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Tag: brendan banfield

  • Brazilian au pair sentenced to 10 years in prison for role in Fairfax County double murder – WTOP News

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    The Brazilian au pair who plotted with her lover to kill his wife and another man in Herndon, Virginia, in 2023 was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison.

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    Au pair sentenced for role in Fairfax Co. double murder

    The Brazilian au pair who plotted with her lover to kill his wife and another man in Herndon, Virginia, in 2023 was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison.

    Fairfax County Chief Circuit Court Judge Penney Azcarate sentenced Juliana Peres Magalhães to the maximum penalty allowed for manslaughter in Virginia, breaking from the recommendation made by the commonwealth and the au pair’s attorney.

    “Let’s get straight, you do not deserve anything other than incarceration and a life of reflection on what you have done to the victim and this family,” Azcarate said. “May it weigh heavily on your soul.”

    Magalhães pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of Joseph Ryan, who prosecutors say was lured to the Banfield home in February 2023 as part of a plot to frame him for murder.

    Under the terms of her plea deal, Magalhães’ attorney and prosecutors agreed to recommend a sentence of time served in exchange for her cooperation and testimony. But Azcarate exercised her authority to reject that recommendation.

    During Banfield’s trial, Magalhães testified about their affair and the plan to kill his wife and pin her murder on Ryan.

    Before her sentence was passed down, Magalhães’ attorney argued that testimony was integral to convicting Banfield in the aggravated murders of his wife, Christine Banfield, and Ryan.

    “The Commonwealth had circumstantial evidence, forensic evidence, electronic forensic evidence, digital forensic evidence and others,” he said. “But it was Juliana who ultimately told the story firsthand of what occurred, because that decision was integral in the jury’s decision.”

    Why judge deviated from recommended sentence

    The au pair told the court she teamed up with Banfield to make an account on a fetish website impersonating Christine. They used the account to message Ryan and invite him to the home with promises of rough sex.

    She had initially been charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of Ryan, but the au pair took the plea deal in October 2024.

    Azcarate called that deal a “bargain” for Magalhães as it downgraded the charge against her to manslaughter.

    “You could have been facing life, plus three years, and now the maximum I can sentence you to today is 10 years,” she said. “That’s clearly a trade for your cooperation with the commonwealth.”

    Azcarate said the au pair shot Ryan shot him “point blank in the heart” as he laid moaning and watched as Banfield stabbed his wife.

    “The facts of this case demonstrate an intentional and calculated level of violence that is the most serious manslaughter scenario that this court has ever seen,” she said.

    For a year and a half after the killings, the judge said Magalhães shared a fabricated story that depicted Ryan as a rapist and a murderer.

    “Until today, you have shown no empathy for the victim in this case,” Azcarate said.

    During the hearing, Azcarate listed off her ten reasons for sentencing Magalhães to additional time in prison.

    “Number 10, telling the child it was OK to call you mommy hours after the murder, your actions were deliberate self serving and demonstrated a profound disregard for human life,” Azcarate said.

    Banfield’s attorney has questioned Magalhães’ motives for cooperating with investigators, saying she told prosecutors what they wanted to hear.

    Magalhães has said that she confessed to share the truth — not as an attempt to be freed from jail.

    Banfield is scheduled to be sentenced May 8. He faces life in prison with no chance of parole.

    In addition to the murder charges, Banfield was also found guilty of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and child endangerment, as his 4-year-old child was home during the killings.

    WTOP’s Abigail Constantino and Thomas Robertson contributed to this report. 

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    © 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Jessica Kronzer

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  • Brendan Banfield found guilty of aggravated murder in ‘au pair affair’ killings trial – WTOP News

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    The jury in the aggravated murders trial of Brendan Banfield, accused of plotting with his family’s au pair to kill his wife and another man, returned a verdict.

    WATCH LIVE: Jury reaches decision in ‘au pair affair’ murders trial

    A Fairfax County jury on Monday found Brendan Banfield guilty of aggravated murder in the killings of his wife and another man in the family’s Herndon, Virginia, home in February 2023.

    The panel of 12 jurors began deliberating midday Friday on whether Banfield, a former IRS law enforcement officer, conspired with his family’s au pair, with whom he was having an affair, to kill his wife and pin it on a stranger.

    Banfield now faces life in prison with no chance of parole after his conviction on both counts of aggravated murder.

    He was also found guilty of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and child endangerment, as his 4-year-old child was home during the killings. Judge Penney Azcarate scheduled sentencing for May 8.

    ‘It’s monstrous’

    Prosecutor Jenna Sands told the jury Banfield was in love with his family’s Brazilian au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães. Sands argued the two of them staged an elaborate scheme to lure Joseph Ryan to the home to get rid of Banfield’s wife, Christine, and blame her killing on Ryan.

    “It’s really challenging to try to put yourself in someone like Mr. Banfield’s mind, and I don’t know that I want to try that hard, to be completely honest. I think that he was obviously hoping for a life with Juliana, and he didn’t see a way to accomplish that without executing his wife,” Sands said during a news conference after Monday’s verdict.

    According to the prosecution and Magalhães, who testified against Banfield after taking a plea deal, Banfield and the au pair created an account on a fetish website impersonating Christine and lured Ryan to the home with promises of rough sex.

    During her testimony, which spanned two days, Magalhães detailed her sexual relationship with Banfield, his desire to “get rid of his wife” and the elaborate scheme he came up with to do so.

    After creating the profile on the platform FetLife, Magalhães testified she and Banfield would both post to the site from Christine’s laptop, and they were careful to post only when Christine was home.

    “He knew that we needed to have some alibis,” she said on the stand.

    On the morning of the killings, Magalhães left the home with the Banfields’ child and waited in her car for Ryan to arrive. Brendan Banfield had left earlier and was waiting at a nearby McDonald’s for her to call.

