Thirty-six-year-old builder and property developer John Iveson was described by those who knew him in contrasting terms: a devoted father and husband, yet also a tough, sometimes feared figure in local business circles. He lived in Nantwich, Cheshire with his wife Julie and their children. At the time of his disappearance, Julie was heavily pregnant with their sixth child, a son named Ryan, born in March 2007 whom John never met.
John worked in demolition, construction, and property renovation. He was known as a “wheeler-dealer” with a reputation for lending money, sometimes at high interest, earning him the label of a “loan shark” in some reports. He had a criminal record, including a prison sentence for violent disorder and wounding, and was said to have a short temper.
John’s last confirmed movements were on January 30th, 2007. Around six thirty p.m., his brother-in-law, Paul Billington, a pig farmer from Rossett near Wrexham, picked him up from his home. They reportedly headed to a farm in the Nantwich area, possibly to discuss business or help with a broken-down tractor.
Later that evening, around eleven fifteen p.m., John made what is believed to be his final phone call, to another brother-in-law, sounding slightly drunk but otherwise fine. After that, nothing. His white Ford Transit 190 Tipper van also disappeared and has never been recovered.
John was reported missing on February 2nd, 2007. His disappearance was deemed out of character, especially given his impending fatherhood and family ties.
Cheshire Police initially treated the case as a missing person inquiry but soon shifted to suspecting murder, despite no body being found. In 2008, on the first anniversary, they offered a £30,000 reward for information.
Police believed John Iveson’s business dealings, particularly debts and disputes, were key. He was said to have “many enemies” in certain circles, with some fearing him due to his aggressive debt collection methods.
By 2011, the case saw a breakthrough: four men were arrested on suspicion of murder or conspiracy. Two—Paul Billington (John’s brother-in-law) and Mark Done, a chicken farmer from Nantwich—were charged with murder in 2011.
The 2012 trial at Chester Crown Court centered on a financial dispute. Prosecutors alleged that Billington owed Iveson a substantial sum, reportedly up to £260,000, stemming from a 2006 property deal where John sold his £325,000 family home to Billington, who struggled to pay and later went bankrupt.
Tensions had escalated in early 2007, with John allegedly threatening and harassing Billington for repayment. Prosecutors claimed Billington and Done killed John Iveson during a meeting at a farm (possibly Hill Farm or Mile House Farm near Nantwich) and disposed of the body, speculating it may have been fed to pigs on Billington’s farm, leaving no trace.
Defense arguments included suggestions that John might have fled due to emerging child sex abuse allegations against him (raised during the trial but not substantiated further in reports) or other pressures.
Both men denied murder. On April 13th, 2012, the jury acquitted Billington and Done after a high-profile trial.
Despite the acquittals, Cheshire Police continued to treat the case as murder. Appeals were issued on anniversaries, including the eighth in 2015, urging anyone with information to come forward. As recently as 2018, it was listed among Cheshire’s unsolved historic murder cases.
No further arrests or charges have been reported in public records, and John Iveson’s body has not been found.
Crime Immemorial 