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In a surprising turn of events, Juliana Peres Magalhães was advised to be released by prosecutors after admitting guilt to a reduced charge of manslaughter in the February 2023 death of Joseph Ryan.
Originally facing charges of second-degree murder, Magalhães instead took on the role of the prosecution’s key witness. She testified that she had shot Ryan during a tumultuous night when Virginia resident Brendan Banfield was in the process of fatally stabbing his own wife, Christine, within the confines of their bedroom.
Addressing the grieving families in court on Friday, Magalhães, visibly emotional, said, “I know my remorse cannot bring you peace,” as tears streamed down her face. Her voice choked with sobs, she continued, “I hope you can someday understand that I really did not believe his plan would actually happen.”
The judge, however, offered no leniency, sternly stating, “Let’s get it straight: You do not deserve anything other than incarceration and a life of reflection on what you have done to the victim and his family. May it weigh heavily on your soul.”
“Let’s get it straight: You do not deserve anything other than incarceration and a life of reflection on what you have done to the victim and his family. May it weigh heavily on your soul,” the judge said.
At Banfield’s trial, Magalhães testified that she and the IRS agent created an account in the name of his wife, a paediatric intensive care nurse, on a social media platform for people interested in sexual fetishes.
Magalhães, then 22, said she and Brendan Banfield took the couple’s four-year-old child to the basement, and then found Ryan surprising Christine Banfield with a knife in the couple’s bedroom.
She said Brendan Banfield shot Ryan and then began stabbing his wife in the neck.
When she saw Ryan moving, Magalhães said, she fired the second shot that killed him.
The au pair wasn’t arrested until eight months later, and hasn’t left jail since.
Prosecutors raised concerns that if she were to be allowed bail, she would flee to Brazil or be deported by immigration officials before they could finish their case.
She didn’t talk with investigators for more than a year, until she changed her mind as her trial date approached.
“I lost myself in a relationship, and left my morals and values behind,” Magalhães told the judge.
“You were texting and speaking to Joseph Ryan, encouraging him to bring a knife and ultimately, through the phone conversation, getting his consent, knowing all along you were bringing him to his death,” the judge responded.
Ryan’s mother, Deirdre Fisher, told the court that her son, born days before Christmas, was her “greatest gift.”
Three years after his killing, she can’t bear taking down their Christmas tree.
An urn with Ryan’s ashes sits in front of the decoration.
“I say good morning to him each day when I turn on the tree’s lights,” she said.
“But of course that’s not Joe sitting there. He can’t say ‘I love you’ back.”
Sangeeta Ryan described her nephew as “inquisitive, curious, smart, charming and so dang talkative.”
She said he loved martial arts and role-playing with his friends.
She also noted that he had moved in with his octogenarian grandmother to care for her.
“His sudden murder devastated his grandma, she could no longer live in the family home without Joe,” his aunt said.
The woman quietly moved away, hoping to avoid her memories and the reporters knocking at the door.
Christine Banfield’s relatives attended Friday’s hearing.
A judge has said Banfield will be sentenced in May.
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