    “They got Joe Ryan into the house, and then they shot him,” Sands said during closing arguments. “Brendan stabbed Christine, let her bleed out on the floor, and then dripped, smeared and wiped her blood on Joseph Ryan’s body to make it look like he had attacked Christine. Then they called the police.”

    During trial, Magalhães testified that Banfield shot Ryan in the head, and the au pair shot Ryan in the chest.

    “It’s monstrous. I mean, that’s really what it is. It’s monstrous,” Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said. “I’ve been doing this job for a while, and I can tell you that this defendant stood out to me highest above all the other murder cases that we’ve done in my six years here.”

    The fate of the au pair

    Magalhães was initially charged with murder in October 2023, eight months after the killings and nearly a year before Banfield himself was charged.

    “We did not authorize charges against Brendan Banfield until after we got the blood analysis done, that is what we were waiting for. And it wasn’t until two months after we got the blood and we indicted Brendan for these crimes, that Juliana decided to proffer and cooperate with us,” Descano said, adding the prosecution was prepared to go to trial without Magalhães’ testimony.

    As part of her plea deal, Magalhães’ charges were downgraded to manslaughter. While she could be sentenced to as little as the time she has already served, she faces up to 10 years in prison.

    “This is the work of being a prosecutor. She still is taking accountability for homicides,” Descano said. “Juliana, by testifying, answered a lot of questions, not only for us, but for the jury. Let’s not forget how important her testimony may have been to some of those jurors. So her still facing up to 10 years in prison is very, very significant and well worth the cost to make sure that Brendan Banfield was convicted for a crime where it is a mandatory life sentence.”

    Defense attorney John Carroll questioned Magalhães’ motives for cooperating, saying she told prosecutors what they wanted to hear. Carroll argued Brendan Banfield’s DNA was not discovered on the knife that was used to kill Christine Banfield, and that prosecutors failed to produce evidence that corroborated their “catfishing” theory.

    The defense also referenced conversations Magalhães had before the trial with a media company about selling her story for a documentary, further attempting to cast doubt on her testimony.

    Banfield’s attempt to defend himself comes up short

    The other key witness in the case was Banfield himself, who took the stand in his own defense.

    Sands, who used to practice as a defense attorney, said she was surprised by that decision.

    “I think I would have counseled against him taking the stand. But, you know, Mr. Carroll didn’t have a lot to work with,” she said.

    Banfield told jurors he rushed home after receiving a call from his au pair, heard sounds coming from his bedroom, identified himself as police when he saw Ryan holding a knife to Christine, then shot Ryan when he saw him stab her.

    “I don’t know that I’ve ever been more panicked in my life,” Banfield testified. “I was hoping to de-escalate the situation. I did not want to shoot him. I wanted him to let her go.”

    During cross examination, Sands pressed Banfield for details about his story and his feelings toward his au pair and his wife.

    “I think that everyone has commented on what was so obvious — that he was not truthful, that he was cold, that he behaved oddly in response to questions that should have elicited emotion, that he never spoke of himself as Christine’s husband, that he didn’t speak lovingly of his wife, that he showed absolutely no human emotion that we expected to see of someone in his position.”

    After Monday’s verdict was delivered, Banfield, dressed in a gray suit and navy blue tie, again expressed little emotion.

    “My hope with this is that he realizes he didn’t get away with it,” Descano said. “You can see a lot of things that he set up trying to get away with it, thinking that he was going to beat the system, trying to outsmart everybody. I hope he thinks that, and most of all, though, I hope he thinks about his wife and Joe, and about what a heinous thing he did, because that’s something that he is rightfully going to have to live with for the rest of his life.”

    WTOP’s Nick Iannelli speaks with Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano after a jury delivered a guilty verdict in the trial of Brendan Banfield.

    The Associated Press and WTOP’s Jessica Kronzer and Neal Augenstein contributed to this report.

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    © 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Thomas Robertson

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  • ‘Whose story does the evidence support?’: Jury resumes deliberations in ‘au pair affair’ murders trial – WTOP News

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    During the two week trial, Fairfax County prosecutors have argued that Brendan Banfield had an affair with the family’s Brazilian au pair and staged an elaborate scheme to lure Joseph Ryan to the home to get rid of his wife and blame her killing on someone else.

    Jurors will resume deliberations Monday morning in the aggravated murders trial of Brendan Banfield, charged in the 2023 deaths of his wife, and another man, in his Herndon, Virginia, home.

    During the two week trial, Fairfax County prosecutors have argued that Banfield had an affair with the family’s Brazilian au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhaes, and staged an elaborate scheme to lure Joseph Ryan to the home to get rid of his wife and blame her killing on someone else.

    The former IRS law enforcement officer has pleaded not guilty and faces life in prison with no chance of parole if convicted of one of two aggravated murder charges. He’s also charged with use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and child endangerment, as his 4-year-old child was home during the killings, on Feb. 24, 2023.

    Jurors began deliberating midday Friday, and will resume their closed door discussions, Monday at 10 a.m.

    The panel of 12 heard drastically different stories in closing arguments of what happened before, during, and after the killings of Christine Banfield and Ryan.

    Prosecutor Jenna Sands said Brendan Banfield was in love with Magalhaes, and came up with the plan to kill his wife. After initially being charged with Ryan’s murder, Magalhaes testified for the prosecution, after pleading guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter, and a promise that she would be sentenced to time served.

    Prosecutors and Magalhaes told jurors Banfield created fake accounts to pose as his wife on a fetish website to lure a man to the home, for what Joseph Ryan believed would be a consensual but violent sexual encounter with Christine Banfield.

    “They got Joe Ryan into the house, and then they shot him,” said Sands, in closing arguments. “Brendan stabbed Christine, let her bleed out on the floor, and then dripped, smeared and wiped her blood on Joseph Ryan’s body to make it look like he had attacked Christine. Then they called the police.”

    During trial, Magalhaes testified that Banfield shot Ryan in the head, and the au pair shot Ryan in the chest.

