The younger brother of a man who allegedly murdered his mother to earn life insurance money has told a court how he pulled his mother’s body out of a shower.
Fabián Rebelo, 23, was the first witness to testify in the murder trial of his brother Andre Zachary Rebelo in Washington Supreme Court on Friday.
Andre is accused of killing his mother Colleen Rebelo, 58, who was found dead at her Bicton home in south-west Perth on May 25, 2020, to cash in on three life insurance policies worth £1. $5 million in total to help fund his lavish lifestyle.
He has pleaded not guilty.
Fabián found his mother’s body in the shower at his home after she failed to pick him up from work and called emergency services.
Fabián recalled that when he got home he heard the shower running in his mother’s bathroom and then found her on her knees, collapsed and leaning against the shower wall.
“I called her and didn’t hear anything, so I opened the door and walked in,” he said.
‘I went into the bathroom and saw that he was obviously not feeling well and I leaned against the bathroom wall.
Andre Rebelo (pictured with his ex-girlfriend, influencer Gracie Piscopo) is accused of killing his mother Colleen Rebelo, 58, who was found dead at her Bicton home in south-west Perth on May 25, 2020. He pleaded not guilty
Her brother Fabian told the court he found their mother’s body in the shower at their home after she failed to pick him up from work and called emergency services.
“I called triple-0 and performed CPR.”
Fabián told how he took his mother out of the shower and dragged her to the middle of the bathroom floor.
He was instructed to perform CPR until paramedics arrived about five minutes later.
He told the court that his face was very blue and dark, that he had “vomit” blood in his mouth and that his skin color was not normal.
‘I grabbed a towel and put it over his private parts. “I didn’t want her to be there naked,” he said.
“The paramedics went to the bathroom and tried to revive her and quickly realized they weren’t going to revive her.”
Fabián recalled that many people came to the house after his mother’s death, including a police officer, his sister Monique, his brother Andre and his partner Gracie Piscopo.
He told the court he stayed at Andre and Piscopo’s home in Beaconsfield the night his mother died, along with his sister Monique.
He said that when his mother died, he had a normal relationship with his brother Andrew and that they got along well.
Fabián Rebelo, the younger brother of André Zachary Rebelo, told the court how he performed CPR on his mother but she could not save herself.
State prosecutor Brett Tooker (pictured) told the WA Supreme Court that days after Colleen Rebelo’s death, her son Andre launched claims on his life insurance policy he had taken out against her the week before her death .
He told the court that his older brother Julian was the executor of their mother’s will and looked after the financial side of things after her death.
He believed that each of the brothers had an equal share of their mother’s estate that they received when they sold their house.
During cross-examination, Fabian told the court that he had lifted his mother’s body from behind with his arms under her armpits and dragged her to the bathroom floor.
He confirmed to defense attorney Anthony Elliott that a small amount of blood was coming from his nose.
On Thursday, the Washington Supreme Court was told that Andre Rebelo had taken out three life insurance policies against his mother in the week before her death.
State’s Attorney Brett Tooker told the court three days after Ms Rebelo’s death, her son Andre began the claims process to access the insurance premiums.
The jury heard that Andre also submitted falsified documents to one of the insurers, including false medical information about his mother, a forensic report and his last will and testament.
He pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud in relation to the forged documents.
The cause of Mrs. Rebelo’s death has never been established.
The court was told that while her death was unexpected, emergency services who were called to Ms Rebelo’s home when she died did not treat her as suspicious.
Police reopened the case when one of the insurers reported the claim against Ms. Rebelo’s life insurance policy believing it to be fraudulent about three months after her death.
Fabián told the court that all the brothers were beneficiaries of their mother’s estate and received equal shares when their house was sold.
The defense told the WA Supreme Court that Andre Zachary Rebelo and his ex-partner Grace Piscopo (pictured) were a successful team running a social media presence that generated substantial income.
State Attorney Brett Tooker told the Washington Supreme Court that five days after Rebelo took out an insurance policy against her mother, she was found dead in the shower of her home.
St John Ambulance paramedic Antony Garcia later told the court that Ms Rebelo’s son Fabian was very upset and shaken when they arrived at the house.
He said Ms. Rebelo was lying on her back on the bathroom floor and looked like she had been in the shower because she was damp, wet and looked dead.
‘The look of his skin, especially around his face and neck, there was a blue-grey color to the skin, that’s what we look for when a person has been deceased for some time,’ he said.
“We put a defibrillator on his chest and looked at the electrical activity of his heartbeat and there was nothing… it was just a flat line.”
García said that he did not observe any wounds on Mrs. Rebelo’s body and that they did not find any medication in the house that belonged to her.
He said the house was very clean and tidy, and the bathroom was spotless.
The trial continues.
