Virginia man Brendan Banfield learns fate in twisted au pair affair double-murder
A Virginia jury has found former IRS law enforcement officer Brendan Banfield guilty of aggravated murder in the 2023 killings of his wife, Christina Banfield, and a second victim, Joseph Ryan, according to reports.
Banfield, 40, was convicted in Fairfax County of murdering his 37-year-old wife and Ryan, 38, a stranger prosecutors said he deliberately lured to the family’s Herndon home under false pretenses, the Associated Press reported.
The panel had got the case midday Jan. 30 and deliberated most of Monday.
The jury found Banfield guilty of using a firearm in the commission of the crimes and of child endangerment for leaving his then-4-year-old daughter unattended in the basement while the violence took place upstairs.
The verdict came after roughly nine hours of deliberation by a panel of seven women and five men.
Prosecutors said Banfield orchestrated an elaborate murder plot with the couple’s Brazilian au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, with whom he was having an affair.
Testimony showed the pair created fake accounts on a fetish website posing as Christina Banfield and used them to lure Ryan to the home for what he believed would be a consensual but violent sexual encounter.
Magalhães, 25, testified that Ryan arrived armed with a knife, as instructed online and began interacting with Christina, a pediatric intensive care nurse who had previously worked with sexual assault victims, unaware he was being set up.
Magalhães said she waited outside in a car before calling Banfield to falsely report an intruder, prompting his return to the house.
Once inside, prosecutors said Banfield shot Ryan with his service weapon to make it appear he was defending his wife, then fatally stabbed Christina multiple times in the neck to try and stage the scene and frame Ryan for her murder.
Magalhães testified she witnessed the stabbing and later helped call 911.
Banfield admitted on the stand that he shot Ryan but claimed it was self-defense, saying he walked in on Ryan attacking his wife.
His attorney argued Magalhães fabricated the plot to protect herself, pointing to her plea deal, which resulted in a sentence of time served.
Prosecutors countered that digital evidence, forensic findings and Magalhães’ testimony showed Banfield was motivated by wanting to be with the au pair and avoid divorce.
"He was in love with Juliana," prosecutor Jenna Sands told jurors. "He needed to get rid of his wife so they could be together."
In closing arguments, Sands also told the jury they did not have to rely only on Magalhães’ testimony and pointed to what she called a "plethora of evidence."
That included expert testimony that blood stains on Ryan’s hands suggested Christine Banfield’s blood had been dripped onto him from above.
Banfield faces life in prison without the possibility of parole. He is scheduled to be sentenced May 8. Magalhães was set to be sentenced after Banfield’s trial.