Andre Rebelo stood to gain $1.15 million from mother’s death, Perth murder trial told

A 28-year-old man allegedly murdered his mother for financial gain after he found himself in debt in the pursuit of portraying a glamorous lifestyle on social media, a Perth court has heard.

Andre Rebelo is standing trial in the Supreme Court in Perth after being accused of murdering his mother, Colleen Rebelo.

Ms Rebelo was 58 years old when she was found dead in the shower inside her home in the riverside suburb of Bicton on May 25, 2020.

It was not until two years later that her son was charged with her murder, having earlier been charged with numerous fraud offences, to which he has since pleaded guilty.

Prosecutor Brett Tooker began his opening address on Thursday, telling the court Mr Rebelo had stood to gain $1.15 million dollars from his mother’s death.

Mr Tooker said a week before she died, Mr Rebelo began taking out what became three life insurance policies in her name, with himself as the sole beneficiary.

‘Dire’ financial position

The court was told Mr Rebelo began making enquiries as to securing those insurance payouts three days after Ms Rebelo’s body was found.

Mr Tooker told the court Mr Rebelo — who at the time of the murder was dating model and social media influencer Gracie Piscopo — had a personal debt of around $40,000, with two creditors chasing him for the repayments.

He said it was the state’s case that Mr Rebelo and his then-girlfriend — who have a four-year-old son together — had a social media lifestyle portrayed as glamorous and perfect.

“But the truth in fact was somewhat different,” Mr Tooker said.

“Andre Rebelo was in a dire financial position”.

Mr Tooker said the pursuit of this plastic existence meant Mr Rebelo had lived his life on credit.

The prosecutor is set to continue his opening address, with defence lawyer Anthony Elliot then expected to give his to the court.

The jury trial is due to run for seven weeks.

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