Wife's 'lover' gives evidence during husband's murder trial

Tuesday 29 January 2019

A man has appeared in the Royal Court to confirm an "amorous" relationship of over 10 years with a woman alleged to have been strangled by her husband using a pair of leggings, after he learnt of her affair.

The trial of 60-year-old Alfredo da Costa Rebelo (pictured above), who denies murdering 51-year-old Ana Rebelo at their home in Victoria Street around 3 April 2017, began in the Royal Court yesterday.

Setting out the prosecution's case yesterday, Crown Advocate Howard Sharp said Mr Rebelo had strangled his wife with a pair of leggings on 3 April after she had told him she wanted to return to Portugal with the man she had been having an affair with for over a decade.

Pictured: The trial opened at the Royal Court yesterday.

Mr Rebelo denies having any part in his wife’s death and says she killed herself. The Crown Advocate rejected that view saying Ana’s death “couldn’t have been an act of self-strangulation.”

The Crown Advocate said that when Mr Rebelo got home, he and Ana had a “difficult conversation” about her relationship with the other man.

“There was an argument and emotions were running high,” he said, adding that it led Mr Rebelo to punch his wife in the face, before strangling her with a pair of leggings belonging to his daughter.

The Crown Advocate said that Mr Rebelo was the first one to find Ana dead and tried to wake her up. When asked by police officers if he remembered something being around her neck, he repeatedly said he didn’t know and “no comment".

Pictured: The Victoria Street home where Ana was found dead on 4 April.

Crown Advocate Sharp told Court that after Mr Rebelo allegedly found Ana dead around 08:00, he then emptied the kitchen bin, “spent some more time tidying up the flat”, before going into town looking for family. 

He said that if Mr Rebelo really believed Ana had been punched before her death, as he later told family members, he would have suspected foul play and gotten help as soon as possible. In fact, the police were only called around 10:40 by a family member who went to the flat.

Showing Court CCTV footage of Mr Rebelo walking around town, the Crown Advocate said there “didn’t seem to be a great feeling of urgency or panic” in Mr Rebelo’s demeanour. 

“This is not the behaviour of someone who has found their wife dead, this is not the behaviour of someone who fears their wife had been punched in the face,” he told Court. “Any man in such a horrible position would have gotten help in a very short time… He didn’t do that because he threw the punch… He killed Ana, that’s why his behaviour is so odd that morning.”

Pictured: Crown Advocate Howard Sharp is leading the prosecution.

Ana’s 'lover' was later called by the Crown Advocate to give evidence.

He told the Court that he and Ana had been in an “amorous relationship” for over 10 years. All the while, he had continued to live with his wife, apart from a three-week period during which he and Ana shared a flat in Jersey. The pair also went on holiday to Portugal at least four times over that period of time.

He said the only people who were aware of the relationship were two of Ana’s children, as well her mum and sister.

The man said that the evening before her death, Ana had told him she wanted to leave the country. He had told her "to take it easy", as he needed to find a carer for his mother before leaving the island.

Pictured: Ana's lover said she told him she wanted to leave the country before her death.

When questioned by Advocate Julian Gollop, who is defending Mr Rebelo, the man denied Ana had been angry at him before her death. He also denied the couple had argued and hitting her, saying “I never hurt her.”

He admitted having been worried about Ana the evening before her death as she had talked about going to the sea on her own. She apparently mentioned witchcraft that evening, and he believed she had intended to throw something in the water.

Later that evening, the man said he also grew worried when she didn't reply to his calls.

Ana’s daughter also appeared to give evidence. She recalled finding her mother sleeping in her bed and deciding to sleep on the sofa instead. When she woke up in the morning to go to work, her mother was still asleep.

The trial is expected to continue for two weeks under the direction of the Bailiff, Sir William Bailhache, who is sitting with Jurats Jane Ronge and Jerry Ramsden.