Gosport man has convictions quashed over student’s slimming pills death

Bernard Rebelo was jailed for seven years in June last year after being found guilty of the manslaughter of 21-year-old Eloise Parry, from Shrewsbury, Shropshire.

She died in hospital on April 12 2015 after taking eight tablets containing the poisonous Dinitrophenol (DNP).

Rebelo, 31, was found guilty at Inner London Crown Court of two counts of manslaughter and one of placing unsafe food on the market.

But his manslaughter convictions were overturned by the Court of Appeal on Thursday.

Sir Brian Leveson, who heard the appeal with two other judges, ordered that Rebelo must stand trial on a single charge of gross negligence manslaughter.

Speaking at the start of the appeal hearing in February, Sir Brian assured members of Miss Parry's family who were in court that the judges were ‘very aware’ of their tragic loss.

He said: ‘What you are about to hear is an analysis of law. It inevitably has as its background the tragedy that you have suffered and the loss of this young lady's life.

‘The fact that we do not refer to that does not mean to say that we are not conscious of it - we are very conscious of it.’ 

Rebelo will however face a retrial on one count of manslaughter, the Court of Appeal judges ruled.