Mum killer Andre Rebelo fights conviction in the WA Court of Appeal

A man jailed for 25 years for murdering his mother after he took out life insurance policies against her to gain more than $1m will fight his conviction.

Andre Rebelo, 30, was found guilty by a jury over the murder of his mother Colleen Rebelo, who was found dead inside her Perth home in May 2020.

Rebelo always maintained his innocence and is making a last-ditch bid to clear his name in the WA Court of Appeal this week.

While his mum’s death did not raise any suspicions with first responders who attended her home when she died, it was deemed sudden and unexpected.

A coroner could never establish how Ms Rebelo died despite extensive testing during her autopsy.

This week, Rebelo’s lawyers will argue her death was caused by an underlying health condition that could not be ruled out by a coroner.

“The evidence of the forensic pathologist was that the death could have been a result of a cardiac arrhythmia or an anaphylactic episode, and that the position in which Ms Rebelo was found was consistent with a collapse following a cardiac episode,” court documents state.

The defence will rely on evidence given by Ms Rebelo’s youngest son Fabian that the water was warm when he found her in the shower of their home, making it unlikely Rebelo staged her death.

Questions about Ms Rebelo’s death came to light after an insurance worker was pestered by Rebelo about a life insurance claim against his mum following her death.

The premium was one of three Rebelo took out against his mother in the days before she died but the only one with the possibility of a payout.

Rebelo was the sole beneficiary of the premium that would have made him $500,000.

He repeatedly contacted the insurance company wanting to know how the claim was progressing for months after his mum died.

He forged medical and death certificates and left a voicemail pretending to be his mum’s psychologist to speed up the claim with the insurer.

The unusual behaviour raised the suspicion of an insurer who first referred the matter to police believing the claim was fraudulent.