Jury Convicts Brendan Banfield of Double Murder In Au Pair Affair Case
A Virginia jury on Monday delivered a decisive verdict in a case that prosecutors described as a chilling blend of betrayal, deception, and calculated violence.
Brendan Banfield, a former Internal Revenue Service law enforcement officer, was found guilty of two counts of aggravated murder in the deaths of his wife, Christine Banfield, and another man, Joseph Ryan. The verdict was returned by a 12-member jury in Fairfax County after nearly nine hours of deliberations.
In addition to the murder convictions, jurors also found Banfield guilty of a firearm offense and child endangerment, citing the presence of the couple’s then-4-year-old daughter in the basement during the deadly encounter. Banfield now faces a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole, with sentencing scheduled for May 8.
Prosecutors argued the killings were the result of an elaborate and premeditated plot tied to Banfield’s extramarital affair with the family’s Brazilian au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães. According to the state, Banfield and Magalhães conspired to lure Ryan to the family’s Herndon home using a fake profile on a fetish website, setting the stage for murder.
Magalhães, who previously pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in connection with Ryan’s death, testified against Banfield as part of a plea agreement. Prosecutors said her testimony — combined with forensic and circumstantial evidence — demonstrated Banfield’s role as the architect of the crime.
Banfield, however, maintained his innocence throughout the trial. He told investigators he shot Ryan in self-defense after discovering him allegedly attacking his wife. His defense team sought to undermine the credibility of the prosecution’s evidence and challenged the reliability of Magalhães as a witness.
Following the verdict, Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano delivered a blunt assessment of the case.
“I hope he thinks about his wife in jail and about what a heinous thing he did,” Descano told reporters after the verdict Monday. “Because that’s something he’s rightfully going to have to live with for the rest of his life.”
Prosecutor Jenna Sands, who cross-examined Banfield, echoed that sentiment and criticized his demeanor on the stand.
“He showed absolutely no human emotion that we’d expect to see of someone in that position,” Sands said after the verdict on Monday.
CNN noted key details from Banfield’s testimony, which jurors ultimately rejected.
Banfield testified on February 24, 2023, he’d left for the day in anticipation of an important work meeting when Peres Magalhães called him to say she saw a strange man enter the family’s home. Banfield said he thought his wife might’ve been having an affair and drove home from a nearby McDonald’s to investigate.
He said Peres Magalhães followed him into the home and up the stairs, leaving his 4-year-old daughter alone in the basement. Banfield, an armed IRS special agent, said he entered his bedroom with his service weapon drawn, finding Ryan attacking his naked wife. Banfield testified he announced himself as police and shot Ryan after the man repeatedly stabbed Christine Banfield.
Peres Magalhães fired a second shot at Ryan with Banfield’s personal firearm. He testified he never told her to get the gun from his safe or shoot Ryan, but the au pair said Banfield had taught her how to shoot before the incident and gave her the gun earlier that morning.
When police arrived, officers found Banfield kneeling over his wife’s body with his hands on her neck. Banfield testified that his wife, who was still conscious at the time, instructed him to apply pressure to her wounds in order to slow the bleeding.
Investigators noted that Banfield’s DNA was not found on the knife used to fatally stab Christine Banfield. Only DNA from Christine and Ryan was recovered — a fact prosecutors argued supported their theory that Ryan brought the knife at Banfield’s direction while posing as his wife.
Jurors were faced with a stark credibility decision: believe Banfield’s account or that of Magalhães. Both the prosecution and defense agreed not to present lesser homicide charges, forcing jurors to rule directly on Virginia’s most serious murder charge.
In the end, they delivered a clear verdict — closing the door on Banfield’s claims of self-defense and affirming the prosecution’s portrayal of a calculated double homicide fueled by deception and infidelity.