By Rebecca Peppiatt
The ex-girlfriend of a Perth man accused of killing his mother for her life insurance has been accused of lying about his whereabouts on the morning that she died.
Grace Piscopo, a 28-year-old Instagram influencer and model, told the Supreme Court of WA on Tuesday that her former boyfriend Andre Rebelo ran errands on the morning of May 25, 2020, before dropping clothes off at his mum’s house.
Piscopo arrives at court on Tuesday. Credit: 9 News Perth
But a police statement shown to her on the witness stand stated that in September 2020 – four months after the incident – she told police she believed Rebelo had been at home with her all day.
“There’s nothing in the statement about Andre going to the post office, or going to drop off clothes at his mother’s house is there?” prosecutor Brett Tooker asked her.
“I didn’t think it was important,” Piscopo replied.
Tooker reminded her police were asking her directly about Rebelo’s whereabouts on the day his mother died.
“It was scary, and I just told them what I knew and what I could remember,” she said.
“You told them that the two of you had been at home together,” Tooker said.
“Andre is the father of your child – you still love him don’t you? You’re trying to protect him aren’t you?”
“I’m telling the truth the best I can,” Piscopo responded.
“I’m saying you’ve come to court to give evidence to help Andre,” Tooker said.
“I came to court because I have been spoken about the entirety of the trial and I want to have my voice. Everything I do is for my son.
“I’m just following my heart and doing the right thing. Right now, I’m just telling the truth to help everyone.”
Rebelo is accused of killing his mother, Colleen Rebelo, on May 25, 2020 before placing her body in the shower to make it look like she died of natural causes. Piscopo is not accused of any wrongdoing.
He denies the charge, but has admitted to creating fake documents to draw down on a $500,000 life insurance policy he took out in her name days before her death.
Andre Rebelo and his then girlfriend Grace Piscopo.
He says he took out that policy, as well as two others, at his mother’s behest and claims he was planning to share the payout with his three siblings.
Rebelo never got the money after the insurance company alerted police, who charged him with fraud and later murder.
It’s the state’s case that Rebelo had no intention of sharing the money and that he took out the policies behind his mother’s back before orchestrating her death. The court has previously heard he was in debt, being hounded by collection agencies and desperately trying to maintain a “plastic fantastic” lifestyle with his increasingly successful partner and their son.
Piscopo was called to give evidence in defence of her ex on Monday as the last witness in the trial, telling the court that on the morning of Colleen Rebelo’s death, her partner left the home to run errands including to drop clothes off to his mother’s house for his younger brother Fabian.
“It was just a regular week day,” she said.
A series of text messages were shown to Piscopo which she admitted sending to Rebelo on the same day of Ms Rebelo’s death. In them, she said: “answer your f---ing phone”, followed up with “where are you” and later sending “OMG I swear to God Andre’ and then “answer for f--- sake”.
When asked about the tone, Piscopo said she was frustrated, as Rebelo had a habit of keeping his phone on silent, so she got angry when he didn’t pick up.
It’s the state’s case Rebelo was in the process of killing his mother while Piscopo was attempting to reach him.
Piscopo then said she had suffered with anxiety since she was 11 years old which she now took medication for, although said she was not medicated at the time the messages were sent.
Andre Rebelo with former girlfriend Grace Piscopo.Credit: Instagram
She then told the court Rebelo returned home “around lunch” stating that there was nothing unusual about how he looked or acted.
“Did he have any injuries anywhere?” Rebelo’s defence lawyer Anthony Elliot asked her.
“No,” she replied.
Piscopo was then asked about her relationship with Rebelo and whether it was “equal”, and she said it was.
The court previously heard that by the time of Colleen Rebelo’s death, Piscopo was earning $170,000 as a social media model while tax records show Rebelo had earned about $20,000 in the same period as he was an assistant in the business and a stay-at-home-dad to their young child.
“Did Andre ever communicate to you that he thought it was otherwise than equal?” Elliot asked her.
“He loves being a dad,” Piscopo responded.
During cross-examination, Piscopo was asked about a conversation she had with Rebelo in the weeks surrounding his mum’s death.
“About a week before Colleen Rebelo died, Andre was telling you that he was going to get $500,000 in cryptocurrency?” Tooker asked.
“I don’t remember,” Piscopo said.
“In the three years he was investing in crypto he did tell you he was going to make a lot of money?” Tooker asked.
Piscopo confirmed for the prosecutor that yes, this was Rebelo’s hope and expectation.
“Before Colleen died, he told you he was finally going to make a big sum of money, didn’t he?” Tooker asked.
“I guess,” she replied.
After Coleen’s death, he kept telling you about that money and that there was a problem with the bank? – Yes.
And he kept telling you there was a problem with the bank and the money never came? – Yes.
And then later that year, the police came and arrested him for fraud, and the money never arrived, did it? – No.
The court previously heard from a forensic accountant who combed through both Piscopo and Rebelo’s financial records.
He told the jury the 28-year-old had been trading in cryptocurrency but in a three-year period had only made $22 in profit on the enterprise.
The trial continues.
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