Brendan Banfield Gets Life Without Parole for 2023 Double Murder in Au Pair Plot
Updated
Updated · The Associated Press · Jun 5
Brendan Banfield Gets Life Without Parole for 2023 Double Murder in Au Pair Plot
3 articles · Updated · The Associated Press · Jun 5
Summary
Life without parole was imposed Friday on Brendan Banfield for the 2023 killings of his wife, Christine Banfield, and Joseph Ryan in Fairfax County.
Prosecutors said Banfield and the family’s Brazilian au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, lured Ryan to the Herndon home through a fetish website, then staged the scene to resemble a violent intruder attack.
Magalhães testified Banfield wanted to "get rid of" his wife to avoid divorce costs, keep custody of their 4-year-old daughter and marry her; jurors convicted him in February of aggravated murder and child endangerment.
Judge Penney Azcarate called the scheme evil and calculated, saying Banfield trapped an innocent man and devastated the couple’s daughter, who was home during the killings.
Magalhães, who cooperated with prosecutors, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 10 years after Banfield’s trial.