Brendan Banfield is currently facing trial for the alleged murder of his wife, Christine. The prosecution’s key testimony comes from an unexpected source—Banfield’s former lover and the family’s ex-nanny.
Juliana Peres Magalhaes, who herself faced charges, has agreed to testify against Banfield as part of a plea agreement. In return for her cooperation, she will admit to a lesser offense of manslaughter, a deal that will see her released for time already served.
Following her release, Magalhaes will be deported to her homeland, Brazil.
The sequence of events that led to the murder began when Christine Banfield arranged a delightful outing to the National Zoo for her 4-year-old daughter, accompanied by their Brazilian au pair, Magalhaes.
However, after setting out, they had to return home because Peres Magalhaes realized she had forgotten the packed lunches.
Upon returning, the nanny encountered an unfamiliar car in the driveway and saw a stranger entering the Banfield residence.
Confused, she calls her employer, Brendan Banfield, who tells her to stay in the car; he will be right home. Banfield is at the house in minutes, and they enter the house together.
The au pair takes the 4-year-old girl to the basement while Brendan Banfield goes upstairs to the master suite.
Brendan Banfield finds his wife, Christine, nude, with a man he doesn’t know, holding a knife to her throat. Banfield tells cops he tells the man to put the knife down, but he starts stabbing the 37-year-old mother.
Brendan Banfield carries a gun as an IRS Special Agent, and he draws his service revolver and shoots the man in the head. The intruder is wounded and down on the ground.
Banfield calls for Peres Magalhaes and tells the au pair to get his personal gun, a Glock, out of the bathroom safe.
Giving her the code, the au pair retrieves the Glock and, at Banfield’s direction, shoots Joseph Ryan through the heart as he is lying on the ground.
Investigators say, however, they believe the story told by Brendan Banfield and the nanny is a ruse.
Someone created the profile on the Adult Fetish website, pretending to be Christine Banfield, part of an elaborate plan to kill Christine Banfield so her husband, Brendan, and their Brazilian live-in au pair could be together.
Investigators found pictures of Banfield and the au pair together in the Banfield bedroom, and Peres Magalhaes’ clothes were found hanging in Banfield’s closet, not her own.
Joining Nancy Grace today:
Additional Guest
- Sydney Sumner – Investigative Reporter, “Crime Stories”
“Crime Stories with Nancy Grace” on Fox Nation is also a national radio show on SiriusXM channel 111, airing for two hours daily starting at 12 p.m. EST. You can also subscribe and download the daily podcasts at iHeart Podcasts.
[Feature Photo: Christine Banfield/Handout]
