Murder, manslaughter and mayhem: The court stories that shook WA in 2025
SOURCE:Sydney Morning Herald|BY:Rebecca Peppiatt
It was a dramatic year in the Perth courts with some narrowly avoiding jail and others facing the next quarter of a century behind bars for crimes that horrified the state.
February
A few weeks later Perth was sent into shock when a young woman was killed metres from her home after exiting an Uber outside her house.
Elizabeth Pearce, 24, was instantly killed, her family stating that their world was shattered by her death.
Police said Bellinge, 45, was driving in an arrogant and aggressive manner and ran a red light before accelerating heavily, which caused him to clip the kerb and lose control of the vehicle, slamming into the ride-share car which was on the other side of the road.
He blew 0.183 blood alcohol reading at the scene, and admitted to police he had been drinking at his parent’s house while watching a game of football on the TV.
It’s claimed he told police in an interview that he couldn’t see while driving due to tears in his eyes.
Bellinge, whose family are believed to be of “extreme wealth”, has been locked up since the incident on February 15 and later pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, reckless driving and manslaughter.
He will be sentenced next month.
March
Cassius Turvey’s death after being brutally bashed with a metal pole at just 15 years old in 2023 caused national outcry, so when five people went to trial, blaming each other for delivering the fatal blows, all eyes were on the Supreme Court of WA.
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The trial spanned a mammoth 12 weeks and consisted of horrifying evidence from a large cohort of children who spoke of normalised violence and aggression in a struggling community.
A low socio-economic community, at times racially divided, where drugs and weapons are easily available.
In the end two men were found guilty of his murder and a third was charged with manslaughter.
They were sentenced in June and were told they would spend a minimum of 22, 18 and 12 years behind bars respectively for their involvement in the boy’s unnecessary death.
Andre Rebelo’s murder trial was one of the most sensational of 2024, so when he was sentenced in April after being found guilty of the “heinous” act of murdering his own mother for her money, it wasn’t just people in WA who wanted to know the outcome.
The 29-year-old showed no emotion when he was slapped with a hefty 25-year sentence after the judge said it was a “monstrous act” and “an incomprehensible betrayal”.
Colleen Rebelo was murdered by her son in her Bicton home in 2020.
Although he still maintains his innocence, sentencing judge Bruno Fianacca said he was driven by money.
“It was a premeditated offence, a monstrous act that was integral to a fraudulent scheme in which you intended to profit on life insurance,” he said.
Andre Rebelo pictured with his former partner, Grace Piscopo.Credit: Instagram
Rebelo is the former partner of Instagram model Gracie Piscopo.
“You acted out of feelings of inadequacy – feeling subservient in your relationship,” Fianacca said.
“The evidence supports that you wanted to project the image of a successful investor, and you wanted to contribute – to overcome the financial difficulties you found yourself in.
“So you formulated a plan to take out multiple life insurance policies in your mother’s name, murder her, and claim on those policies.”
In September Rebelo lodged an appeal to his conviction and sentence.
May
In May, a sentencing judge at Perth Children’s Court examined the events leading up to the death of 18-year-old Nick Campo who had been celebrating his birthday when he was tragically killed in a car accident in North Lakes in 2024.
The judge wanted to know whether the other youths in the car were encouraging the young driver to speed to make it to a nightclub before lock-out and whether drugs were involved.
Nick Campo, 18, was a talented sportsman and played for the South Fremantle Football Club colts side.
The hearing caused emotional upset for both Campo’s family and the family and friends of the driver which boiled over in the corridor outside the courtroom prompting intervention from security.
The driver was described as a “friend of a friend” or an acquaintance of Campo’s, and was a last-minute invite to his birthday party.
An aspiring mechanic, the private school year 12 student had modified his Toyota Hilux which meant three of the seatbelts couldn’t be accessed, the airbag sensors had been deactivated, the front passenger seat was facing the rear, and the stabiliser had been removed.
A month later he was jailed for three years and two months over the crash.
June
In June, a drunk British backpacker’s actions led to the death of a beloved dad and husband - and helped to shine a much-needed spotlight on the safety of electric scooters on Perth streets.
Alicia Kemp hired one of the vehicles in Perth’s CBD after a day and night of heavy drinking, allowing a heavily intoxicated friend to ride with her.
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Structural engineer Thanh Phan, 51, had been out to dinner with friends and was waiting to cross the road on the corner of King and Murray streets when Kemp crashed into him from behind, giving him “no warning” to brace for the impact.
The crash caused him to spin and fall onto the road, and he suffered a catastrophic head injury that he later died from.
Kemp was jailed for four years over the incident and a parliamentary inquiry into e-scooters stated there was “an urgent need for state regulatory reform which cannot wait for the establishment of a national framework”.
September
In September, a Perth grandmother lost her appeal to overturn a six-year drug trafficking sentence in Japan.
Donna Nelson was arrested at Narita Airport, 50 kilometres west of Tokyo, in January 2023 after customs officials found about two kilograms of methamphetamine in a suitcase she was carrying.
Perth grandmother Donna Nelson.
Nelson has maintained she was the victim of a Nigerian scam and that her online lover “Kelly” had arranged for her to bring the suitcase from Laos because he told her he was a fashion designer in Japan, and he wanted to sell the case in one of his shops.
While finding her guilty on drug trafficking charges last December, the Japanese judge did concede she had been taken advantage of.
There were clothing samples inside, but she didn’t notice anything strange about the case and placed her belongings in it before heading for her flight to Tokyo.
Nelson has now exhausted all attempts to appeal her sentence and will have to serve out the remainder of her sentence in a Japanese jail.
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October
In October, a trial that was dubbed “the trial of the century” was over just as quickly as it began.
Bikie David Pye was defending allegations that he paid a trained sniper and hit man to “take out” rival Nick Martin in spectacular fashion at Kwinana Motorplex in December 2020.
The only evidence against him is the word of a convicted murderer, the ex-soldier who has already admitted he is the person who pulled the trigger, killing Martin with a high-powered long-range rifle from precisely 365 metres away. He claims he was paid $150,000 to do it by Pye.
The judge-alone trial was made up mostly of the soldier’s testimony and lasted only six days before it ended.
Judge Joseph McGrath is still considering his verdict in the matter.
December
Just last month ex-AFL superstar Marlion Pickett narrowly avoided jail time after he was caught up in a spate of burglaries allegedly perpetrated by family members in 2022.
The 33-year-old former Richmond player was arrested in June 2023 and charged originally with 12 offences in relation to a spate of commercial burglaries, some of which involved the ransacking of safes at currency exchange businesses.
Marlion Pickett with 2022 West Australian of the Year Paul Litherland leaving Perth District Court on Wednesday.Credit: Rebecca Peppiatt
But by May this year, Pickett, who was granted bail and allowed to continue playing for the Tigers before his retirement, had negotiated what a judge described on Wednesday as “the deal of the century” where all but two of the charges were dropped.
He used his Victorian driver’s license and his credit card to secure the pair a Wicked hire campervan that they then used to drive first to Adelaide and then to Melbourne, where they exchanged foreign currencies for Australian dollars.
About $300,000 was exchanged in total and Pickett was paid just over $20,000 for his involvement.
