During sentencing, Justice Bruno Fiannaca described Rebelo’s offending as the “ultimate betrayal” of a mother who had done everything she could for her four children.
“It was the betrayal of the person who brought you into this world, her children and her grandson,” Justice Fiannaca said.
“You are someone who is able to deceive in the most egregious way and manufacture evidence to achieve your ends.
“Your evidence should be approached with caution … You are not a credible or reliable person.”
Justice Fiannaca said it may never be known how Rebelo died, but believed her son used personal violence to kill her, and then staged her body in the shower to look like she died of natural causes.
“You took your mother by surprise using personal violence,” he said.
“I am not sure what state of dress your mother was in, whether you removed her clothes does not matter: what you did next was a gross violation of her dignity.”
‘Ultimate betrayal of trust’
Colleen Rebelo was found dead in the shower of her Bicton home on May 25, 2020.
Justice Fiannaca said evidence provided during the trial showed Rebelo was persistent in his pursuit of the life insurance, and his actions became more exasperated and desperate.
“You killed your own mother, in a particularly egregious and shocking nature,” he said.
“This is a crime that right-minded people would regard with horror, murdering your mother was the ultimate betrayal of her trust and everything she gave,” he said.
During the trial, the court was told Rebelo was the ex-partner of influencer Grace Piscopo, a successful model.
The couple portrayed a glamorous life on social media, but it was mostly funded with credit cards and personal loans.
They had combined debts of $112,000 and were struggling to meet their financial commitments.
Rebelo was being pursued by debt collectors when his mother died.
Piscopo is not accused of any wrongdoing.
Rebelo was found dead in the shower at her Bicton home by her youngest son Fabian on May 25, 2020.
While her death was sudden and unexpected, it was never treated as suspicious by first responders.
An autopsy conducted on her body was unable to identify what caused her death.
Forged documents
It wasn’t until an insurance company employee suspected Rebelo was fraudulently trying to claim life insurance against his mother that police began investigating.
Police discovered Rebelo had taken out three life insurance policies against his mother in the week before she died and made himself the sole beneficiary of those policies.
He stood to gain A$1.15m ($1.265m) from his mother’s death.
Days after she died he started claiming against those policies and “doggedly pursued” one worth A$500,000 ($550,000).
In his pursuit of half a million dollars, Rebelo provided the insurer with phony records about his mother’s death and health.
He gave the insurer fake copies of a coroner’s report, a medical report from his mother’s psychologist and a forged copy of her last will and testament.
He pleaded guilty to fraud charges, but denied he killed his mother, on the first day of his trial.
Over-extended and chased by debt collectors
On Monday, state prosecutor Brett Tooker told the court Rebelo had heavily invested in cryptocurrency for about three years, but had not made any money when his mother died.
He told Piscopo he was about to earn $550,000 from crypto trading, when in reality he had over-extended himself financially and was being pursued by debt collectors.
When Covid struck, the state alleged Rebelo hatched a plan to take out life insurance policies in his mother’s name.
The court was told Rebelo killed his mother in her home then staged her body to make it appear she had died of natural causes, then days later he started claiming on the life insurance policies.
Tooker said Rebelo did it to prove to Piscopo that he was a successful crypto trader, pay off debts and continue investing in crypto.
“His main motivation to come up with this plan was to prove to Ms Piscopo he was a successful crypto trader, he would make a large amount of money and contribute financially,” he said.
“His motive shows it was a very calculated and cold-blooded killing.”
In a victim impact statement, Rebelo’s daughter spoke about the close bond she had with her mother and the great loss she had suffered because of her death.
Rebelo’s sister said her death was a tragedy because she had given so much of her life to her children, only to have her life taken away by one of her sons.
Rebelo’s sentence was backdated until November 22, 2022 when he was taken into custody.
