WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

In the opening week of a high-profile Virginia trial, the spotlight fell on an alleged extramarital affair involving Brendan Banfield and the family’s nanny—a relationship prosecutors claim led the former IRS agent to murder his wife and an unsuspecting stranger in a bid to conceal his secrets.

Banfield stands accused of the brutal slayings of his wife, Christine Banfield, and Joseph Ryan in February 2023. The chilling events unfolded in their Herndon, Virginia home, nestled in a wealthy suburb near Washington, D.C. The prosecution argues that Banfield meticulously planned the murders to hide his involvement with Juliana Peres Magalhães, the family’s au pair. Despite the gravity of the charges, Banfield has entered a plea of not guilty.

The case, sensationally dubbed “The Au Pair Affair,” has captivated public attention, drawing comparisons to a dramatic television thriller. Defense attorney Kelly Hyman, speaking to Fox News Digital, highlighted the defense strategy: discrediting Magalhães, the prosecution’s key witness, by questioning her credibility. “The jury’s decision hinges on whether they find her testimony believable,” Hyman noted.

Brendan Banfield appeared in the Fairfax County Circuit Court, where he is being tried for double murder, on Wednesday, January 14, 2026. The trial continues to unfold under intense scrutiny, as the court examines the tangled web of relationships and alleged motives at the heart of this tragic case.

Magalhães, who admitted her role in the killings under a plea agreement, told jurors she was involved in a sexual relationship with Banfield and said the two plotted to kill Christine and make Ryan’s death appear to be the result of a consensual encounter gone wrong.

She testified that Banfield controlled the planning, created an online profile using his wife’s credentials, and ultimately stabbed Christine after shooting Ryan.

Christine Banfield was stabbed to death in the bedroom of her Fairfax County, Virginia, home. (Facebook)

Under her plea deal, Magalhães faces a significantly reduced sentence in exchange for her cooperation.

“It’s a ‘Tale of Two Cities’: the prosecution paints her as a 22-year-old victim, while the defense flips the script to show an instigator acting out of self-preservation,” Hyman said. “By attributing key decisions to her and introducing prior inconsistent statements, the defense will aim to create reasonable doubt. If they can show she has an ulterior motive or a personal gain from the plea deal, they can argue the prosecution hasn’t proven the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.”

With Magalhães’ testimony now complete, the trial is expected to shift this week to additional forensic evidence and law-enforcement witnesses.

Juliana Peres Magalhães is escorted into the courtroom before continuing her testimony, during the double murder trial for Brendan Banfield in Fairfax County Circuit Court, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Fairfax, Va. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner, Pool)

A key dispute last week involved who controlled the FetLife account used to communicate with Ryan. Prosecutors pointed to digital evidence and Magalhães’ testimony to argue Banfield was the mastermind behind the keyboard.

The defense countered that multiple people had access to devices inside the home and questioned whether the evidence conclusively identifies Banfield as the account’s operator.

Prosecutors also discussed what they described as the “neatness” of the crime scene, focusing on details such as Christine’s eyeglasses, which appeared carefully placed despite the violence of the attack. The Commonwealth argued these details support a narrative that the scene was staged to mislead investigators.

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)

Jurors also heard testimony that, in the months after the killings, Banfield replaced family photographs in the home with images of Magalhães.

“They had gotten new flooring, new bedroom furniture,” Fairfax County Sgt. Kenner Fortner, who testified that he entered the home shortly after the killings in February 2023. “Pictures that had once featured Brendan and Christine had been taken down and replaced with Brendan and Juliana together.” 

The defense has yet to present its case. The trial is scheduled to resume Tuesday at 10 a.m.