He Was Found Guilty Of Killing His Mom To Claim Over $1 Million Dollars From Life Insurance Policies
On Tuesday, Andre Zachary Rebelo, a 29-year-old cryptocurrency investor from Australia, was found guilty of murdering his mother in 2020 to claim over $1 million from life insurance policies. He will now spend 25 years behind bars.
On May 25, 2020, his 58-year-old mother, Colleen Rebelo, was discovered dead in the shower of her Bicton home by her youngest son.
Despite her death coming as a surprise, first responders did not find the circumstances suspicious, and the autopsy was unable to determine her cause of death.
Rather, an insurance company employee began to suspect Andre of trying to fraudulently claim life insurance on his mom, which prompted the police to investigate.
Authorities learned that, in the week leading up to Colleen’s death, Andre had taken out three different life insurance policies and designated himself as the sole beneficiary. In total, he would’ve obtained $1.15 million after his mother died.
Then, within days of her death, Andre began claiming the policies, honing in on one policy worth $500,000, which he reportedly “doggedly pursued.”
While attempting to get that money, he gave fake death and health records, copies of a medical report from Colleen’s psychologist, a coroner’s report, and a forged copy of her final will and testament to the insurer.
State prosecutor Brett Tooker detailed how, despite Andre investing in cryptocurrency for approximately three years, he hadn’t made any money.
He was also dating the model and social media influencer Grace Piscopo and told her that he was going to earn $500,000 from crypto.
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Instead, the pair’s seemingly lavish lifestyle portrayed on social media, funded by credit cards and personal loans, had them in more than $100,000 of debt, and debt collectors were pursuing Andre.
The state argued that Andre murdered his mother and staged her body to look as if she’d died of natural causes before going after the life insurance policies. As for motive, Tooker stated Andre wanted to show Grace that he was successful in crypto investing, clear his debt, and invest further.
“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.”
Andre’s seven-week trial in the Perth Supreme Court took place last year. On the first day, he pleaded guilty to four counts of attempted defrauding of an insurance company but denied killing his mom. Following the trial, he was found guilty of murdering Colleen, and during his sentencing this past Tuesday, Justice Bruno Fiannaca called the crime the “ultimate betrayal.”
“It was the betrayal of the person who brought you into this world, her children, and her grandson. 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 stated.
Andre was sentenced to 25 years in prison, and while delivering the sentence, Justice Fiannaca reportedly told him, “The persona you had created alongside Ms. Piscopo was more important than you to your familial connection to your mother.”
Colleen’s daughter made a victim impact statement, discussing how close she was to her mom. Colleen’s sister also called her death a tragedy, given how she’d dedicated her life to her kids, and her son was the person to take her life away from her.
In the wake of Andre’s sentencing, his father, Antonio, told the press outside the court, “We don’t really know what happened to his mother, and we still don’t know what happened. It’s sad for everyone, for all the families involved.”
Andre’s sentence has been backdated to the day he was taken into custody, November 22, 2022.
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