The Virginia husband entangled in a bizarre love triangle with his wife and their Brazilian au pair has been charged with the murders of his wife and a “fetish-seeking” man inside the couple’s mansion in an elaborate scheme.
Brendan Banfield is accused of fatally stabbing his wife, Christine Banfield, 37, and shooting Joseph Ryan, 38, during the early morning love-triangle double slaying on Feb. 24, 2024.
The Banfields were married and living in the home with their au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhaes, and their then 4-year-old daughter at the time of the murders.
The 39-year-old IRS investigator and Magalhaes allegedly shot Ryan who had been summoned to the couple’s million-dollar Herndon home through a sexual fetish online site.
Magalhaes, then-23, told investigators that she and Banfield had walked in on Ryan attacking a naked Christine Banfield as her employer shot at the “intruder.” She is accused of taking the fatal shot.
When police arrived at the mansion, they found Ryan dead from a gunshot wound, while Christine Banfield was suffering from stab wounds.
She was transported to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Magalhaes is claiming self-defense. But prosecutors allege that the entire episode was a ruse orchestrated by Magalhaes to get rid of Christine.
They maintain the belief that Ryan was a dupe lured into the sordid plot.
Prosecutors have previously revealed that Ryan had made plans to show up at the home with a user who went by the name Annastasia9 on the online sexual dating site “Fetlife.”
The profile pictured a petite woman in a one-piece bathing suit, according to the Washington Post.
Investigators said there was no evidence to suggest Christine Banfield ever created the profile or knew about its existence, but have not revealed who made it.
Fairfax Police arrested Brendan Banfield on Monday at the home where the murders took place after a grand jury indicted him on four charges of aggravated murder and one charge of using a firearm in the commission of a felony.
He is accused of the premeditated murder of the two victims.
The grand jury indictment comes after a 19-month investigation and the results of new information obtained by detectives, according to Commonwealth Attorney Steve Descano.
“Early last year, a double murder devastated two families and shocked our entire community,” Descano said during a press conference. “I will ensure that my office puts forward the strongest case possible at trial, and that we continue to seek justice for the victims and their families.”
Magalhaes was arrested in Oct. 2023 and charged with murdering Ryan but no one was charged in Christine’s death until Monday.
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Both suspected murders are being held at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center, Banfield is expected to be arraigned later in the week.
In an email to her mom, Magalhaes complained about her life in jail.
“I am tired of this place, this situation,” Juliana Peres Magalhaes wrote in a recent e-mail to her mom from Fairfax County Jail, according to the Washington Post.
“I am unhappy, and nothing makes me happy,” she said in the June e-mail. “I just want to get out of here and go back home to be with you guys. We will be together soon, with God’s grace, mommy.”
“On Feb. 24, 2023, I stood in the middle of a cul-de-sac street in Fairfax County and described the deaths of two persons inside a residential home,” Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said Monday. “Now 570 days later we know the deaths of Joseph Ryan and Christine Banfield are both in fact murders.”
Officials, who said Banfield and Magalhaes were involved in a “sexual relationship,” did not release Ryan’s connection with the family citing the ongoing investigation.
“This much is clear, we have evidence to now allege that Christine Banfield’s life was unlawfully taken and Joseph Ryan’s life was unlawfully taken,” the police chief added.
In April during a preliminary hearing it was revealed that the Magalhaes and Banfield, who continued their relationship following the deaths, went to a shooting range weeks before the murders.
At the time of her arrest, Magalhaes had moved her belongings into the main bedroom, as her clothes were hanging in the closet where Christine’s once hung and a framed picture of her and Banfield sat on a nightstand, according to the outlet.
Prosecutors provided business records to back up the claim and said Brendan Banfield bought a Glock from the range on Jan. 28, 2023, WTOP reported.
