FAIRFAX, Va. (CN) - In a case that drew national attention, a jury convicted Brendan Banfield on Monday of aggravated murder in the gruesome Feb. 24, 2023, killings of his wife, Christine Banfield, 37, and Joseph Ryan, 39.
The jury also convicted Banfield, a criminal investigator for the IRS, of child endangerment charges, as his then-4-year-old daughter was at home during the incident. The family's au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhaes, 25, previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter for her role in the killings.
During opening statements at the beginning of the trial in early January, Chief Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Jenna Sands said Banfield - following an affair with Magalhaes - did not want to share custody of his daughter with his wife. Instead of a divorce, he planned to kill her.
Banfield, who took the witness stand in his own defense, maintained that he had shot Ryan after coming home to find him stabbing his wife. He noted that the case was built upon a statement made by Magalhaes, whose own charges were greatly reduced.
Magalhaes, an au pair from Brazil, testified during trial as a key witness for the prosecution that she joined Banfield's scheme to kill his wife and blame it on Ryan.
Prosecutors accused of Banfield luring Ryan to the house to set up him as an intruder who would be confronted by Banfield, providing an alibi for the murders. They say Banfield did this with the assistance of Magalhaes by posing as his wife purportedly seeking someone interested in a rape fantasy. When sending messages, they used Christine Banfield's cellphone or laptop.
But according to Banfield, on the morning of the murders, he left for work but returned after being summoned by Magalhaes, who saw a man entering the home.
He said he returned to find the au pair and the Banfields' daughter sitting in one of the family cars near the house. Banfield testified that he told Magalhaes to stay in the car with his daughter. Instead, she followed him inside the house, bringing the child along.
He said that he'd thought he found his wife in an affair and didn't think of calling 911. Near the bedroom, he heard moaning. The noise became more intense and he worried that his wife was being hurt. He said Ryan stabbed Christine Banfield and he then shot Ryan. he claimed Magalhaes, who had followed Banfield up the stairs, retrieved a gun and shot Ryan again because he was moving. On the stand, Magalhaes countered that he directed her to shoot Ryan the second time.
Following a seven-month investigation, Fairfax County Police Department arrested Magalhaes in October 2023 and charged her with shooting Ryan during the attack.
In September 2024, police announced they were also charging Banfield with the double murder. The child endangerment and child abuse charges were added three months later.
Source: Courthouse News Service
