The doctor of a mother who was allegedly murdered by her son for money told the WA Supreme Court he found it “slightly suspicious” that a box of her medication was missing on the day of her death, a court heard.
Dr. Niall Barrett was questioned in the murder trial of Andre Zachary Rebelo, accused of killing his mother Colleen Rebelo to make money from life insurance policies he took out against her the week before her death.
Rebelo has pleaded not guilty to the murder charge.
His defense attorney, Anthony Elliott, questioned the doctor about the disappearance of a box of medications that belonged to Ms. Rebelo.
He had been prescribed 125 micrograms of thyroxine to treat hypothyroidism, but the police only confiscated a box of 75 micrograms from his home on the day of his death.
During cross-examination, Dr Barrett told the court that if someone had stopped taking medication to treat hypothyroidism, it would take about 10 years to kill them.
“If she had not taken the medication from the day she was prescribed the tablets, it would not have caused her death – it would have taken 10 years to kill her,” Dr Barrett said.
‘I don’t think you should tell people that it’s a very critical dose.
Andre Zachary Rebelo (pictured with ex Gracie Piscopo) is accused of killing his mother to make money from life insurance policies he took out days before her death.
Defense attorney Anthony Elliott questioned the doctor about the missing box of medications belonging to Colleen Rebelo. Image: NewsWire/Ross Swanborough
“I want to make sure everyone is clear.”
Dr Barrett told the defense lawyer it was an “exaggeration” to say it was strange that a box of 50 microgram tablets had not been found in Ms Rebelo’s refrigerator.
He said there could be many explanations why the medication was not found in her home on the day of her death, but found the fact that the box was missing was “slightly suspicious” given the person Ms. Rebelo was.
“The last time I talked to her, she brought in (her youngest son) Fabian with diabetes, said he had finished his master’s degree in health and had been given a position on the board of health,” Dr. Barrett said.
“She was very happy at that moment.
“I think she was in a more positive state of mind than the last time I saw her, she hadn’t finished her studies or had a good job.”
A day earlier, on Tuesday, the jury heard that Ms Rebelo did not have any serious health problems that would have shortened her life when she was found dead in her Bicton home four years earlier.
Dr Barrett said his patient was a fit and healthy 58-year-old woman, but she had three health problems that were being treated with medication: underactive thyroid, osteopenia and gastritis.
“I don’t think anything was being ignored,” he said.
Dr Barrett told the court that Ms Rebelo also visited him to obtain a mental health plan and a referral to see a psychologist, and that he had diagnosed her with generalized anxiety disorder.
Colleen Rebelo’s GP, Dr Niall Dermott Barrett, told the Washington Supreme Court that he found it “slightly suspicious” that a box of his patient’s medication was missing.
He said his patient’s anxiety had been triggered by the breakdown of her marriage and the stress of supporting four children alone.
She said she was also finishing a master’s degree and working at the time.
‘She was very demanding of herself; “I don’t think at any point she was anything but visionary,” Dr. Barrett said.
“She had a great relationship with her children, but she didn’t feel like she had much support from friends or family.”
Endocrinologist Timothy Welborn told the court that Mrs. Rebelo did not die of thyroidism.
Dr. Welborn was called as an expert witness at trial and told the court that you did not die from Hashimoto’s disease unless you had not received treatment for 10 to 15 years.
The specialist with 60 years’ experience in the field told the court that Ms Rebelo had suffered from the condition for 22 years and, as far as he knew, had not had many problems.
“She was probably a little forgetful from time to time, but she had regular blood tests, they were slightly abnormal but not very abnormal, she finally got it right on March 3, 2020,” he said.
Colleen Rebelo (pictured) was a fit and healthy woman when she died in 2020, the court heard this week.
‘As far as I know, she was quite normal on the day she died.
“If he had stopped taking medication, it would have been pretty obvious to his friends and family.”
Dr Welborn told the court there was no risk if a person took their medication and didn’t take it the next day.
He said there was a complementary study conducted in Korea that spoke of an increased risk of death in people with thyroidism, but that had not been reconfirmed.
He said it showed there was a slight increase from 1 to 1.25 people in every 1,000 who could die from sudden death.
“A slight increase in risk that is not important,” he said.
Dr Welborn said he was convinced that Rebelo had a healthy heart and that it was “very unlikely” that he would die of sudden death.
“There is a low statistical probability, I cannot say with certainty that he did not die of sudden death, but it is very unlikely,” he said.
Andre Zachary Rebelo, who has a son with model Gracie Piscopo, has been accused of murdering his mother in May 2020 to make money from life insurance policies he took out against her a week before her death.
Ms Rebelo’s son, Andre Zachary Rebelo, is on trial in the WA Supreme Court for her murder. He has pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Last week, the court was told that Rebelo had taken out three life insurance policies against him in the week before his death.
Days after Ms. Rebelo’s death, Mr. Rebelo began the claim process to access the insurance premiums.
The court was told he 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, first responders who were called to Ms Rebelo’s home when she died did not treat her as suspicious.
One of the insurers reported the claim to police after suspecting it was fraudulent.
The trial continues.