CHRISTINE BANFIELD & JOSEPH RYAN: Virginia vs. Juliana Peres Magalhaes, au pair, & Brenden Banfield for double homicide

Affluent Virginia suburb rocked by mansion murder mystery as nanny faces trial​

Juliana Peres Magalhaes is set to face trial in Fairfax County, Virginia, for second-degree murder in November​

Affluent Virginia suburb rocked by mansion murder mystery as nanny faces trial

A Brazilian au pair charged with murder in connection to a double homicide at her employers' suburban Fairfax County, Virginia, home in February 2023 is set to face trial.

www.foxnews.com

A bucolic Virginia neighborhood. A seemingly normal family of three. A Brazilian au pair. A double murder.

These are all parts of a complex puzzle investigators are still working to determine who killed Christine Banfield — a wife, mother and Fairfax County NICU employee — and Joseph Ryan, the 38-year-old man who showed up at her home armed with a knife, in Herndon, Virginia, in February 2023.

Part of that puzzle is in the process of being solved as Juliana Peres Magalhaes, Banfield's 23-year-old au pair and a Brazilian national, prepares to stand trial for second-degree murder and use of a deadly weapon during the commission of a crime in Ryan's shooting death.

VIRGINIA AU PAIR MURDER: FETISH PLOT, AFFAIR, GUN RANGE TIED TO DOUBLE HOMICIDE AT HOME, PROSECUTORS REVEAL
The mystery began on Feb. 24, 2023, when Magalhaes told police she left Christine and husband Brendan Banfield's home in the 13200 block of Stable Brook Way in Herndon to take their young daughter to the National Zoo. She told authorities that she had begun driving but realized she forgot the lunches she packed for their excursion back inside the house, so she turned around and noticed an unfamiliar car in the driveway.

She then reportedly called Brendan, a former criminal investigative agent for the IRS who had at that point left for work, and told him about the unknown car in their driveway. The pair decided to meet at the Banfields' home and walk inside together, as the Washington Post reported.

Initially, Magalhaes told police that when she and Brendan walked inside, they saw an unknown man, Ryan, holding Christine at knifepoint. She allegedly described him as an intruder. Ryan was apparently fully clothed while Christine was naked in the main bedroom of the house.

It remains unclear exactly what transpired inside the home that Friday morning, but Magalhaes and Brendan apparently both admitted to shooting Ryan while the man was holding a knife to Christine. Ryan died inside the home while Christine suffered stab wounds to the neck and ultimately died in the hospital.

'We believe in justice for both' | Grand Jury indicts au pair in connection to man's death

Juliana Peres Magalhaes, 23, was indicted on charges of second-degree murder and use of a firearm in commission of a felony.

www.wusa9.com

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

This is bizarre. It seems like only SHE has been charged and ONLY for Joseph Ryan's murder as of right now. HE invoked the 5th Amendment during a hearing in April.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Glamorous au pair accused of twisted murder plot speaks our from jail

Juliana Peres Magalhaes, 24, is charged with the murder of Joseph Ryan, 39, at the $1 million home of her employers Christine and Brendan Banfield in February last year.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Glamorous au pair accused of twisted murder plot after scandalous affair with her boss speaks out from jail - as chilling details from night of horrific crime at $1M mansion are revealed​

An au pair accused of murdering a BDSM fetishist as part of an elaborate scheme to get her boss' wife out of the way so they could be together has spoken out from jail.

Juliana Peres Magalhaes, 24, is charged with the murder of Joseph Ryan, 39, who was found shot dead inside the $1million home of the family she worked for in Herndon, Virginia.

Magalhaes claimed to have shot Ryan dead after finding him midway through an attack on her employer's wife Christine Banfield, 37, who was found fatally stabbed in February last year. Nobody has been charged over her death.

Magalhaes has maintained her innocence and told her mother she hopes to be reunited with her in her native Brazil soon.



Magalhaes and Banfield's husband claimed they entered the home to find Ryan attacking Christine.

Banfield, a law enforcement officer for the Internal Revenue Service, told police he grabbed his service gun and shot and injured Ryan.

He told police he then ordered Peres Magalhaes to grab another gun and shoot him again, which she did and allegedly killed him.

But in a preliminary prosecutors said the evidence points to a different story, suggesting Ryan was gunned down as part of a confusing scheme to get rid of Christine, so Banfield and Magalhaes could be together romantically.