    However, defense attorney John Carroll said prosecutors failed to produce evidence that corroborated their “catfishing” theory.

    “Juliana made it up,” said Carroll, during his Friday closing argument. “She told the Commonwealth what they wanted to hear and without question they just took it as their story.”

    “She was a pawn in trying to get to my client,” said Carroll. “Her entire story has been bought and paid for.”

    Carroll reminded jurors that Brendan Banfield’s DNA was not discovered on the knife that was used to kill Christine Banfield. “The guy who brought the knife to the house is the stabber,” said Carroll.

    Carroll pointed out that prosecutors didn’t call investigators from Fairfax County Police Department to testify about blood or digital evidence, because their findings contradicted the prosecution’s catfishing theory.

    “When they lie and manipulate to get someone to make a statement, that’s not discovering the truth, that’s planting the truth,” Carroll concluded, when asking jurors to find his client not guilty of all charges.

    In her rebuttal closing, Sands questioned whether Magalhaes would have pleaded guilty to manslaughter if Banfield’s version of interrupting a home invasion were truthful. “If this version is correct, coming from Mr. Banfield, then she would be set free — she would be as ‘not guilty’ as he would be.”

    “Whose story is more credible here, Juliana’s or Mr. Banfield’s,” Sands asked. “Whose story does the evidence support?”

    On Friday, prosecutors and the defense agreed not to offer the jury less severe homicide charges to consider against Banfield, creating an all-or-nothing decision on each aggravated murder count.

    One aggravated murder count alleges that Banfield killed Ryan and Christine Banfield as part of the same act. The other aggravated murder count charges Banfield with killing two people within a three-year period.

    WTOP’s Jessica Kronzer contributed to this report. 

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    © 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Neal Augenstein

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  • Lawyers make final case in Fairfax double murder trial connected to au pair affair – WTOP News

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    Closing arguments are expected to begin Friday morning in a Fairfax County murder trial prosecutors say involved catfishing, a fetish website and an affair with a Brazilian au pair.

    WATCH LIVE: Closing arguments expected Friday in ‘au pair affair’ murders trial

    Closing arguments have begun Friday morning in a Fairfax County murder trial prosecutors say involved catfishing, a fetish website and an affair with a Brazilian au pair.

    Brendan Banfield testified this week in Fairfax County court that he did not devise a plan with the family’s au pair to kill his wife, Christine Banfield, and another man, as prosecutors allege.

    “I think that it’s an absurd line of questioning for something that is not serious, that a plan was made to get rid of my wife,” he testified. “That is absolutely crazy.”

    Banfield is charged with aggravated murder in the killings of his wife and Joseph Ryan.

    He has pleaded not guilty and faces life in prison if convicted.

    Lead prosecutor Jenna Sands began giving her closing arguments at 10 a.m., highlighting what evidence she said supports the commonwealth’s case.

    Prosecutors have said that Banfield and the au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, lured Ryan to the family’s home in February 2023 by messaging him from an account they created on an adult fetish website impersonating his wife.

    Investigators said the pair fatally shot Ryan and Banfield stabbed his wife, then set up the scene to make it appear as if Ryan had attacked Christine.

    Magalhães has backed up prosecutors’ theory, testifying in court about Banfield’s plot to kill his wife.

    “I just couldn’t keep it to myself, the feeling of shame and guilt and sadness,” she said in court earlier this month.

    Magalhães was arrested eight months after the killings and charged with second-degree murder in Ryan’s death. But she has since pleaded guilty to a reduced manslaughter charge as part of a plea deal.

    What Banfield says happened

    In his testimony Thursday, Banfield recounted what he said happened on the day of the killings, which occurred while the couple’s 4-year-old daughter was at home.

    Banfield testified he came home after getting a call from Magalhães saying a strange man was in the family’s home.

    After arriving, he said he heard what he thought were sounds of sex.

    When Banfield opened the bedroom door, he said he saw Ryan holding a knife to his wife, who was naked on the floor. Ryan, he said, was clothed.

    Banfield testified that he told Ryan to drop the knife, and Ryan replied by telling him to drop his gun.

    “I did not want to shoot him. I wanted him to let her go,” Banfield said.

    Banfield said he fired his gun after seeing Ryan do a “downward stabbing stroke.”

    He said he noticed blood in his wife’s hair but didn’t initially see she had stab wounds.

    “Christine told me that she was bleeding out and that she was sorry and that she loved me,” Banfield said.

    Banfield said he then heard a gunshot and saw Magalhães holding a firearm.

    “I looked up and I saw that Juliana had my other firearm, and I was stunned that Juliana had shot,” he testified.

    Prosecutors have questioned whether Christine could have held a conversation with seven neck wounds, which were found in the autopsy.

    Prosecutors have argued Banfield stabbed his wife multiple times before Magalhães called 911.

    Banfield said he waited to shoot at Ryan out of fear of wounding his wife.

    The defense has tried to challenge the catfishing theory by providing digital evidence related to Christine’s phone and laptop use. A digital forensic examiner testified that Christine used both devices at the same time — raising questions about how Banfield could have used his wife’s laptop to message Ryan.

    The forensic examiner said he agreed with one detective — who was later removed from the case — that Christine Banfield never lost control of her phone or laptop.

    In his testimony, Banfield admitted having an affair with Magalhães. He said both he and his wife had affairs throughout their near 20-year relationship but did not intend to end their marriage.

    “We were together the entire time. We didn’t break up at any point,” Banfield said.

    Banfield told the court he met Christine when they were freshmen students at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut.

    Magalhães will be sentenced after Banfield’s trial concludes. She could be sentenced to the time she has already served.

    WTOP’s Neal Augenstein and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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    © 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Jessica Kronzer

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  • Husband in au pair affair testifies on killings of wife, another man: ‘I did not want to shoot him.’ – WTOP News

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    In the cold formality of a northern Virginia courtroom, Brendan Banfield testified on Thursday that prosecutors got it wrong: He did not fatally stab his wife in 2023, but instead shot the man who did.

