The trial of Brendan Banfield, charged with conspiring with the family’s au pair to murder his wife and another man, commenced in Fairfax County, Virginia, this week after jury selection was completed on Monday.
The case centers on the February 2023 killings of Christine Banfield, a pediatric nurse, and Joseph Ryan inside the Banfield home in Herndon. Prosecutors allege that Brendan Banfield, a former IRS criminal investigator, plotted with the au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhaes, to carry out the murders as part of a scheme to frame Ryan for his wife’s death. According to court documents, the plot unfolded after Banfield and Magalhaes began an extramarital affair in August 2022.
In the fall of 2022, Banfield expressed a desire to ‘get rid of his wife’ and subsequently devised a plan involving a fetish website to lure Ryan to the home. Ryan believed he was meeting Christine Banfield for consensual violent sexual role play. Banfield taught Magalhaes firearm use at a gun range and purchased a gun in January 2023, preparing for the killings.
On February 24, 2023, Magalhaes called Banfield to report a stranger at the house, and Banfield returned from a nearby location. They placed their 4-year-old child in the basement before confronting Ryan in the bedroom. Prosecutors say Banfield shot Ryan in the head after announcing ‘Police officer,’ then stabbed his wife. Magalhaes shot Ryan again when he showed movement, and the couple reported the incident as a self-defense killing.
Magalhaes was arrested in October 2023 and later pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter for shooting Ryan. As part of a plea agreement, she agreed to cooperate with prosecutors and is expected to testify against Banfield in exchange for a recommendation of time served and likely deportation after the trial. Her testimony is anticipated to be a key element in the prosecution’s case.
Banfield was indicted in 2024 on charges including aggravated murder, firearm offenses, and child abuse related to the presence of his daughter during the killings. He has pleaded not guilty, with his defense challenging the prosecution’s ‘catfishing’ theory and arguing that digital evidence was mishandled. The trial began with jury selection on January 12, 2026, and is expected to last several weeks, with opening statements scheduled to follow shortly.
The high-profile case is being livestreamed, drawing significant public attention due to its sensational details involving affairs, fetish websites, and a complex murder plot. Fairfax County Circuit Court Chief Judge Penney Azcarate is overseeing the proceedings, which will include testimony from multiple witnesses and detailed forensic evidence.
If convicted, Banfield faces life in prison, while the outcome will also impact Magalhaes’s sentencing and deportation status. The trial highlights broader issues of domestic violence, legal accountability, and the intricacies of digital evidence in modern criminal cases.
