Brazilian au pair turns on former lover during murder trial, says he plotted wife's death by luring stranger from fetish site
The trial of a Virginia man accused of orchestrating a scheme to have his wife killed began Tuesday. The man's former au pair, who prosecutors say was having an affair with him, testified that another man was lured to the crime scene through a fetish website.As Blaze News previously reported, 40-year-old Brendan Banfield was arrested in September 2024 and indicted in connection with the February 2023 double murder that occurred in his home in Herndon — which is approximately 20 miles west of Washington, D.C.'He mentioned his plan to get rid of [Christine].'Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis and Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano announced in a statement that officers "descended upon an appalling scene" on Feb. 24, 2023.Officers discovered Christine Banfield — Brendan Banfield's 37-year-old wife — in an upstairs bedroom suffering from stab wounds to her upper body. She was transported to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.Police said 39-year-old Joseph Ryan was found dead in the home from apparent gunshot wounds to his upper body.Investigators soon set their sights on Brendan Banfield and Juliana Peres Magalhaes — the family's Brazilian au pair, who was 21 when she began working for the family in October 2021.Chief Davis stated, "We know Brendan Banfield and Juliana Magalhaes, the family au pair, were involved in a romantic relationship at the time of the murders."According to WJLA-TV, Magalhaes claimed she began an affair with Banfield in August 2022.When Magalhaes asked Banfield about the possibility of him divorcing Christine, WJLA reported that he allegedly told the au pair that a divorce would cost too much money and that he didn't want to split child custody."He mentioned his plan to get rid of [Christine]," Magalhaes told prosecutors, according to the New York Post. "Initially, he didn't know what he would do. He just mentioned that he would think about it [and] let me know when he thought about it."RELATED: Career criminal with over 20-year-long rap sheet reportedly gets sweetheart plea deal — now a beloved teacher is dead Citing prosecutors, WTOP-TV reported that two months before the murders, Magalhaes and Banfield went to a shooting range; Banfield then returned to the range on Jan. 28, 2023, and bought a Glock from the range.WJLA added that Magalhaes claimed Banfield instructed her to get a new phone and Apple ID and ordered her to park in a different location on the day of the murders.Citing prosecutors, Fox News noted that Banfield — a former IRS special agent — was impersonating his wife on a fetish website for a month. Ryan was then "summoned to the couple's million-dollar Herndon home" through the site, according to the New York Post.Court documents also show Magalhaes told investigators that Ryan was framed as a home intruder.'There's somebody here; I shot him. But he stabbed her. She's bleeding. She's got several marks on her neck. What do I do?'Court TV reported that Ryan went by the username "TacoSupreme7000" on the site and responded to the messages, believing he was talking to Christine Banfield. Court TV added that Magalhaes read messages aloud to the jury, saying that she and Brendan asked Ryan to bring restraints and a knife to the Banfield home.Magalhaes on Tuesday testified that "Christine ... yelled back at Brendan, saying, 'Brendan, he has a knife.' That's when Brendan first shot Joe."According to NBC News, lead prosecutor Jenna Sands told the courtroom this week, "Brendan enters the bedroom, first shooting Joe in the head, picks up the knife that Joe had brought and stabs Christine repeatedly in the neck. He directs Juliana to shoot Joe a second time with her gun. This time the bullet enters Joe's chest with Christine dead or dying."Magalhaes was arrested in October 2023 in connection with Ryan's alleged murder.Magalhaes was originally charged with second-degree murder but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter in October 2024. She will be sentenced after Banfield's trial.According to CNN, Banfield was heard identifying himself as a federal agent in the 911 call to report the stabbing and shooting. Banfield reportedly told the emergency dispatcher, "There's somebody here; I shot him. But he stabbed her. She's bleeding. She's got several marks on her neck. What do I do?"Banfield's attorney, John Carroll, questioned Magalhaes' motivation for taking a plea deal after nearly a year of protesting her innocence."The whole reason she was arrested was to flip her against my client," Carroll claimed. WDCW-TV reported that Brendan Banfield was charged with aggravated murder in connection with his wife's death, plus child abuse and endangerment charges, since the Banfields' 4-year-old daughter was at home at the time of the deadly shooting and stabbing.If convicted on all of the charges, Banfield faces a maximum punishment of life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus 13 additional years of incarceration, a judge said on Monday, WDCW reported. Banfield pleaded not guilty to the charges. The Fairfax County Police Department and Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Blaze News. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