    WATCH: Banfield testifies about moment of killings in ‘au pair affair’ murder trial

    RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — In the cold formality of a northern Virginia courtroom, Brendan Banfield testified on Thursday that prosecutors got it wrong: He did not fatally stab his wife in 2023, but instead shot the man who did.

    The former IRS law enforcement officer-turned-defendant in an aggravated murder trial continued his testimony about what happened the day his wife, Christine Banfield, and Joseph Ryan were killed. Banfield recounted the terror he said he felt while seeing Ryan, his wife, a knife and blood in his bedroom.

    “I don’t know that I’ve ever been more panicked in my life,” Banfield testified. “I was hoping to de-escalate the situation. I did not want to shoot him. I wanted him to let her go.”

    Banfield fired a single shot at Ryan, who he had said was holding a knife while standing over his wife. And Juliana Peres Magalhães, the family’s au pair and his romantic partner, also shot the man moments later, he testified.

    His statements come as Fairfax County prosecutors have been telling a different story: that the husband stabbed his wife and lured Ryan to the house as a way to frame him in the case. Magalhães has testified that she and Brendan Banfield created an account in Christine Banfield’s name on a social media platform for people interested in sexual fetishes.

    There, Ryan linked up with the account and planned to meet for a sexual encounter involving a knife on the day of the killings.

    John Carroll, Banfield’s attorney, spent hours scrutinizing Magalhães’ motives in testifying against Banfield, identifying notes she had written in jail about negotiating payment with a true-crime author and producers after pleading guilty to manslaughter in the case.

    Officials also heavily questioned Banfield’s statements on Thursday, particularly in light of his romantic affair with Magalhães that began in the months before his wife’s death and continued afterward. On Wednesday, Banfield described the relationship as casual while his wife was alive.

    Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Jenna Sands presented letters and messages Banfield sent to Magalhães before and after the killings, where they discussed baby names for their future children and love for each other.

    “You are contending, again, these feelings — these very strong feelings, these ‘let’s be together for the rest of our lives’ feelings — did not exist when your wife was alive, correct?” Sands asked. “And they certainly did not motivate you to kill your wife?”

    “Juliana and I weren’t even together when Christine died,” he said, acknowledging their volatile affair.

    “You had broken up, is that correct?” Sands followed, then asking: “Did you need to kill your wife to get her back?”

    “Definitely not,” he replied.

    Banfield’s at-times tense testimony comes after his attorney scrutinized the county’s investigation into the defendant, arguing that officials, almost since the beginning, forced a theory that the husband had catfished and killed his wife, and ignored evidence that undermined that conclusion.

    “We had a briefing within the first week of the incident where we were discussing everything everybody had done and the information that was collected,” Leah Smith, a homicide detective, testified in the defense’s case. “Our supervisor at the time told us that there were two theories in the case and we needed to get behind the right one.”

    Carroll, Banfield’s attorney, presented witness after witness, revealing tensions in the county’s police department regarding whether Ryan was catfished. One of those witnesses included Brendan Miller, a digital forensics examiner at the department who concluded that there was no indication that Christine Banfield lost control of her devices before the slayings.

    His attorney also submitted a video of Banfield learning of his wife’s death, crying at times into his bloodied hands while a doctor patted his back.

    Banfield took the stand after the jurors watched the video, and described in detail his actions earlier that morning: waking up, taking a shower, saying goodbye to his wife before leaving his house extra early for an important work meeting with other agents and his manager.

    “This was a particularly important meeting for me, as it had been indicated that success in this case may lead to me getting a promotion to a senior special agent,” Banfield said.

    His boss at the time said otherwise, testifying afterward that there was no such meeting on the calendar.

    Copyright
    © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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  • Husband testifies he did not plot wife’s killing in double murder trial connected to au pair affair – WTOP News

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    A man testified on Wednesday that he loved his wife and did not want to end his marriage, despite having an affair with his family’s au pair in what would become a sprawling double homicide case centered around the two of them.

    WATCH LIVE: Brendan Banfield takes the stand in ‘au pair affair’ murders trial

    Brendan Banfield looks on during his double murder trial in Fairfax County Circuit Court, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Fairfax, Va. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner, Pool)(AP/Tom Brenner)

    RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A man testified on Wednesday that he loved his wife and did not want to end his marriage, despite having an affair with his family’s au pair in what would become a sprawling double homicide case centered around the two of them.

    Wearing a gray suit and a plaid tie, Brendan Banfield testified in a Fairfax, Virginia, court under oath about what happened the day he began cheating on his late wife, Christine Banfield, with Juliana Peres Magalhães in what he said was a casual affair. He described Magalhães scooting her chair closer to his while eating dinner one night, while his wife was out of town. He testified that she followed him into his room at bedtime, and he didn’t stop her.

    But Banfield testified he and Magalhães did not plot to kill his wife and another man in the months that followed, despite what prosecutors suggest.

    “I think that it’s an absurd line of questioning for something that is not serious, that a plan was made to get rid of my wife,” he testified. “That is absolutely crazy.”

    Banfield is charged with aggravated murder in the killings of his wife and Joe Ryan. His testimony will be a key piece of evidence that a northern Virginia jury will be tasked with weighing this month. Banfield, who has pleaded not guilty, could face life in prison if convicted by his peers.

    Prosecutors say Banfield and Magalhães lured Ryan to their house. According to officials, the two then shot him, and Banfield stabbed his wife, staging the scene to look as though Ryan had been a predator stabbing Christine Banfield.

    One of the witnesses who corroborates prosecutors’ theory is Magalhães herself.

    Earlier in January, Magalhães testified that she and Banfield had created an account in Christine Banfield’s name on a social media platform for people interested in sexual fetishes. There, Ryan connected with the account, and the users made plans to meet for a sexual encounter involving a knife.

    She testified to Banfield’s plan to kill his wife and live his life with Magalhães after they began their affair, plotting for months their ruse.

