Moonta Crescent home on July 19, 2002. She was last seen after a shopping trip to Coles and Woolworths that day. By late afternoon her car was found parked in the driveway, but she was never seen again.
Acting Detective Superintendent Andrew Macrae from Major Crime said the breakthrough should give “some reassurance” to Ms Goodwin’s remaining family after years of unanswered questions.
In 2017, her father Don issued a plea from his hospital bed for closure for his wife and surviving daughter. Both parents died later that year without answers.
Tragedy had already scarred the family decades earlier when Ms Goodwin survived a horror car crash that killed her two sisters and brother. Today, only one sibling remains.
Mr Mislov will appear in court again next year.
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Originally published as John Mislov, accused of murdering missing woman Susan Goodwin, is ex-husband of Port Lincoln Mayor Diana Mislov
