What to Know
- Brendan Banfield, a former IRS officer, is accused of killing his wife, Christine Banfield, and a stranger, Joseph Ryan, at the Banfields’ home in Fairfax County, Virginia.
- Prosecutors say the killings were part of a calculated plan so Brendan could get Christine out of the picture and start a new life with his family’s au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães. The two began having an affair months before the killings, the Brazilian au pair testified.
- Peres Magalhães pleaded guilty to manslaughter for her role and agreed to cooperate with investigators. She testified last week about how Brendan allegedly prepared the house, bought a gun and changed his routine to prepare for the killings.
- She said he created a fake profile for Christine on a sex fetish website to lure a stranger to the home and pin his wife’s murder on them.
- Yesterday’s testimony from a bloodstain pattern expert shifted the trial into technical overload and appeared to bore jurors. Numerous objections from the defense also kept the prosecution from being able to connect the dots through the expert’s testimony.
- Brendan’s attorney argued the prosecution “missed their target” in an effort to get the judge to strike the indictments against his client. But the judge said the trial would proceed.
- Brendan has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Editor’s Note: Some people may find the details of the trial disturbing. Discretion is advised.
The defense called several witnesses to the stand in the trial of Brendan Banfield, the Fairfax County man accused of killing his wife and a stranger as part of a calculated plot to start a new life with the family’s au pair. Here’s a recap of what happened in court Wednesday:
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