    Banfield testified that the au pair’s omission to officials was a lie, saying “there was no plan.” He also said that both he and his wife had affairs throughout the course of their 19-year relationship, but decided through couples therapy to continue their marriage.

    His testimony comes as John Carroll, Banfield’s attorney, spent much of the trial scrutinizing Magalhães’ motives in the case. The former au pair was initially charged with second-degree murder in Ryan’s killing, but has since pleaded guilty to a downgraded manslaughter charge.

    For instance, Magalhães didn’t remember who created the email address connected to the social media account and where she and Brendan Banfield were on the day it had been procured. She testified that she did not remember who wrote what messages to Ryan. And she admitted under oath to negotiating with a true-crime author and producers to share her story for money.

    On the stand, Banfield spoke of his relationship with his wife, describing them as inseparable despite the affair. “We were together the entire time. We didn’t break up at any point,” Banfield said.

    “Did you love your wife?” Carroll asked at one point.

    “Very much,” he said.

    “Did you want to continue your marriage with your wife?” his attorney said.

    “Yes.”

    ___

    Olivia Diaz is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

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    © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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    WTOP Staff

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  • Recap: Defense digs in on digital evidence in ‘au pair affair’ trial – WTOP News

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    Defense testimony continued Friday in the trial of Brendan Banfield, a former IRS investigator charged with aggravated murder in the 2023 deaths of his wife, Christine Banfield, and another man, Joseph Ryan, in Fairafx County, Virginia.

    Defense testimony continued Friday in the trial of Brendan Banfield, a former IRS investigator charged with aggravated murder in the 2023 deaths of his wife, Christine Banfield, and another man, Joseph Ryan, in Fairafx County, Virginia.

    The jury heard from the defense’s digital forensics expert to try to counter the prosecution’s theory that Brendan Banfield set up a profile on a fetish website pretending to be his wife to lure another man to the home so Brendan Banfield could kill her and pin it on the man.

    Harry Lidsky, a private investigator and digital forensic examiner, reviewed the digital evidence that the family’s au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhaes, and prosecutors said show Christine Banfield often used her phone and laptop at the same time.

    Lidsky said he agreed with the original lead detective, who disagreed with lead investigator Brendan Miller’s catfishing theory.

    Deputy Chief of Major Crimes Patrick Brusch said it was his decision to remove Miller from the case, after Miller provided an executive summary that concluded that Christine Banfield never lost control over her phone and laptop. That conclusion ran counter to prosecutors’ theory that Brendan Banfield and Peres Magalhães used Christine Banfield’s devices to communicate with Ryan and other men as they were staging the scenario.

    Proceedings ended Friday without Brendan Banfield taking the stand to testify in his own defense. Watch the recap below.

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    © 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Neal Augenstein

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  • Defense tries to poke holes in au pair’s confession in double murder – WTOP News

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    On the first day of the defense’s case in Fairfax County Circuit Court, attorneys for Brendan Banfield asked the judge to dismiss the charges, arguing prosecutors knowingly presented false testimony.

    On the first day of the defense’s arguments in Fairfax County Circuit Court on Wednesday, the attorneys of Brendan Banfield started by attempting to have the entire case thrown out, arguing the prosecution knowingly presented false testimony against his client.

    Banfield is charged with aggravated murder in the 2023 deaths of his wife Christine Banfield and another man, Joseph Ryan. Prosecutors say Brendan killed them both as part of an elaborate plot with the family’s au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, to kill his wife and blame it on Ryan.

    Defense attorney John Carroll filed a motion to dismiss, saying at the end of the prosecution’s case, “It was at that point, when they rested, that this became incumbent upon me to make this motion.”

    Carroll cited a report from detective Brendan Miller, who testified at the behest of the defense Wednesday, which stated that an email account and an account with a website used for setting up sexual encounters was created by Christine Banfield.

    Peres Magalhães later told police she was the one behind those accounts — a confession that came after Miller wrote the report.

    Nonetheless, it was an issue Carroll honed in on when Miller took the stand.

    “I was able to determine that it was her phone used in the creation of that account based on a variety of returns,” Miller said.

    “And did you make any conclusions at that time that she had not given up her devices?” Carroll asked.

    “I had nothing indicating loss of dominion and control at that time,” Miller responded.

    Under further questioning, Miller acknowledged his findings did change upon Peres Magalhães admission.

    Prosecutor Jenna Sands asked Miller if he could “conclusively opine as to who was behind the screen” based on the activity of Christine Banfield’s phone. He said he could not.

    “When you wrote this report that Mr. Carroll has referenced, you used the phrasing ‘Christine did this. Christine did that.’ Is that correct?” Sands asked.

    “Yes,” Miller said.

    He also testified that he can’t determine who is behind a screen at all times without some form of corroboration.

    Judge Penney Azcarate rejected the defense’s argument that prosecutors knowingly allowed false statements to be used in court. From there, the defense rehashed police body camera video of the immediate aftermath of the killing, including the moments when Brendan Banfield learned his wife was dead.

    The defense also used its own blood spatter analyst to try to poke holes in the theory that Banfield was able to drip his wife’s blood over Joseph Ryan’s body to connect him to her death.

    Defense expert LeeAnn Singley disagreed with testimony from a prosecution witness the previous day, who said blood drops on Ryan’s arm appeared to have been dripped from above.

    “Once you’ve classified it as a certain mechanism, you’ve excluded everything else,” Singley said. “I didn’t feel there was enough information here for me to do that, and this target surface, it would be inappropriate, I believe, to do that, because the target surface was not ideal for being able to do that.”

    After the trial broke for lunch, Singley returned to the stand and was eventually cross examined by Sands about her decision not to make a solid determination of how the drops got there.

    Singley agreed that none of the options have been excluded.

    She also conceded it was at least possible the blood droplets on Ryan’s arm did get dripped onto him, even if she didn’t agree with the conclusion of the prosecution’s expert that that’s actually what happened.

