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.
- Peres Magalhães pleaded guilty to manslaughter for her role and agreed to cooperate with investigators. She said Brendan 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 him.
- The defense has argued the digital forensic evidence doesn’t back up the au pair’s claims and that investigators pursued their “catfish theory” without proof. But a detective who investigated the digital evidence said that although the “zeroes and ones” don’t change, he had to take the au pair’s story into account.
- That same detective testified yesterday that he was re-assigned against his will. “It was related to my work in the Banfield case,” he said.
- 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 continues its case today 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 Thursday:
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