Andre Rebelo murder trial: Defence starts closing address, points to water temperature in shower

Andre Rebelo’s legal team have poured cold water on claims that the crypto-trader must have murdered his mother, saying the water temperature in the shower she was found in deals a “devastating” blow to the prosecution. Seven weeks to the day since the trial started, barrister Tony Elliott began the closing address he hopes will convince the WA Supreme Court jury of the existence of reasonable doubt over his client’s guilt. Mr Rebel is accused of murdering Colleen Rebelo in May 2020, just a week after taking out three life insurance policies against her life valued at $1.15 million. Prosecutors said it was the first piece of a “horrible plan” that advanced when he killed his mother in her Bicton home — then began claiming on the policies three days later. The claims included sending a fake will, forged medical documents and a fraudulent coroner’s report, which raised so much suspicion that RAC Insurance contacted WA Police. Their investigations turned up six figure debts between Mr Rebelo and his mega-influencer partner Gracie Piscopo — and prompted initial fraud charges then an allegation of murder. The 32-year-old father-of-one has admitted the dishonesty. But he has always denied murdering his mum. On Thursday, Mr Elliott began laying out his reasons why Mr Rebelo should be acquitted. He said the circumstantial prosecution case was “littered with uncertainty, illogicality and equivocation”. He said “it did not come close” to proving Mr Rebelo’s guilty. He pointed to a critical piece of evidence — given by Mr Rebelo’s younger brother Fabian — that he insisted was the “death knell” of the prosecution case. Using mobile phone data showing Mr Rebelo’s mobile pinging off towers near to his mother’s home, prosecutors say Mr Rebelo was present on May 25, 2020 — between about 10.30am and 11.40am. It is this window that say Colleen was killed. When she was found by her Fabian about 2.20pm that day, she was in her en-suite shower with the water running. When questioned about that water, Fabian told the jury that it was “normal temperature” — not scalding hot nor freezing cold. Mr Elliott then pointed to evidence from Mr Rebelo’s older brother Julian, who said the Bicton home had an old-style water heating system that provided “30 to 40 minutes continuous hot water capacity”. It meant that if her body had been placed in the shower at 11.30am, the shower would have run continuously for three hours and the water should have been cold. “The day he found his mother dead in the shower — the day more than any other in his life — is likely to be indelibly etched into his memory,” Mr Elliott said. “The overwhelming emotion that accompanied what he saw and heard must surely have magnified the process of etching things in memory. “Don’t you think in the process of remembering this scene — where he is reaching across his mother to turn off the taps — he is going to remember whether the tap is running hot, cold or a regular temperature? “If this evidence raises a doubt in your mind whether she died between 10.30am and 11.40am or not — then his evidence is the death knell to any suggestion that Mr Rebelo killed his mother that morning.” Mr Elliott pointed to the doubt over the cause of Ms Rebelo’s death, which has never been established despite a post mortem and barrage of tests. “How can you determine that a person killed another person if you don’t know how they died?,” he said. He took on the prosecution suggestion that she may have been asphyxiated in her bedroom by her son, saying there was no concrete evidence. “We are not sure precisely when she died,” Mr Elliott said. “We are not sure how she died. We are not sure where — bedroom, lounge room — they don’t say. “They can’t definitely rule out natural causes.” Mr Elliott also tackled the contention that it was no coincidence Colleen died just a week after Mr Rebelo took out the three life insurance policies on her — an action he said was done at her request and with her knowledge. He gave examples of famous coincidences including a South African astronomer who after giving a lecture about how death could come at any time, popped a mint into his mouth and choked to death. He gave the odds of winning Powerball — one in 134,490,400. Mr Elliott then pointed to the evidence of an expert endocrinologist who told the trial that the odds of Colleen dying suddenly from her pre-existing thyroid condition were “one in 1000 to one in 500”. “An extremely low probability — but there is a possibility,” he said. The trial continues.