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In a dramatic courtroom decision on Monday, a Virginia jury found Brendan Banfield guilty of aggravated murder, concluding a tangled tale of betrayal and violence involving his Brazilian au pair lover and a twisted plot to kill his wife. The scheme further implicated a stranger who was allegedly lured through a fetish website.
Banfield faced conviction on two counts of aggravated murder for the deaths of his wife, Christine Banfield, and Joseph Ryan, according to a report by WTOP. Additionally, he was found guilty of using a firearm during the commission of a felony and child endangerment, as his 4-year-old daughter was present in the home during the tragic events.
The prosecution’s case was notably bolstered by the testimony of Juliana Peres Magalhães, Banfield’s former lover. She agreed to a plea deal and provided key evidence against him in court.
Initially, Peres Magalhães denied any involvement in the nefarious plot. She told investigators she left the Banfield residence around 7:30 a.m. on February 24, 2023, to take their daughter to the National Zoo, as detailed in a report by CrimeOnline. However, upon realizing she forgot their lunches, she returned to the house and saw an unfamiliar car and man there.
According to her account, she immediately contacted Banfield and, fearing for their safety, hid in the basement with the child while Banfield, who was purportedly on his way to work, hurried back to the scene.
The two then went to an upstairs suite, she said, where they found a stranger had attacked Christine, stabbing her multiple times. Banfield shot the stranger with his service weapon, but he was still alive, so he told Peres Magalhães to go get another gun from a gun safe in the bathroom so they could shoot him again. She did, and she shot the man, later identified as Ryan, in the chest.
But in 2024, she agreed to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter and testify against her former lover.
The former nanny testified about the plans she and her IRS officer lover made to kill Christine Banfield and pin the murder on Ryan, a stranger they catfished to the house. The au pair also answered questions about how she and Banfield created the FetLife account to lure Ryan to his death.
Peres Magalhães testified that the pair used Christine Banfield’s email address, created a profile on the fetish website FetLife and sought someone for a “stranger rape” fantasy, eventually settling on Ryan and spending more than a month conversing with him online to set up the fantasy. Banfield, she said, told Ryan to come into the house through an unlocked door, tie up Christine Banfield and rape her, not stopping “even if she looks terrified,” prosecutors said.
Banfield used his wife’s phone to unlock the door and then hid it in a drawer on the day of the murders. Instead of heading to work, he went to a nearby McDonald’s while Peres Magalhães waited down the street with the daughter. When the two saw Ryan arrive, they went back to the home and “found” him with Christine Banfield in the bedroom.
Banfield shot Ryan and then stabbed his wife over and over, manipulating her body to make it look like Ryan was killed while attacking her.
The defense countered that Peres Magalhães made up the story, but the jury, which began deliberating about mid-day on Friday, didn’t buy it.
Banfield will be sentenced on May 8, when he faces life without parole.
Peres Magalhães’ sentencing was delayed until after Banfield’s trial. She is expected to be sentenced to time served.