The 45 minutes Andre Rebelo spent at his mother’s Bicton home on the morning she died have been interrogated as prosecutors probe why the 28-year-old failed to tell anyone he had been there.
Rebelo’s cross-examination began in the WA Supreme Court on Wednesday, with his movements on the morning of May 25, 2020 – the day his 58-year-old mother died – brought into question.
A court sketch of Andre Rebelo, who is accused of killing his mother, Colleen Rebelo (inset).
Rebelo is accused of murdering his mother and placing her body in the shower to make it look like she had died of natural causes. A coroner failed to find a cause of death, and Rebelo has denied the accusations but admitted taking out three life insurance policies in his mother’s name and forging documents to try and claim on one of them after her death.
On Wednesday, state prosecutor Brett Tooker accused Rebelo of lying over claims he had gone to his mother’s house about 10.45am that day to drop off clothes for his younger brother Fabian.
Rebelo told the court he ended up stopping to chat with his mother, who was the only person home, and spoke about the life insurance policies, gardening and his son.
Tooker claimed that was all a lie.
“You might have been the last person to see her alive – did you tell your siblings that?” Tooker asked.
“No, no one asked,” Rebelo replied.
Rebelo admitted that despite being called by Fabian that afternoon and told his mum had been found dead, and then going to the Preston Point Road home while paramedics and police were still there, he did not disclose to anyone at the time that he had seen his mother alive and well that morning.
He then replied that he “didn’t know” if he later told his siblings about being at his mum’s house, which Tooker said was “a very important piece of information”.
“Do you agree that would have been important information to have shared among your siblings?” Tooker asked.
“Yes,” Rebelo replied.
You say you’ve done so? – Yes.
But not in detail? – Yes, not in detail.
Wasn’t Fabian interested to know the details? – He never asked.
When you told Monique, was she interested to know the details of the last time you ever saw your mother alive? – No.
You’re just making it up, aren’t you, that you told Fabian and Monique? – No.
Rebelo was asked if he ever told his then-partner, Instagram model Grace Piscopo, about going to his mother’s house on the morning she died.
He said he could not remember telling her, with Tooker putting it to him that he made the omission because he was hiding what he had done.
“You knew that by telling Grace and your siblings, it would implicate you in your mother’s death,” Tooker said.
“No,” Rebelo replied.
Rebelo said it “was a stressful time, I didn’t say many things”, when asked why he did not mention the meeting.
Tooker also probed why Rebelo had gone to the house unannounced to drop off the clothes when he had previously said in a text message that he wanted to be there while Fabian picked out what he wanted.
He was also asked why he didn’t take his young son, Romeo, to visit his grandmother as he usually did, with Rebelo claiming he decided to leave the toddler behind while he “ran errands”.
Prosecutors allege Rebelo killed his mum during a 45-minute window between 10am and 2pm five days after he took out life insurance policies in her name because he was in a mountain of debt and desperate to keep up appearances as his increasingly famous girlfriend made six figures from her modelling business.
However, Rebelo has claimed Piscopo’s business income was shared between the couple as he was heavily involved behind the scenes, was a stay-at-home dad, and that she was projected to make “millions” as an influencer and model and was not concerned about a credit card and personal loan debt.
The trial continues.
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