SANTA ANA (CBSLA.com) — A Newport Beach businessman pleaded not guilty Monday to murdering his missing wife.

Peter Gregory Chadwick, 48, was charged Monday with one felony count of special circumstances murder for financial gain in the disappearance of his wife, Quee, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said.

He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison with parole if convicted.

Peter Gregory Chadwick (courtesy OC Sheriff’s Dept.)

Chadwick was moved from the Newport Beach jail on Sunday as police continue to search for his 46-year-old wife’s body.

He is accused of murdering Quee Chadwick on the morning of Oct. 10 in their Newport Beach home “over a dispute regarding a possible divorce and related financial issues,” Senior Deputy District Attorney Matt Murphy said in a statement.

A neighbor had called the Newport Beach Police Department on Thursday to report that Chadwick’s children had not been picked up from school.

“A subsequent search of the home by NBPD revealed blood and signs of a struggle inside. NBPD began investigating the whereabouts of the couple,” Murphy said.

Sometime between the day of the murder and the morning of Oct. 11, the husband and father had called police from the 905 Freeway near Tijuana indicating he needed some sort of help. He was later arrested by Newport Beach police in San Diego.

Quee Chadwick’s body has not been recovered.

The investigation into her murder is still ongoing, officials said. Anyone with information should call NBPD Detective Bryan Moore at (949) 644-3764 or Supervising District Attorney Investigator Randy Litwin at (714) 347-8492.

Chadwick is being held without bail and is scheduled to be back in court on Oct. 26.