Now shocking new details have emerged about that day, including that the Banfield's four-year-old daughter was in the basement as the killings unfolded.

Magalhaes told police she had left the family home to take the child to the zoo but returned after realizing she had left their lunches.

She said she left the child in the basement after she and Banfield heard what sounded like an intruder before she followed upstairs him where they tumbled upon Christine being attacked.

Investigators first became suspicious about Magalhaes' story after she and Banfield failed to disclose their alleged romance when speaking to detectives.

But police said they uncovered evidence of a secret lovers' getaway and pointed out that just eight months after the killings Magalhaes had moved into the main bedroom.

They submitted a picture showing a framed photo of Magalhaes and Banfield on her nightstand and her clothes were in Christine's closet.

At a preliminary hearing, Banfield, who has not been charged, took to the stand but plead the fifth amendment and declined to answer questions about his relationship with the au pair and whether he shot Ryan.

Prosecutors allege that someone created a fake account for Christine on a BDSM site and made plans to have 'rough sex' with Ryan before they were both killed.

The mom reportedly did not sound like herself in her alleged conversations with Ryan, leading police to believe someone else was pretending to be Christine and set up a meeting at the home on the day of the killings.

In court it emerged that the fetish website account Ryan had been messaging on was maintained on Christine's computer under the username Annastasia9.

However, there was not one iota of evidence that she was into knife play, binding, BDSM,' said prosecutor Eric Clingan.

Ryan and the account user discussed rough sex and bloodplay, an act where someone deliberately cuts another.

During the chats, Annastasia9 wrote that she cheats on her husband 'whenever she wants to'.

Prosecutors also pointed out a 10 minute delay between the first 911 call being placed and Magalhaes' final call.

'That is not what a person in that situation would do unless they were trying to cover something up,' Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Kelsey Gill said.

One the first call at 7.47am, dispatchers heard a guttural moan and then silence.

There were a further two attempts within a few seconds before Magalhaes called again begging for help.

She was interrupted by Banfield who then told the operator he had just shot an intruder who was stabbing his wife.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

He's been charged now!

Virginia man indicted in deaths of wife, stranger in alleged plot with au pair

The latest development in a complex case comes more than a year and a half after Christine Banfield was found stabbed several times in the couple’s bedroom, while an apparent stranger, Joseph Ryan, was found shot.

www.nbcwashington.com

Virginia man indicted in deaths of wife, stranger in alleged plot with au pair​

A jury indicted a Fairfax County, Virginia, man Monday in connection to the slayings of his wife and another man in an alleged plot with the couple's au pair.

The latest development in a complex case comes more than a year and a half after the victims were found dead in a Herndon home in February 2023. Christine Banfield, 37, was found stabbed several times in the couple's bedroom, while 39-year-old Joseph Ryan was shot.

The family's au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhaes, was charged in Ryan's death almost a year ago. But Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said as the investigation progressed, "It's my expectation that we will eventually be able to hold more than just one person accountable for this crime."



Banfield, 39, is charged with four counts of aggravated murder and use of a firearm in commission of a felony. He's being held without bond.

“The evidence exists in abundance to give us probable cause to bring these charges forward,” Chief Davis said. “It’s digital evidence, it’s physical evidence, it’s forensics evidence, it’s circumstantial evidence. The detectives, the prosecutors have worked meticulously to ensure that every T is crossed, every I is dotted, but the work still goes on.”

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Virginia man indicted in killing of wife and another man nearly a year after au pair was charged in case

A grand jury indicted Brendan Banfield on the charge of aggravated murder in the February 2023 killings of Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan.

www.cbsnews.com

A Virginia man was indicted in the killing of his wife and another man at the married couple's Fairfax County home, authorities said Monday, nearly a year after the family's au pair was charged in the case.

A grand jury indicted Brendan Banfield on the charge of aggravated murder in the February 2023 killings of Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan, according to a bench warrant filed in Fairfax Circuit Court. Banfield was also charged with one count of felony firearm use.

Police Chief Kevin Davis said at a news conference that Banfield was arrested while driving in Fairfax County, and that authorities were searching his home on Monday. An attorney for Banfield did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Banfield's arrest comes nearly a year after Juliana Peres Magalhães, an au pair caring for the Banfields' daughter, was charged with second-degree murder in Ryan's killing, but not Christine Banfield's, CBS affiliate WUSA-TV reported. Magalhães is scheduled for trial in that case in November.

