Virginia man who had affair with au pair discovered responsible of murdering spouse, one other man

A Virginia man having an affair with the household’s Brazilian au pair was discovered responsible Monday of murdering his spouse and one other man that prosecutors say was lured to the home as a fall man.

Brendan Banfield, a former IRS legislation enforcement officer, informed police he got here throughout Joseph Ryan attacking his spouse, Christine Banfield, with a knife on the morning of Feb. 24, 2023. He shot Ryan after which Juliana Magalhães, the au pair, shot him, too.

However officers argued in courtroom that the story was too good to be true, telling jurors that Banfield set Ryan up in a scheme to do away with his spouse. It later got here out that Brendan Banfield and Magalhães had been having an affair.

Magalhães pleaded responsible to manslaughter in 2024 and testified in opposition to her former lover at trial. She stated they’d impersonated Christine Banfield, a pediatric intensive care nurse, on an internet site for sexual fetishes. She stated they used the location to lure Ryan to the home for a sexual encounter involving a knife, staging the scene to look as if they’d shot an intruder who was attacking the spouse.

Protection lawyer John Carroll argued that Magalhães’ testimony couldn’t be trusted as a result of she was cooperating with prosecutors to attempt to keep away from a protracted jail sentence. In his personal testimony, Banfield stated that the testimony was ” completely loopy.”

Carroll additionally launched proof exhibiting that there was dissent throughout the police division over the speculation that Magalhães and Brendan Banfield impersonated Christine Banfield on social media in a “catfishing” scheme. An officer who concluded from digital proof that Christine Banfield was behind the social media account was later transferred in what Carroll stated was punishment for arguing with a concept favored by the division’s higher-ups.

In closing arguments, prosecutor Jenna Sands informed the jury they didn’t must rely solely on Magalhães’ testimony, pointing to what she known as a “plethora of proof.” That included professional testimony that blood stains on Ryan’s palms advised Christine Banfield’s blood had been dripped onto him from above.

The jury deliberated for almost 9 hours throughout two days earlier than reaching a verdict. Banfield faces the potential of life in jail at sentencing.

Magalhães was scheduled to be sentenced after Banfield’s trial. Attorneys have stated she might be allowed to stroll free if she is sentenced to time served.