A cryptocurrency trader and former partner of a glamorous Instagram model has been found guilty of murdering his mother to claim half a million dollars in life insurance.
Andre Zachary Rebelo, 28, showed little emotion except a faint smile and raised eyebrows as the 12-person jury announced its verdict on Thursday after two days of deliberation following a marathon murder trial in the WA Supreme Court.
Colleen Rebelo, 58, was found dead in the shower by her young son at her home in Bicton, south-west of Perth, on May 25, 2020.
Antonio, Rebelo’s father, was among those in the packed room, Western Australia reported.
Prosecutors argued that Ms. Rebelo was a “healthy and happy” woman who could not have died of natural causes or suicide.
Although a coroner could not determine a definitive cause of death, they suggested that Ms. Rebelo may have been asphyxiated.
At the time of the tragedy, Rebelo and his former influencer partner Grace Piscopo, who has more than a million followers on Instagram, appeared to be living a carefree, luxurious lifestyle.
Social media posts showed them enjoying lavish vacations, driving flashy cars and living in pampered opulence.
André Rebelo, 28, was found guilty of murdering his mother to claim the insurance he took out on her life.
Colleen Rebelo (pictured) was found dead in her Perth home in May 2020.
However, everything was financed with credit, which led Rebelo to try to collect on a $500,000 life insurance policy he had created and taken out in his mother’s name a few days before her death.
The police discovered that Ms. Rebelo’s life was insured for $1.5 million in three different policies, with Rebelo being the beneficiary of two.
Rebelo’s twin sister and his two brothers testified that they knew nothing about the insurance policies taken out for their mother before her death.
Piscopo also took the stand during the eight-week trial and said Rebelo had told him he was at his mother’s house the morning of her death.
However, secretly recorded conversations between the couple months later suggested this was not true and that he hid his location from her.
Before his mother’s death, Rebelo owed more than $40,000 in personal loan and credit card debt.
His then partner, Mrs Piscopo, owed $70,000 for a car and $40,000 to the Australian Tax Office, although she did not know this because Rebelo managed the couple’s finances.
They were even struggling to pay the rent on their home in Beaconsfield, southwest of Perth.
Prosecutors argued that Rebelo came up with ‘a horrible plan; to fix this situation.’
They showed that on May 1, 2020, he created an email address in his mother’s name and then, on May 18, took out a life insurance policy in her name.
Rebelo with his ex-partner Grace Piscopo, who has more than 1 million followers on Instagram
He created another policy on May 19 and a third on May 20 without telling anyone else.
Rebelo visited his mother around 10:30 a.m. on the morning of May 25 and stayed for an hour.
Two hours later, her mother’s body was found slumped forward in her bathroom shower, still wearing her gold jewelry and mascara.
The discovery was made by Rebelo’s younger brother, Fabián, who was waiting for his devoted mother to pick him up from work.
Three days later, Rebelo attempted to claim the largest policy, worth $500,000 with RAC, which he made in his mother’s name.
To do this, he took his mother’s driver’s license without his brother’s knowledge and created a false version of her will, naming himself as the sole beneficiary.
He also created false medical reports from Ms. Rebelo’s psychologist, along with a strange AI-generated voice message, and even falsified a full forensic report with signature, which indicated the cause of death as a berry aneurysm.
In social media posts, Rebelo and Piscopo appeared to live a carefree life, filled with luxury possessions and opulent lifestyles.
However, insurance personnel became suspicious and alerted the police.
When police questioned Rebelo and Piscopo, they discovered that he had promised her that $500,000 was about to hit her account from her cryptocurrency trading a week before her mother’s death.
Rebelo maintained his innocence throughout the trial.
Police identified Rebelo’s location from his phone at his mother’s house the morning of his death.
However, he testified that he had been there to drop off clothes for his brother and stayed to have coffee and chat.
Despite the impression given by their social media posts, Rebelo and Piscopo were deeply in debt to create their perfect life.
He told the court he decided to claim life insurance for the benefit of the entire family, but learned he was defrauding insurers because he thought his mother had committed suicide, which led to his forgeries.
Rebelo’s father, Antonio, told reporters outside court that he still believed in his son’s innocence.
‘It’s sad and disappointing for everyone. Very sad for everyone,” he said.
Rebelo will be sentenced in April of next year. He’s still behind bars.