A Virginia man, who confessed to an extramarital relationship with the family’s Brazilian nanny, has been convicted of killing his wife and a man whom prosecutors allege was brought to their home as a scapegoat.
Brendan Banfield, 40, a one-time IRS law enforcement officer, was found guilty on Monday of two counts of aggravated murder, in addition to charges of using a firearm during a felony and child endangerment related to his wife’s death.
He now stands to receive a life sentence when he faces sentencing.
Banfield had initially informed police that on the morning of February 24, 2023, he discovered Joseph Ryan, 39, assaulting his wife, Christine Banfield, 37, with a knife.
He claimed to have shot Ryan, while their au pair, Juliana Magalhães, 25, also fired shots at him.
However, prosecutors argued before the court that Banfield’s account was fabricated, presenting to the jury that he orchestrated the scenario to eliminate his wife.
Their case was bolstered by the au pair, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 2024 and testified against her former lover at trial.
She told jurors how she and Banfield impersonated Christine, a pediatric intensive care nurse, on BDSM site Fetlife to lure Ryan to carry out a ‘rape fantasy’ in which he would sneak into the Banfield’s home with a knife to make it look like he was an intruder.
Brendan Banfield, 40, was found guilty of double homicide by a jury in Virginia on Monday
Banfield was convicted of plotting his wife Christine’s murder. The two are pictured with their young daughter
Magalhães claimed in court that Banfield shot Ryan in hopes of it appearing as ‘self-defense’, before he also stabbed his wife to death to frame Ryan.
She told how Banfield left his home on the morning of February 24, 2023, and ordered her to wait outside in her car while he waited at a nearby McDonald’s.
She said that he told her to call him when Ryan arrived to carry out the ‘rape fantasy’, so that he could come home and catch him on top of his wife.
When they entered the home, she testified they took Banfield’s child to the basement before going upstairs to find Ryan struggling with Christine.
‘When I got to the bedroom, he yelled, “Police officer”,’ she said of Banfield, who at the time was an armed IRS agent.
‘Christine yelled back at Brendan, saying, “Brendan! He has a knife!” That’s when Brendan first shot Joe,’ she told the court.
After shooting Ryan, Banfield then began stabbing his wife, Magalhães alleged.
She said she tried covering her eyes as the alleged murder unfolded, but admitted that she then saw Ryan moving on the ground, so she shot him with a gun that Banfield had given her.
Banfield was also found guilty of murdering Joseph Ryan, 39, who prosecutors said was the fall guy in Banfield and his au pair’s plot to kill Christine
Banfield’s mistress Juliana Peres Magalhães admitted to shooting Ryan during the incident and was initially charged with murder, but pleaded down to a lesser charge of manslaughter as she became a key witness for the prosecution
Jurors had heard earlier in the trial that investigators discovered Magalhães had moved into Banfield’s marital bed and was still sleeping with him months after Christine was murdered.
Fairfax County Sgt. Kenneth Fortner testified that he first entered the Banfield’s home in February 2023 as part of the investigation into the double homicide and took pictures of the home, including both the primary bedroom and Magalhães’s room.
When he visited the home again eight months later, ‘red, lingerie-style clothing items’ and a yellow t-shirt with green trim that had previously hung in the au pair’s closet had been moved to the master bedroom, he testified.
‘They had gotten new flooring, new bedroom furniture,’ Fortner said, noting how photographs that once featured the Banfields had been ‘taken down and replaced with Brendan and Juliana together.’
Banfield, seen crying at the trial, testified that Magalhães’s description of what happened was a lie and there was no plot to kill his wife
Jurors had heard earlier in the trial that investigators discovered Magalhães had moved into Banfield’s marital bed and was still sleeping with him months after Christine was murdered
In Banfield’s testimony, he said that Magalhães’s description of a plot to kill his wife was a lie, and insisted that ‘there was no plan.’
Carroll also introduced evidence showing that there was dissent within the police department over the theory that Magalhães and Brendan Banfield impersonated Christine Banfield on social media in a ‘catfishing’ scheme. An officer who concluded from digital evidence that Christine Banfield was behind the social media account was later transferred in what Carroll said was punishment for disagreeing with a theory favored by the department´s higher-ups.
In closing arguments, prosecutor Jenna Sands told the jury they did not have to rely solely on Magalhães´ testimony, pointing to what she called a ‘plethora of evidence.’ That included expert testimony that blood stains on Ryan´s hands suggested Christine Banfield´s blood had been dripped onto him from above.
Magalhães was scheduled to be sentenced after Banfield´s trial. Attorneys have said she could be allowed to walk free if she is sentenced to time served.
The jury deliberated for nearly nine hours across two days before reaching the verdict.
