By Rebecca Peppiatt
A broke Andre Rebelo murdered his mother days after lodging $1 million worth of life insurance policies in her name in a desperate attempt to keep up the appearance of his “fake perfect life”, a Perth court has been told.
Mr Rebelo, 28, is accused of murdering Colleen Rebelo, 58, inside her Bicton home on May 25, 2020.
WA Police allege Colleen Rebelo, left, was murdered by her son Andre Rebelo, pictured right with his former partner Gracie Piscopo, in 2020. Piscopo is not charged.Credit: Instagram
During the first day of his trial in the Supreme Court of Western Australia on Thursday, state prosecutor Brett Tooker told the jury a “fit and healthy” Ms Rebelo was found dead in the shower of her home.
“A coronial investigation was not able to determine the cause of death,” he said.
The jury was told mobile phone cell tower data placed Rebelo at his mother’s house around the time that she died, the state claiming he was there for over an hour, allegedly giving him opportunity to kill his mother and then place her body in the shower to make it look like she had died of natural causes.
Tooker also told the jury Ms Rebelo’s sister saw Rebelo’s car parked outside her Bicton home around the same time on the morning that she died.
He added that police found a series of frantic missed calls and text messages to Rebelo from then-girlfriend Grace Piscopo at the same time he was at his mother’s home, including her asking him where he was and urging him to answer his phone.
“The state’s case is he didn’t answer his phone because he was in the process of killing his mother or dealing with the aftermath and setting up the house to make it look like she had collapsed in the shower,” Tooker said.
Tooker said, of the three insurance policies Mr Rebelo lodged for his mother, he only pursued one worth $500,000, going to “extensive efforts” to claim it.
A court sketch of Andre Rebelo during his murder trial in the Supreme Court of Western Australia.Credit: Anne Barnetson
“The insurance company took rigorous steps to establish the claim,” he said.
“To Andre Rebelo, it must have seemed like they were putting roadblocks to claim.
“Every time they put a roadblock down, he found a way around it by submitting fraudulent records or documents.”
Mr Rebelo forged a copy of his mother’s will and testament listing himself as the executor, forged a medical letter from a psychologist stating his mother wasn’t suicidal, and forged a cause of death certificate stating she died of a brain aneurism. He also faked a voicemail from the psychologist telling the insurance company she did not believe Ms Rebelo was suicidal.
The insurance company became suspicious and refused to pay out the claim before reporting Mr Rebelo to police.
Tooker claimed that in 2020, Mr Rebelo and his then-girlfriend Piscopo portrayed their life as glamorous and perfect, but the truth was they were in dire financial trouble.
He said Mr Rebelo struggled to keep up with his girlfriend, who was a successful model and influencer, and used other people’s money to bankroll his attempts to become a cryptocurrency day-trader.
“He had lived his life on credit,” Tooker said.
“On the date of Colleen Rebelo’s death, he had a personal and credit card debt of more than $40,000 ... he was being pursued by two debt collection agencies.
“The walls were closing in ... if he wanted to be successful ... then he had to kill his mother.”
Tooker told the jury in the year before his mother’s death, Rebelo had been working at Coles and attempted to get a reduction on his $880-a-week rental property in Beaconsfield, which was denied.
He also cashed in his superannuation from two separate funds, totalling about $9000, under hardship rules during the COVID pandemic, and had applied for JobSeeker government payments.
The court also heard Piscopo bought a Range Rover Evoque through a finance company for $73,000, which by early 2020 she was struggling to make repayments on.
Tooker said the couple had no assets and, at the time of his mother’s death, Rebelo was being hounded by two separate debt collection agencies with daily phone calls, text messages and demand notices.
His cryptocurrency business had made only $22 in profit and bank statements seized by police showed Piscopo was giving Rebelo money “from time to time”.
“They appeared to have it all – beauty, money, travel, a baby – a perfect life,” Tooker told the jury.
“But the reality was much different.”
Tooker also showed the jury Piscopo’s Instagram and YouTube accounts, which at the time of Ms Rebelo’s death had almost a million followers and 295,000 subscribers, respectively.
In contrast, Rebelo’s Instagram account had just 85,000 followers and his YouTube channel had 6000 subscribers.
Tooker told the court Rebelo was Piscopo’s assistant, supported her in her career and was the primary carer of their son.
Rebelo’s defence barrister Anthony Elliot told the court his client was innocent of murder and asked them to look closely at the evidence to see whether his client was actually in “a dire” financial situation.
He also told the jury there could be a “completely innocent” explanation for taking out the life insurance policies for his mum days before her death.
“There is one ultimate question; whether the financial evidence that you’re going to hear demonstrates or supports a motive to carry out a heinous crime of matricide,” he said,
“There are many, many, many people in debt. A substantial number of them are in debt to a greater extent than Mr Rebelo. Does being in debt mean he is likely to be - or proven to be - guilty of murder?”
On Friday morning the state’s first witness will be Fabian Rebelo, Rebelo’s younger brother who found his mother in the shower on the day of her death.
The trial continues.