Son recalls pulling mum’s body from running shower in murder trial
The youngest sibling of a man accused of killing his mother for her life insurance money has given evidence in his brother’s murder trial.
WA News
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The youngest brother of a man who allegedly murdered his mother to gain money from her life insurance has told a court how he pulled his mother’s body from a running shower.
Fabian Rebelo was the first witness to give evidence in his brother Andre Zachary Rebelo’s murder trial in the WA Supreme Court on Friday.
Andre is accused of killing his mother Colleen Rebelo, 58, who was found dead in her Bicton home in Perth’s southwest on May 25, 2020. He has pleaded not guilty.
Fabian found his mother’s body in the shower of their home after she failed to pick him up from work and called emergency services.
Fabian recalled when he arrived home he heard the shower running in his mother’s ensuite then found her on her knees, slumped over and leaning against the shower wall.
“I called out to her and didn’t hear anything so opened the door and went in,” he said.
“I walked into the bathroom and saw that she was obviously not well and leaned up against the bathroom wall.
“I called triple-0 and performed CPR on her.”
Fabian recounted how he pulled his mum out of the shower and dragged her into the middle of the bathroom floor.
He was given instructions to perform CPR on her until paramedics arrived about five minutes later.
He told the court her face was very blue and dark, she had ‘vomity’ blood in her mouth and her skin colour wasn’t normal.
“I grabbed a towel and popped it over her private parts. I didn’t want her lying there naked,” he said.
“The paramedics went to the bathroom and tried to revive her and quite quickly realised they weren’t going to revive her.”
Fabian recalled quite a few people came to the house after his mother died including a police officer, his sister Monique, brother Andre and his partner Gracie Piscopo.
He told the court he stayed at Andre and Ms Piscopo’s Beaconsfield home the night their mother died, along with his sister Monique.
He said around the time his mother died he had a normal relationship with his brother Andrew and they had gotten along fine.
He told the court his oldest brother Julian was the executor of his mother’s will and dealt with the financial side of things after she died.
He believed each of the siblings had an equal share in their mother’s estate which they received when they sold her house.
Under cross examination, Fabian told the court he had picked up his mother’s body from behind with his arms under her armpits and dragged her onto the bathroom floor.
He confirmed to defence lawyer Anthony Elliott there was a small amount of blood coming from her nose.
On Thursday, the WA Supreme Court had been told Andre Rebelo had taken out three life insurance policies against his mother in the week before her death.
State prosecutor Brett Tooker told the court three days after Ms Rebelo died, her son Andre started the claims process to access the insurance premiums.
The jury heard Andre also submitted forged documents to one of the insurers including false medical information about his mother, a coroner’s report and her last will and testament.
He pleaded guilty to four charges of fraud in relation to the forged documents.
Ms Rebelo’s cause of death has never been established.
The court was told while her death was unexpected it was not treated as suspicious by emergency services who were called to Ms Rebelo’s home when she died.
Police reopened the case when one of the insurers reported the claim against Ms Rebelo’s life insurance policy believing it was fraudulent about three months after her death.
Fabian told the court all the siblings were beneficiaries of their mother’s estate, and received equal shares when her house was sold.
St John Ambulance paramedic Antony Garcia later told the court Ms Rebelo’s son Fabian was very upset and shocked when they arrived at the home.
He said Ms Rebelo was lying on her back on the bathroom floor and looked like she had been in the shower because she was damp, wet and looked deceased.
“The appearance of her skin, especially around her face and neck, there was blue greyish colour on the skin, it is what we look for when a person has been deceased for some time,” he said.
“We attached a defibrillator on the chest and looked at the electrical activity of the heartbeat there was nothing … it was just a flat line.”
Mr Garcia said he did not observe any injuries on Ms Rebelo’s body and they did not find any medication in the house that belonged to her.
He said the house was very clean and tidy, and the bathroom was spotless.
Mr Garcia recalled Fabian asked his colleague to call family members, who arrived at the home before police.
He said his sister Monique arrived first, followed by Andre and Ms Piscopo who arrived in a white Range Rover.
He said they had a brief discussion out the front and he told them what occurred, then had another discussion with all three siblings.
Mr Garcia told the court Monique was very shocked and Andre was very composed.
Under cross-examination, Mr Garcia told the court Fabian was very upset, tearful and crying.
He said normally they would just deal with the individual but Fabian had asked his colleague to call his siblings.
He agreed with the defence that while Monique and Fabian appeared upset, Andre was more composed, but said people responded differently to grief and emergencies.
A police officer called to the home after Ms Rebelo’s body was found told the court she had no visible injuries to indicate wrongdoing caused her death.
“She was on the floor, on her back and was starting to go slightly blue like someone who had been deceased for a while,” he said.
The officer checked the house to make sure the windows were locked and did not see any signs of forced entry.
“I saw nothing to give me an indication that it was a self-harm job or any wrongdoing, there was no suicide note,” he said.
When questioned by defence lawyer Mr Elliott, the first class constable agreed once they had completed their paperwork it was the end of the case.
He told the court he conducted no further investigation into Ms Rebelo’s death.
The trial continues next week.
Originally published as Son recalls pulling mum’s body from running shower in murder trial
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