Bernard Rebelo: Gosport man, 32, convicted again for killing student, 21, with toxic 'slimming pills'

A jury deliberated for a day to yesterday find Bernard Rebelo from Gosport guilty of the manslaughter of Eloise Parry, 21.

The 32-year-old was jailed for seven years in 2018 for the crime but the Court of Appeal ordered a retrial at the Old Bailey in London.

Ms Parry died in April 2015 after taking eight pills containing poisonous Dinitrophenol (DNP), described online as ‘the devil's cut agent’.

Rebelo was accused of buying the powder from a chemical factory in China and selling it on as tablets to people around the world, including Ms Parry.

The court heard how the yellow powder Ms Parry consumed was often advertised as a slimming product, but the known side effects included multiple organ failure, coma, and cardiac arrest.

DNP is known to have been used as a base material for munitions products.

Ms Parry, from Shrewsbury, Shropshire, had been diagnosed with the eating disorder bulimia and became ‘psychologically addicted’ to the DNP after she started taking it in February 2015, jurors heard.

The court heard DNP was particularly dangerous to those who suffer from eating disorders as the toxicity level is relative to a person's weight.

Rebelo, who ran his business from a flat in Harrow, west London, sold DNP on his websites drpharmaceuticals.com and bionicpharmaceuticals.com, which have both been taken down.

The prosecution alleged he did so despite knowing of the dangers of taking it.

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Prosecutor Richard Barraclough QC said: ‘He knew it was dangerous, not only because one of his associates had consumed DNP and had suffered some of its toxic effects... but because it was well-known that any number of authorities and organisations were warning against the dangers of consuming the chemical.’

Rebelo denied manslaughter, but would not give defence evidence at the retrial.

He will be sentenced today.