FAIRFAX, Va. (CN) - A blood spatter expert testified Tuesday that red ribbonlike stains on a murder victim's hands indicated the blood was transferred from somewhere else, bolstering prosecutor's claims that Brendan Banfield manipulated his body to frame him for the murder of his wife.
In the final day of prosecution testimony, Iris Dally Graff, a forensic analyst, said the bloodstains on Joseph Ryan's hands showed that "there were different positions as the blood was wet and flowing."
Graff, of Graff Investigative and Forensic Training, explained that some bloodstain patterns around Ryan were transfer stains, meaning they were transferred from one surface to another.
After Graff's testimony, prosecutors rested their case accusing Banfield, 40, killing of Christine Banfield, his wife, and Ryan, 39, on Feb. 24, 2023. Prosecutors argue that Banfield - acting with the assistance of his child's au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhaes, 25 - concocted a catfishing plan to lure Ryan to the house using a fetish website to create an alibi for the murder of Christine Banfield.
But John F. Carroll, Banfield's attorney, countered that Ryan could have been capable of moving after being shot. And after the prosecution rested, he asked Fairfax County Judge Penney S. Azcarate to strike the charges against his client.
"I respectfully suggest that [prosecutors] missed their target. There's not sufficient evidence," he said.
He pointed out that homicide detectives hadn't been called to testify. The catfishing theory, he added, was never substantiated.
"It was a situation not of my client's making and it was not something he did," Carroll said.
The prosecution's star witness, Magalhaes, gave testimony supporting prosecutors' theory, he added. Even so, Carroll insisted, "she can't answer any questions with any sort of detail."
Azcarate disagreed, saying "I do find that there is evidence that can be considered by the jury for each of the elements of aggravated murder."
Prosecutors claim Ryan came to the house believing that he had been invited for a rape fantasy. Instead, Banfield shot him and then stabbed Christine Banfield, according to testimony given by Magalhaes. After Ryan was shot, the au pair testified, he continued to move and Banfield instructed Magalhaes to shoot him again.
Magalhaes, who was reportedly in a relationship with Banfield, was initially charged with second-degree murder, but subsequently pleaded guilty to manslaughter and cooperated with investigators. While she has not yet been sentenced, her plea deal calls for time served, according to court filings.
Banfield, an IRS investigator, faces charges of aggravated murder and child abuse stemming from the presence of his then 4-year-old daughter, who was in the house during the crime. He has maintained his innocence and contends that he confronted Ryan, who stabbed Christine Banfield. Banfield holds he then shot Ryan and attempted to aid his wife.
Police investigated for eight months before arresting Magalhaes in October 2023. During a search warrant, they discovered that she had moved her belongings into the master bedroom closet. Banfield wasn't arrested and charged until September 2024.
On Wednesday, Carroll is expected to call defense witnesses.
Source: Courthouse News Service
