A former Brazilian au pair testified Wednesday in Fairfax, Virginia, that her ex-lover had spent months planning to kill his wife and had enlisted her in a scheme designed to make the killing appear to be an act of self-defense. Juliana Peres Magalhães told the court she came forward because she “wanted the truth to come out,” saying she could no longer keep to herself “the feeling of shame and guilt and sadness.” Magalhães, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in connection with the 2023 killings, is now the prosecution’s central witness against Brendan Banfield.
Banfield, who has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder charges in the deaths of his wife Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan, faces life in prison if convicted. Defense attorneys spent much of Wednesday’s session challenging Magalhães on her recollections and motives, pressing her on details she said she could not remember.
FAIRFAX, Va. — A former Brazilian au pair testified Wednesday that her ex-lover had spent months planning to kill his wife and had recruited her into a scheme designed to make the killing appear to be an act of self-defense. Juliana Peres Magalhães told the court she came forward because she “wanted the truth to come out,” saying she could no longer contain “the feeling of shame and guilt and sadness.”
Magalhães, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in connection with the 2023 killings of Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan, has become the prosecution’s central witness against Brendan Banfield, who is on trial for the aggravated murders of both victims.
The scheme as described in testimony
Magalhães testified that she and Banfield created a social media account in Christine Banfield’s name on a platform for people interested in sexual fetishes. Ryan connected with the account, and the users made plans to meet for a sexual encounter involving a knife. According to prosecutors, Banfield and Magalhães then lured Ryan to their house, shot him, and staged the scene to appear as though Ryan had been a predator stabbing Christine Banfield.
Magalhães described months of plotting, the steps Banfield took to manufacture alibis, and his stated intention to spend the rest of his days with her once his wife was dead.
For more than a year after the killings, Magalhães did not speak with officials about the case or about Banfield’s alleged involvement. Attorneys say she changed her mind days before her own criminal trial was set to begin. She was initially charged with second-degree murder in Ryan’s killing but has since pleaded guilty to a downgraded manslaughter charge.
Defense scrutiny
Defense attorney John Carroll spent much of Wednesday challenging Magalhães on her recollections. He pressed her on who created the email address connected to the social media account and what room in the Banfield home she and Banfield had been in when the account was procured. She testified that she did not remember either detail.
Carroll also read from letters Magalhães wrote in jail to Banfield and others. The letters expressed depression and frustration. “No strength. No courage. No hope,” she wrote in one passage. At one point during Carroll’s questioning, Magalhães said: “I am not going to do this.”
Magalhães also testified that her health in jail and isolation from loved ones pushed her to cooperate with prosecutors.
Sentencing and additional charges
Magalhães will be sentenced at the conclusion of Banfield’s trial. Depending on her cooperation with authorities, attorneys have said she could receive a sentence equivalent to time already served.
Banfield has pleaded not guilty to the murder charges and faces life in prison if convicted. His then-4-year-old daughter was present at the house on the morning of the killings. He is also charged with child abuse and felony child cruelty in connection with the case; those charges will be addressed during the trial.