"The fact that we've indicted Brendan today and made that arrest does not mean that her case is being thrown out," Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney Steve Descano said. "We intend to go forward with that case as scheduled."

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Search warrant details jail conversations of au pair accused in Herndon double-murder

A Northern Virginia man accused of having an affair with his family’s au pair, and then working with her to kill his wife and another man has been denied bond.

www.nbcwashington.com

Search warrant details jail conversations of au pair accused in Herndon double-murder​

An au pair accused in a double-murder in Northern Virginia was in close contact with her alleged lover and his mother after her arrest — and police believed his mother might have been passing messages to the au pair, documents reveal.

Juliana Peres Magalhaes and Brendan Banfield, the father of the family for whom she worked, are accused of working together to kill Banfield's wife, Christine Banfield, and a stranger, Joseph Ryan, inside the married couple's Herndon home in February 2023.

In a search warrant affidavit obtained by News4, investigators detailed recorded conversations between Peres Magalhaes and Banfield's mother, Teresa Banfield.


Detectives wrote that Peres Magalhaes communicated with Brendan and Teresa Banfield almost daily after she was jailed, either by phone or by texting and emailing with a jail tablet. The jail closely monitors both.

Detectives report that recordings reveal both Banfields warned Peres Magalhaes not to talk about the alleged crimes since the phone calls were recorded.

In one phone call, Teresa Banfield told Peres Magalhaes she’d been texting with one of the defense attorneys, who offered to make a delivery during a jail visit, according to the search warrant.

The document states Teresa Banfield then read the text aloud to Juliana. “Hi Tess. I will be going to visit Juliana this morning. Expected to be there around 9. If I, you know, if I have anything I’d give it to her," the affidavit said.

Detectives wrote that in the call, Teresa Banfield said she complained to the attorneys that some “things” were not getting to Peres Magalhaes and told them: “It’s the only way we can communicate with her about what’s happening.”

The defense attorney for Peres Magalhaes denied helping his client get any type of correspondence to Brendan Banfield or his mother.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

911 audio introduced as evidence in the Herndon double homicide case

Brendan Banfield and Juliana Peres Magalhaes are facing multiple charges including murder, for the February 2023 deaths of Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan.

www.wusa9.com

911 audio introduced as evidence in the Herndon double homicide case​

Just weeks away from the trial for a Brazilian au pair accused of participating in a double murder inside a Herndon home, part of a 911 call has been introduced as evidence in the case.


Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said that police received two 911 calls the morning of Feb. 24, 2023. The first call was a hang-up, and in the second one, Brendan Banfield told dispatchers that he had shot a man who had stabbed his wife.

Both calls were made from the cellphone of the family's au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhaes.

In the eight-second audio obtained by WUSA9, groans are heard as the 911 operator says, "Fairfax County 911, what's your emergency?"

Peres Magalhaes told investigators that she was directed by Brendan Banfield to shoot Ryan after they allegedly found him inside the bedroom with Christine.

On April 15, Juliana Peres Magalhaes was indicted in Ryan's death, but not Christine Banfield's. Peres Magalhaes was charged with second-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Her trial in Ryan’s death is scheduled for November.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Brazilian au pair takes plea deal, cooperates in Virginia double-murder case against former boss

Juliana Peres Magalhaes, 24, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Joseph Ryan last year at the home where she worked for Brendan and Christine Banfield.

www.nbcnews.com

Brazilian au pair takes plea deal, cooperates in Virginia double-murder case against former boss​

A Brazilian au pair involved in a Virginia double-murder case took a plea deal Tuesday, cooperating with prosecutors as they prepare to go to trial against her former boss.

Juliana Peres Magalhaes, 24, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Joseph Ryan last year at the home where she worked for Brendan and Christine Banfield. Christine Banfield’s body was found in the home the same day with stab wounds, and she was declared dead at a hospital.

Brendan Banfield, 39, is charged with four counts of aggravated murder and one count of use of a firearm in commission of a felony in the deaths of both his wife and Ryan. His trial is set for February.

Peres Magalhaes, who faces up to 10 years in prison, is scheduled to be sentenced in March.

Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano announced the plea deal, calling it a "significant step forward in this case."

“Much of the information that led to this agreement cannot be made public at this time, due to the upcoming criminal trial against the other defendant in this matter," Descano said.