News Dealer who sold bulimic student toxic slimming drug jailed over her death Eloise Parry, 21, bought pills containing lethal DNP from Bernard Rebelo, 32, before collapsing dead on 12 April 2015 Share Eloise Parry, 21, died in April 2015 after taking eight diet pills containing the highly toxic chemical Dinitrophenol (DNP) she bought online from dealer Bernard Rebelo (Image: PA) Sign up to FREE email alerts from Mirror – daily news Subscribe We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters.Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email
An online dealer has been jailed for seven years after a young woman who took toxic tablets marketed as slimming pills died.
Eloise Parry, 21, bought pills containing lethal DNP from Bernard Rebelo, 32, before collapsing dead on 12 April 2015.
DNP was first used to manufacture explosives in the First World War and is not designed for human consumption.
Taking the drug has been compared on social media to ‘playing Russian Roulette’ and it has killed 16 people but is popular among dieters for its ‘fat-burning’ qualities.
Ms Parry, who was ‘vulnerable and deeply troubled’ suffered a fatal heart attack after taking eight capsules advertised by Rebelo on online forums such as Reddit.
Rebelo, the husband of an NHS worker, imported the drug from China and tricked UK customs by mislabelling packages as turmeric.Eloise Parry (Image: Newsteam) Caroline Flack’s friends will hold memorial service after private funeral
He continued to sell the deadly drug to customers even after discovering Ms Parry had died and ‘opportunistically’ targeted vulnerable people online.
Rebelo sparked an Interpol Orange Warning when a second victim was hospitalised after buying the substance from him but carried on dealing.
He demanded online payment via the crypto-currency Bitcoin and managed to resurrect his websites after they were repeatedly taken down by the FSA and Interpol.
He was importing the chemical for £340 for a 24 kilo drum and repackaging it in capsules to make a profit of £200,000 per drum.
It enabled him to live a life of luxury and he posed for pictures behind the wheel of a his Porsche and Corvette sports cars wearing one of his collection of Rolex watches.
He admitted selling Ms Parry the pills but said a warning on his website indicated it was not for human consumption – even though the drug was sold in capsule form.
Rebelo spent 10 months in custody after being sentenced to seven years in June 2018 when he was convicted of manslaughter and placing unfit food on the market at Inner London Crown Court.
Jurors were told Rebelo’s latest trial followed a ruling by the Court of Appeal that he should be retried for manslaughter.
Mother Fiona Parry said in a statement read to the court on Wednesday: “Eloise had many problems in life but I always hoped somehow they would be sorted.Bernard Rebelo, 32, has been jailed for seven years (Image: SWNS.com) Read More Nadine Dorries sparks Parliament coronavirus panic as doors sealed amid shutdown calls
“In the latter part of her life there were positive signs things were getting better.
“She was working towards achieving her goals, she had found a degree course she wanted to follow, she had plans for the future including travelling and seeing the world, not just a career.
“When she died that was undone and her possible future was unravelled.In that moment my hopes for her was also destroyed.”
Speaking outside court Mrs Parry said the effect of the death had rippled throughout the family but she wanted her daughter to be remembered for the ‘smiles and joy’ she brought to those around her.
Mrs Parry said: “It is overwhelming.
“If I really stop to think about it I don’t function so it’s about trying to distance yourself from it.
“But I am so relieved that this jury have found him guilty because you never know and it vindicates the first decision.
“At the end of the day the sentence doesn’t bring Eloise back.The person who has found that hardest has definitely been Rebecca.She had literally only just two weeks beforehand turned 17.
“She is now older than her sister was when she died and you’ve got to think about the impact that’s going to have on a young person through no fault of their own.
“There hasn’t just been one victim to what he’s done.
“There have been ripples out through the family.
Photo issued by Harrow Council of two bags of pills alongside a measuring jug (Image: PA)
“Although I don’t know who they are there must be many many other families who this behaviour has affected the damage is far greater than what was talked about during this trial.
“I would just ask that people remember the best of Eloise.The good times, the smiles, the joy she brought to others, so the time she did get is remembered in a positive light and we appreciate the joy and the happiness that she did manage to bring in the time that she had.”
John Burton QC, defending, said Rebelo had not compounded his guilt by lying under oath as he refused to give evidence during the second trial.
“He has not [gone] into a witness box and given false evidence,’ the barrister said.
“The only way you can glean anything from his background and character comes from reality in the character references.They say a lot for him.
“They give you the man rather than the convicted criminal.
He has learned from this experience.
“He was a young man, possibly a naive man.
“The character references show a man who dotes on his family particularly his three-year-old child.
“His wife works for the NHS and sleeps during the day so he is effectively the primary carer.”
Rebelo sat expressionless in the dock and stared straight ahead as Mrs Justice Whipple told him the time he had already served in custody would not count towards his sentence today.
The judge said: “On 12 April 2015 Eloise Parry died.She was a bright student, a loved sister and daughter and friend to many.
“I acknowledge the family’s pain in losing Eloise so young and so unexpectedly.
“Eloise had struggled with her mental health for many years.
Eloise Parry (Image: Newsteam).
