I had the guts to kill 60-year-old: Musician's daughter's boyfriend

Bennett Rebello

The over 1,300-page charge sheet filed by the Mumbai Crime Branch revealed how Vakola musician Bennett Rebello's teenage killer boasted about his 'feat' to friends and showed off the bruises on his and Rebello's adopted daughter's hands, sustained during the killing. The friends are now witnesses in the case.

Rebello, 59, was allegedly killed by his 17-year-old adopted daughter and her 16-year-old boyfriend at his Vakola residence. The duo then chopped his body into several parts and disposed it of in suitcases and bags.

According to Crime Branch's charge sheet, the 16-year-old boy sought the help of 10 of his friends, all of whom refused to be a part of the plan saying it was his personal matter.

Bennett Rebello

Twenty-four hours after the killing, the boy boasted to them about it. The boy had also tried to procure an axe from his other friends to chop the body, but couldn't find one and ended up using knives.

The 10 friends have been made witnesses in the case.

"When the incident took place, a neighbour and a labourer doing some work nearby heard a loud thud, but both ignored the sound. The neighbour also saw the duo taking out suitcases late at night. He did not inform the cops even after noticing that Bennett had been missing for a few days," said an officer. The alleged killing took place on November 26.

"After the killing, the duo went to meet their friends. The boy boasted about the 'feat' of killing a 60-year-old man, saying he had more guts than anyone else in the friends' circle.

"They even showed off their blood-stained clothes and the bruises on their hands, sustained while killing Rebello," said an officer.

While chopping the body, the duo realised they needed a big cutter or axe. The boy then contacted two of his other friends to help arrange an axe.

"When the friends asked what sort of an axe he was looking for and for what purpose, the boy claimed he needed it to cut wood. But the friends made enquiries with others and found that he had murdered someone and refused to help," said an officer.

Saved by dead cats
The duo tried its best to mitigate the foul smell of Bennett's decomposing body with the help of air fresheners. Both would go out of the house and check if the odour was spreading. But what worked in their favour was the death of two cats nearby, with neighbours believing that the foul smell was of their decomposing bodies.

Nov 26
Day in 2019 Bennett Rebello was killed

1,387
No. of pages in Crime Branch's charge sheet

Three
Total no. of arrests made in the case

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates