A forensic pathologist has told the court that a person can be rendered unconscious within ten seconds and then killed without leaving a mark on their body using law enforcement and martial arts techniques.
Dr. Reimar Junckerstorff gave evidence in the murder trial of Andre Zachary Rebelo in the Supreme Court of WA.
It is alleged that Mr Rebelo murdered his mother Colleen Rebelo in May 2020 to make more than $1 million from three life insurance policies he took out on her the week before she died.
He pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to fraud, admitting that he submitted forged documents to one of the insurers after his mother died.
During the re-examination by prosecutor Brett Tooker, Dr. Junckerstorff said Depriving a person of oxygen by blocking the airways and compressing the carotid arteries disrupts blood flow to the brain.
He said the technique was once used by law enforcement agencies and in martial arts, where a person would tighten their arm around the neck to suppress and occlude the carotid arteries.
“This is a choking event,” he said.
‘It usually leaves no trace if you hold it long enough (you can kill someone).
Colleen Rebelo (pictured) was found dead at her home in Bicton, south-west Perth, on May 25, 2020, by her youngest son Fabian, after failing to pick him up from work that day
‘Once you are unconscious, which takes about ten seconds, there are irreversible changes in the brain within minutes.’
During the re-examination, the doctor told the court that it was possible that the injuries on Ms Rebelo’s body came from an attacker who suffocated her with an object such as a pillow.
He said the pillow would act as a cushion and because it was soft it would be less likely to cause bruises or abrasions.
Under cross-examination by the defense, Dr. Junckerstorff told the court that the type of injuries found on Ms. Rebelo’s body during her autopsy were not the type of injuries you would find on a murdered person.
Dr. Junckerstorff performed an autopsy on Ms Rebelo three days after her death, but despite additional tests her cause of death could not be determined.
Attorney Anthony Elliott (pictured) was told by a forensic pathologist who performed an autopsy on Colleen Rebelo that the injuries he found on her body would not have caused her death
Under questioning by attorney Anthony Elliott, the doctor agreed The sixteen injuries he found on Ms. Rebelo were not injuries that would have caused her death.
“They are a common finding among all of us as part of everyday life, as part of bumps and minor injuries,” he said.
The doctor told the court it was possible Ms Rebelo had died of an allergic reaction and there would be no signs post-mortem.
He said it is possible for a collapsed person to block the airway if he or she is bent forward enough.
The doctor said there are several reasons why someone would suddenly collapse, including an abnormal heartbeat, drug intoxication, a diabetic coma and a seizure.
Andre Zachary Rebelo (pictured with ex Gracie Piscopo) is accused of killing his mother to make more than $1 million on life insurance policies he took out on her days before her death
On Thursday, Dr Junckerstorff told the court he could not rule out that the mother of four had died from suffocation.
He said it was possible that people could die post-mortem from asphyxiation or suffocation, without any noticeable marks on their bodies or brains.
“You can hit people without leaving a bruise, that’s less common,” he told the WA Supreme Court on Thursday.
The forensic pathologist agreed with defense attorney Anthony Elliott if Ms. Rebelo had been smothered, it is possible that she would have injuries, such as defensive wounds, but he did not observe these types of injuries on her body.
He said it was more common for police to investigate evidence and take fingernail scrapings than for pathologists.
Prosecutor Brett Tooker (pictured) was told by a forensic pathologist that during the murder trial of Andre Zachary Rebelo, a person could be rendered unconscious in ten seconds and then murdered without leaving a trace on their body.
The WA Supreme Court was told Andre Zachary Rebelo (pictured with his ex Gracie Piscopo) took out three life insurance policies against his mother in the week before she died, then started the claims process three days after her death.
Dr. Junckerstorff told the court that the autopsy showed Ms Rebelo had blood stains on her eyelids that could have been present from asphyxiation, resuscitation, chest injury or neck compression.
He said blood spots on the eyelids occurred when there had been an obstruction in the nose or mouth, preventing a person from breathing.
He performed a CT scan of Ms Rebelo’s body, which showed she had no brain haemorrhages, skull fractures or skeletal injuries.
He found injuries on her face and body, including bruises and an abrasion on her eyebrows, along with some bruises and abrasions on her hands, arms and legs.
When Mr Elliott asked him if the bruise on her eyebrow could have been the result of a blow with a fist, he replied ‘yes’.
Dr. Junckerstorff told the court that the bruises on the back of Ms Rebelo’s left hand, wrist and forearm could have been the result of force or grabbing, and that the injuries around her eyebrows were consistent with some sort of collapse.
Andre Zachary Rebelo (pictured with his ex Gracie Piscopo) pleaded guilty to submitting forged documents to one of the insurers. He took out a life insurance policy on his mother
Colleen Rebelo’s GP, Dr Niall Dermott Barrett (pictured), told the WA Supreme Court it was unlikely she died from a medical condition she had been living with for some time
Ms Rebelo was found dead at her home in Bicton, south-west Perth on May 25, 2020 by her youngest son Fabian, after she failed to pick him up from work that day.
Days after Ms Rebelo died, her eldest son Andre started the claims process to access the bounties he created against her, potentially earning him $1.15 million.
He too submitted forged documents to one of the insurers, including false medical information about his mother, a false coroner’s report on her death and her last will and testament.
The insurer suspected the claim was fraudulent and reported it to the police.
Mr Rebelo pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud relating to the forged documents.
Ms. Rebelo’s death, while unexpected, was not considered suspicious by first responders who were called to her home when she died.
Medical experts, including Ms Rebelo’s GP, Dr Niall Barrett, and an endocrinologist Timothy Welborn, both gave evidence at the trial and told the court Ms Rebelo was healthy when she died.
Both witnesses said it was unlikely that Ms Rebelo died suddenly or from the medical conditions she was living with at the time of her death.
The process continues.