A Virginia man has been discovered responsible of killing his wife and a stranger lured to their house below false pretenses in an elaborate plot to do away with his partner so he may very well be along with his au pair, with whom he was having an affair.
Brendan Banfield, 40, is accused of stabbing his spouse to dying of their house in Fairfax County and fatally capturing a person he allegedly “catfished” on a fetish web site. Prosecutors mentioned he pretended to be his spouse to lure the person to their house for what was believed to be a consensual pretend rape state of affairs so as to body that stranger for his spouse’s homicide.
The jury deliberated practically 9 hours over two days, beginning Friday, earlier than reaching a verdict Monday afternoon.
Brendan Banfield testifies in his personal protection on Jan. 28, 2026, throughout his double homicide trial in Fairfax County, Virginia.
Pool/ABC Information
The previous IRS agent was charged with aggravated homicide in 2024 following a monthslong investigation into the deaths of his spouse, 37-year-old nurse Christine Banfield, and the person, 39-year-old Joseph Ryan.
Prosecutors accused Brendan Banfield of plotting the murders with the household’s au pair, 25-year-old Juliana Peres Magalhaes, who was initially charged with second-degree homicide in reference to the deaths.
Forward of the trial, Peres Magalhaes pleaded responsible to manslaughter. Beneath the plea settlement with prosecutors, she is going to obtain time served for testifying in opposition to Brendan Banfield.
Throughout closing arguments on Friday, the prosecutor made the case that the murders have been premeditated.
“He was in love with Juliana. He can faux that this was a fling and affair — he’d had them earlier than, no massive deal. He was in love with Juliana,” prosecutor Jenna Sands mentioned. “He was afraid of dropping her. He wanted to do away with his spouse in order that they may very well be collectively, in order that they may marry, in order that they may have these infants that he was choosing out names for.”
Sands mentioned there was no proof that Christine Banfield had beforehand used courting or fetish web sites, argued that there have been indicators that the crime scene had been “manipulated,” and reminded jurors that throughout the au pair’s testimony, Peres Magalhaes “informed us how the plan was crafted and the way it performed out.”
Christine Banfield is seen in an undated picture.
Obtained by ABC Information
Joseph Ryan is seen in an undated picture.
Obtained by ABC Information
The protection, in the meantime, pushed again on the catfishing idea, questioned the thoroughness of the investigation and argued that there have been conclusions made based mostly on affirmation bias. The lawyer, John Carroll, claimed that prosecutors pressured Peres Magalhaes to alter her story and that she “secured herself a deal that benefited her.” Carroll additionally mentioned Brendan Banfield did not need to testify, however he did as they sought “to get the reality on the market.”
“Is it cheap, after a six- to eight-week affair, that somebody goes to attempt to do away with their companion of 19 years, spouse of 12 years? Is that cheap?” Carroll requested the jury. “You heard from my consumer: He thinks it is absurd.”
Throughout his testimony, Brendan Banfield known as the allegations “completely loopy” and mentioned his affair with Peres Magalhaes was simply that and nothing extra.
He mentioned he got here house on Feb. 24, 2023, after the au pair known as to alert him a couple of stranger within the house. He mentioned he went as much as his bed room along with his gun drawn and located his spouse bare with Ryan and that she known as out, “Brendan, he has a knife!”
“I used to be extraordinarily terrified,” Brendan Banfield informed the jury. “I do not assume I’ve ever been extra panicked in my life.”
He mentioned he fired his government-issued firearm, placing Ryan within the head, after the person appeared to stab his spouse.
Prosecutors mentioned Christine Banfield was stabbed seven occasions within the neck.
Juliana Peres Magalhaes testifies throughout the double homicide trial of Brendan Banfield on Jan. 13, 2026, in Fairfax County, Virginia.
Tom Brenner/Pool through AP
Peres Magalhaes testified that Brendan Banfield expressed his want to “do away with” his spouse in October 2022, saying, “At first, I believed he was joking.”
She testified that she had helped Brendan Banfield catfish Ryan on the fetish web site to lure Ryan to the house.
Peres Magalhaes informed the court docket that Brendan Banfield informed her he wished to marry her and have kids together with her, and that he did not wish to divorce his spouse as a result of “she would have more cash than he would” and since he wished custody of the couple’s daughter.
Brendan Banfield’s house in Fairfax County, Virginia.
WJLA
Brendan Banfield was moreover charged with utilizing a firearm whereas committing or trying to commit homicide and baby endangerment. The couple’s then-4-year-old daughter was in the home on the time of the killings, within the basement.
“He left her within the basement, figuring out that Joe Ryan was upstairs,” Sands mentioned throughout her closing argument. “He left her within the basement whereas he shot and killed Joe Ryan. He left her within the basement whereas he stabbed his spouse.”
