Secret recordings of conversations between Andre Rebelo and then-girlfriend Grace Piscopo four months after Colleen Rebelo died have been played to the jury in Rebelo’s murder trial, revealing Piscopo knew nothing about his insurance fraud and was concerned he would go to jail and leave her a single mother.
Andre is accused of killing his mother Colleen Rebelo, 58, in her Bicton home on May 25, 2020, then placing her body in her shower to make it look like she had died of natural causes.
Murder accused Andre Rebelo pictured with his former partner.Credit: Instagram
He denies the accusation, but has admitted to taking out three life insurance policies in her name a week before her death totalling over a million dollars, and then forging documents such as a will and coroner’s report to try to gain access to one of the policies.
A coroner’s investigation could not establish how Colleen Rebelo died.
On Friday the state’s last witness, detective senior sergeant Jarrod Manson, gave evidence that he analysed secret recording devices placed into Piscopo and Rebelo’s Beaconsfield home in September 2020.
Some of those recordings were played to the jury, documenting conversations between the then-couple about the police investigation after Rebelo had been charged with fraud and Piscopo interviewed at length.
“What have you done?” she asks Rebelo through tears in the recording. “You put us into such shit – like, why would you do that?”
Andre responds, “It’ll be OK, don’t worry”.
“But, like, that is such a stupid thing to do,” she says. “All I could do was sit and cry, thinking, oh my God, what if he goes to jail? I’m going to be a single mum. I had no phone, had nothing to distract me with. I had to just sit there in that quiet room by myself with no one to talk to just thinking of the worst possible outcome.”
In the recordings Piscopo could be heard complaining that Rebelo was being framed for murdering his mother “to get her frigging money” and then trying to explain a series of angry text messages and phone calls she made to her partner’s phone on the morning Colleen Rebelo died.
It’s the state’s case that Rebelo was in the process of killing his mother when Piscopo sent a barrage of messages asking him to answer his phone during a 45-minute period on the morning of May 25, 2020.
Andre Rebelo.
“I was thinking in my head, I’ve probably texted ‘where are you’ and you were downstairs in the cubby house and I would’ve wanted a Freddo Frog or something stupid,” she said.
“All I could think about was all the dumb messages I’m sending you … and they were going through them, and they’ve got my vlog camera and I just feel so violated.”
Piscopo can also be heard asking Rebelo “how do you do insurance fraud?“, to which he tells her he tried to change the date on a document because the insurance company was being “so shit” in not accepting his claim.
She asks him why he would do this when his family had enough to deal with, and he replies, “I know; I didn’t think this would happen,” he says.
Andre Rebelo with former girlfriend Grace Piscopo.Credit: Instagram
“Yeah, well, what were you gonna do? Run?” she asks.
Rebelo later promises Piscopo he won’t go to jail, stating he will get “my” money and “leave the country before I go to jail”.
Piscopo can also be heard complaining about her reputation if news of her partner’s arrest “got out” and then wondering if she had put too much financial pressure on him, causing “stress”.
“Baby it’s not your fault,” Rebelo replies.
Piscopo and Rebelo each discuss what was said to them at the police station while they were being interviewed.
“I thought you were so smart,” she says.
The Rebelo family: Monique, Andre with then-girlfriend Gracie Piscopo, Fabian and Colleen Rebelo. Picture: Supplied
“I even said to [the police officer], ‘he wouldn’t do stupid things because he’s not a f--ing r---rd’.”
Piscopo told Rebelo after being at the station for hours she had been distressed at being told to head to the nearest McDonald’s to use the bathroom, because she would be “on the street” with no phone and someone could come and rape her.
Some of the recording includes Rebelo’s twin sister Monique who is asking him about the charges and what they relate to.
“It wasn’t like I killed someone to try and get their life insurance,” he can be heard saying to her.
“Yeah,” she responds. “So that’s why I was like, what is this about?”
During the conversations Rebelo can also be heard comparing the police who arrested him to Nazis because they told him they were just doing their jobs.
The trial continues.
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