Perth, Australia – A Perth man is facing trial in October, accused of murdering his mother in order to gain access to her life insurance money. Andre Rebelo, 27, denies the allegations and appeared in the Supreme Court on Thursday ahead of the upcoming trial. The charge stems from the death of his mother, Colleen Rebelo, in May 2020, when her body was found in her home in the suburb of Bicton. It wasn’t until two years later that her son was charged in connection with the crime.
In addition to the murder charge, Mr. Rebelo is also facing five counts of forging records. According to prosecutor Brett Tooker, evidence presented at the trial will focus on Mr. Rebelo’s financial situation at the time, which was described as “very poor.” The motive for the alleged murder, Tooker stated, was to gain access to his mother’s life insurance policy. The cause of Ms. Rebelo’s death could not be ascertained.
The court heard that the case was initially not considered suspicious and that little forensic evidence was collected at the time of the incident. However, evidence is still being gathered in preparation for trial, including further details of Mr. Rebelo’s financial position, phone records, and mobile phone data. A financial analyst was also preparing a report, expected to be completed by June. The trial, initially set for five weeks, is now expected to last seven weeks and run until early December.
Andre Rebelo, appearing in court via video link from prison, was remanded in custody until his next court appearance in June. The trial is expected to be a lengthy and contentious process, with multiple aspects of Mr. Rebelo’s financial and personal circumstances being examined in detail.