    The case resumes at 9:30 a.m. Thursday. It’s also possible the trial continues Friday — normally a day off for the jury — because of the judge’s concern about the impending snowstorm this weekend. Azcarate said it would be her decision to decide whether the courthouse would be closed for inclement weather.

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    John Domen

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  • Digital and DNA evidence take center stage on day 3 of au pair affair murder trial – WTOP News

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    During the third day of the Brendan Banfield trial in Northern Virginia on Thursday, jurors saw photos showing major changes inside the Banfield home in the months after the killings.

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    Brazilian au pair testifies against former employer and lover in double homicide case

    During the third day of the murder trial of Brendan Banfield, who’s accused of carrying out an elaborate plot to kill his wife and another man so he could be with his au pair, jurors in the Fairfax County courtroom saw photos showing major changes inside the Banfield home in the months after the killings.

    Photos showed that clothes and pictures of the au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, had been moved into the home’s master bedroom.

    “They had gotten new flooring, new bedroom furniture. And pictures that had once featured Brendan and Christine had been taken down and replaced with Brendan and Juliana together,” Sgt. Kenner Fortner with Fairfax County Police Department said during trial Thursday.

    Fortner took crime scene photos on the day of the killings, and compared those to photos taken when he returned months later.

    The prosecution appeared to use the photos to point to a relationship at the center of the case — an alleged affair between Brendan and Magalhães that they say began before the killings. Prosecutors say Brendan Banfield and Magalhães plotted to kill his wife Christine, along with Joseph Ryan.

    Ryan was allegedly lured to the home through a fetish website account created in Christine’s name.

    Banfield faces aggravated murder charges.

    Also testifying was the window salesman who sold the Banfields’ new windows a few months before the killings.

    The salesman told jurors his company installed triple-pane windows months before the murders, and that an order of double-pane windows was changed to triple pane before the install. The defense pressed him on whether noise was ever discussed and whether the sound from Dulles International Airport or a nearby firehouse may have been the motive behind the upgrade.

    “When someone goes to a triple pane, that’s another level, and that is a type of level where they’re trying to do more than just protect the house from the sun,” Matthew Niederriter said.

    Magalhães told the court in testimony earlier this week that Brendan changed the windows in the home to make it more soundproof in preparation for the killings.

    Others heard from an employee at a shooting range who said Brendan Banfield bought a gun from the range in the months before the killings, and that he and Magalhães were listed as visiting the shooting range in late 2022.

    Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan were killed in February 2023.

    Virginia Department of Forensic Science forensic expert Cara McCarthy testified that two Glock handguns that were seized from the home were in working order.

    A DNA expert followed, saying Christine Banfield’s DNA was found on Brendan’s jeans and Juliana’s shoes, and Joseph Ryan’s blood was on the carpet and wall.

    While the prosecution did most of the questioning, the defense asked several questions that focused on how evidence was collected and whether procedures were followed correctly in evidence collection.

    Magalhães admitted earlier this week that she helped plan the attack and pleaded guilty to manslaughter. She’ll be sentenced after the conclusion of the trial.

    The trial will resume Tuesday.

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    Mike Murillo

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  • Brazilian au pair testifies against former employer and lover in double homicide case – WTOP News

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    A Brazilian au pair who has pleaded guilty to manslaughter testified against her former employer and lover on Wednesday in a double homicide case that prosecutors say was part of an elaborate scheme to get rid of the man’s wife.

    WATCH LIVE: The latest on the trial of Brendan Banfield, the Fairfax County husband accused of conspiring with the family’s au pair to kill his wife and another man.

    This image taken from video, Juliana Peres Magalhães testifies during the trial of Brendan Banfield, charged with aggravated murder in the 2023 killings of Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan, on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026 in Fairfax, Va. (Court TV via AP, Pool)

    FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — A Brazilian au pair who has pleaded guilty to manslaughter testified against her former employer and lover on Wednesday in a double homicide case that prosecutors say was part of an elaborate scheme to get rid of the man’s wife.

    Brendan Banfield is charged with aggravated murder in the 2023 killings of Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan at the Banfields’ home in northern Virginia. He has pleaded not guilty and could face life in prison if convicted.

    Prosecutors have said that Banfield, an IRS agent, and Juliana Peres Magalhães, the family’s au pair, were in love. In order to get rid of Christine Banfield, the pair impersonated her on a social media site for sexual fetishes and spent a month arranging an elaborate rape scenario with Ryan, a stranger. They killed Ryan and Christine Banfield after staging it to look like they had shot an intruder who was attacking Christine Banfield with a knife, Magalhães testified on Tuesday.

    Magalhães, who was raised in the outskirts of São Paulo, was originally charged with murder but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter in 2024 after cooperating with investigators. She will be sentenced at the conclusion of Banfield’s trial. Depending on her cooperation with authorities, attorneys have said she could be sentenced to the time she’s already served.

    Banfield’s attorney, John Carroll, said in opening statements on Tuesday that Magalhães had maintained her innocence for a year but eventually changed her story after she lost faith in her attorney.

    “The whole reason she was arrested was to flip her against my client,” Carroll said.

    On Wednesday, Carroll asked Magalhães to read portions from letters she had written from jail to Brendan Banfield and others. They expressed depression and frustration with her situation. “No strength. No courage. No hope,” she wrote at one point.

    Banfield, whose 4-year-old daughter was at the house on the morning of the killings, is also charged with child abuse and felony child cruelty in connection with the case. He will face those charges during the aggravated murder trial.

    ___

    Associated Press writer Travis Loller in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed.

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    © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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    WTOP Staff

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  • Attorneys give dueling narratives in double murder trial of Virginia man having affair with au pair – WTOP News

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    Prosecutors said in opening statements on Tuesday that a Virginia man who was having an affair with the family’s Brazilian au pair used an elaborate scheme to lure an unsupecting man to the house as part of a plan to kill his wife.

    WATCH LIVE: Trial begins for Fairfax Co. man accused of conspiring with au pair to kill wife, another man

    FILE – This image provided by the Fairfax County Police Department and taken on Oct. 13, 2023, was submitted as evidence in the murder case against Brendan Banfield shows a framed photo of Banfield and Juliana Peres Magalhães on his bedside table in Herndon, Va. (Fairfax County Police Department via AP, File)

    FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — Prosecutors said in opening statements on Tuesday that a Virginia man who was having an affair with the family’s Brazilian au pair used an elaborate scheme to lure an unsuspecting man to the house as part of a plan to kill his wife.

    Brendan Banfield is charged with aggravated murder in the February 2023 killings of Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan at the Banfields’ home in northern Virginia. He has pleaded not guilty and faces life imprisonment.

    In opening statements, Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Jenna Sands told jurors that Banfield and Juliana Peres Magalhães, the family’s au pair, were in love. Banfield did not want a divorce because he did not want to lose custody of his then-4-year-old daughter or even to share custody with his wife, Sands said. In order to “get rid of” Christine Banfield, the pair impersonated her on a social media site for sexual fetishes and spent a month arranging an elaborate rape scenario with Ryan, Sands said.

    They arranged for Ryan to come in the morning while Christine Banfield was sleeping and bring restraints and a knife, Sands said. Magalhães and Brendan Banfield left the house but stayed nearby. Magalhães entered after Ryan and called Brendan Banfield. She also called 911 but hung up, Sands said. She only called 911 again after both she and Brendan Banfield had shot Ryan and Banfield had stabbed his wife multiple times, Sands said.

    Magalhães was also charged with murder but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter in 2024 after cooperating with investigators. She will be sentenced at the conclusion of Banfield’s trial.

    Banfield’s attorney, John Carroll, said in opening statements that Magalhães had maintained her innocence for a year but eventually changed her story in exchange for a sweetheart deal.

    “The whole reason she was arrested was to flip her against my client,” Carroll said.

    The prosecution’s theory relies on the idea that Banfield and Magalhães were “catfishing” Ryan by pretending to be Christine Banfield. However, the lead homicide detective and the forensic detective both disagreed with that theory, Carroll said. Both were later transferred. Carroll said there was “turmoil” inside the police department over the case.

    “You’re going to see a presentation of a horrible, tragic, awful event,” Carroll said. He said there is no dispute that Banfield and Magalhães were having an affair, however “there’s an awful lot more to look for.”

    Banfield, whose daughter was at the house on the morning of the killings, is also charged with child abuse and felony child cruelty in connection with the case. He will also face those charges during the aggravated murder trial.

    —

    Reporter Travis Loller contributed from Nashville, Tennessee.

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    © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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    WTOP Staff

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  • WATCH LIVE: Fairfax Co. husband goes on trial in double murder case involving au pair – WTOP News

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    The Fairfax County, Virginia, husband accused of conspiring with the family’s au pair to kill his wife and another person, is on trial, charged with aggravated murder for the February 2023 deaths.

    Prosecutors said Brendan Banfield planned with Juliana Peres Magalhaes to kill Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan, who had been lured to the Banfields’ Herndon home with promises of rough sex.

    Peres Magalhaes pleaded guilty in 2024 for her involvement in the double murder. Authorities said the au pair and the husband had a romantic affair.

    Court sessions will begin at 10 a.m. each day and run Monday through Thursday.

    Watch the court proceedings below for the latest on the case.

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    Abigail Constantino

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  • Au pair charged in killing a man in a Fairfax Co. double homicide seeks dismissal of key evidence in trial – WTOP News

    Au pair charged in killing a man in a Fairfax Co. double homicide seeks dismissal of key evidence in trial – WTOP News

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    Days after a husband was charged in the double homicide of his wife and another man inside a Fairfax County, Virginia, house, the au pair, who was also charged with shooting the man, is asking to get a key evidence thrown out. 

    Days after a husband was charged in the double homicide of his wife and another man inside a Fairfax County house, their Brazilian au pair, who was also charged with shooting the man, is asking to get key evidence from the case thrown out.

    A motion to suppress certain evidence was detailed in a lengthy hearing Thursday in Fairfax County Circuit Court before Judge Penney S. Azcarate.

    Attorneys for 23-year-old Juliana Peres Magalhaes argued that on the day of the killings in February 2023, police essentially did not make it clear enough to Peres Magalhaes that she did not have to go to police headquarters or talk to detectives.

    Peres Magalhaes’ defense attorneys showed police body camera footage of an officer’s interactions with her outside the home where 37-year-old Christine Banfield and 39-year-old Joseph Ryan were found dead inside.

    Christine Banfield was stabbed to death, and Ryan was shot to death inside the home in the 13200 block of Stable Brook Way.

    At that time, Peres Magalhaes was not under arrest. When she asked the officer if she had to go to police headquarters, his response was, “It’s imperative for your safety.”

    Prosecutors said there was no overt act of authority by police, and Peres Magalhaes got into a police cruiser voluntarily. Initially, according to court testimony, Peres Magalhaes and the Banfields’ 4-year-old daughter were taken to what’s called a “soft room,” where police questioned her for about 90 minutes. After that, Peres Magalhaes was taken to a police interrogation room and questioned for over seven hours.

    Peres Magalhaes was not arrested and charged until 8 months later.

    Attorneys representing Peres Magalhaes at the hearing Thursday said she was unlawfully seized, and evidence in the case — including her cellphone, Apple watch, clothing, photos and a hand swab taken that day — should be thrown out. They also argued that anything she told police should be excluded from trial.

    Banfield was arrested and charged earlier this week with aggravated murder. A hearing was also held in his case on Thursday, where the same judge set a trial date of Feb. 3.

    Banfield’s attorney, John Carroll, said he has not filed any motions in the case yet, and is expecting eight terabytes of discovery evidence from the Commonwealth Attorney’s office.

    The judge will rule on the motions and make a decision about a request for cameras in the courtroom next Thursday.

    Prosecutors have alleged that someone used Christine Banfield’s laptop to make an account on an adult fetish website. Ryan had responded to the profile and went to the home with the intention of having “rough sex” with Christine Banfield. Prosecutors haven’t said who they believe created the account.

    Peres Magalhaes initially told detectives she saw Ryan holding a knife to the throat of Christine Banfield, who was nude, inside the master bedroom.

    Police said Brendan Banfield, a criminal investigative division agent for the IRS, shot Ryan near his right eyebrow with his IRS-issued service weapon. After shooting Ryan, Peres Magalhaes said Brendan Banfield told her to get a gun from a safe in the bathroom of the master bedroom. She then fired a shot at Ryan, which struck him in the chest, and “devastated his heart,” according to the medical examiner who testified at a December 2023 hearing.

    WTOP Staff contributed to this report. 

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    Kyle Cooper

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  • Husband charged in double homicide inside Fairfax Co. home in alleged plot with au pair – WTOP News

    Husband charged in double homicide inside Fairfax Co. home in alleged plot with au pair – WTOP News

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    Brendan Banfield has been charged with murder in both killings, nearly a year after the couple’s au pair was charged with shooting the man to death. 

    Inside a Fairfax County, Virginia, house, a woman was stabbed to death and a man fatally shot in February 2023 in a complicated double homicide involving an alleged affair and a fetish website. Now, her husband is being charged with murder in both of their killings, nearly a year after the couple’s au pair was charged with shooting the man to death.

    In February 2023, Christine Banfield, 37, was found inside her bedroom, suffering from stab wounds, alongside 39-year-old Joseph Ryan, who was shot and killed, police said.

    During Brendan Banfield’s first court appearance Tuesday morning, a judge read out his charges and he was taken back to holding.

    He was indicted on multiple charges of aggravated murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, more than 570 days after police said he killed his wife and Ryan, Fairfax County officials said in a news conference Monday.

    Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano and police Chief Kevin Davis announced Brendan Banfield’s arrest on Monday, but neither offered many details about the evidence that led to the new charges, citing concerns about compromising the criminal investigation or prejudicing a future jury.

    “This much is clear — we have evidence to now allege that Christine Banfield’s life was unlawfully taken and Joseph Ryan’s life was unlawfully taken,” Davis said.

    Descano did say “new information” uncovered by Fairfax officers “was very instrumental in giving today’s indictment.”

    At the time of the killings, Brendan and Christine Banfield were married and living in a Herndon house with their 4-year-old daughter and 22-year-old au pair Juliana Peres Magalhaes.

    Police said Brendan Banfield was involved in a “romantic relationship” with Peres Magalhaes — who denied allegations the two were having an affair immediately after the shooting and the stabbing.

    Back in October 2023, Peres Magalhaes was charged with second-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony in Ryan’s killing. She was not charged in 37-year-old Christine Banfield’s death. Her trial in Ryan’s death is scheduled in November, The Associated Press reported.

    Brendan Banfield is expected to appearance in court next on Thursday for a hearing to schedule a trial.

    He’s being held at the county’s adult detention center, the same facility where Peres Magalhaes has been in custody as she awaits trial, police said.

    Fairfax County police executed a search warrant at the Banfields’ house on Monday, Davis said.

    “This isn’t over. We’re not spiking the football, we’re not celebrating,” Davis said. “We’re still in the midst of this journey within our criminal justice system.”

    What happened inside the Banfields’ house?

    Prosecutors have alleged that someone used Christine Banfield’s laptop to make an account on an adult fetish website. Ryan had responded to the profile and went to the home with the intention of having “rough sex” with Christine Banfield.

    Prosecutors haven’t said who they believe created the account.

    At an earlier hearing, Peres Magalhaes’ defense attorney, Ryan Campbell, argued that the evidence showed that Christine Banfield established the adult website account, and also purchased tickets for Peres Magalhaes to take the couple’s 4-year-old daughter to the National Zoo in D.C. during her alleged assignation with Ryan.

    At the December 2023 hearing, Campbell said it was difficult for him to accept that somebody other than Christine Banfield would be going on her computer to lure Ryan for months.

    After the incident, Peres Magalhaes told detectives she saw Ryan holding a knife to the throat of Christine Banfield, who was nude, inside the master bedroom.

    Police said Brendan Banfield, a criminal investigative division agent for the IRS, shot Ryan near his right eyebrow with his IRS-issued service weapon.

    After shooting Ryan, Peres Magalhaes said Brendan Banfield told her to get a gun from a safe in the bathroom of the master bedroom. She then fired a shot at Ryan, which struck him in the chest, and “devastated his heart,” according to the medical examiner who testified at a December 2023 hearing.

    Peres Magalhaes called 911 around 7:45 a.m., but the call was disconnected. Around 15 minutes later, she called 911 again and gave the phone to Banfield, who told the dispatcher he had just shot a man who was stabbing his wife.

    Both guns and a knife were recovered by law enforcement at the scene, Davis said.

    What was the relationship between Brendan and Juliana?

    Prosecutors said that Peres Magalhaes visited a shooting range in Ashburn with Brendan Banfield a few months before the double homicide.

    Brendan Banfield returned to purchase a Glock on Jan. 28, 2023, which prosecutors said was the weapon that Peres Magalhaes retrieved from a bathroom safe and used to shoot Ryan.

    In the months between the shootings and Peres Magalhaes’ arrest, prosecutors said photo and text evidence showed the two had been engaging in an affair.

    Campbell, the attorney, has repeatedly objected to the relevance of the alleged relationship between his client and Brendan Banfield.

    “The purchase of the weapon before the incident is the relevance,” the judge said in April, who later described the court proceedings as, “the government … playing two potential defendants against each other.”

    WTOP’s Jack Moore, Abigail Constantino and Neal Augenstein contributed to this report. 

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    Jessica Kronzer

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