A woman who was an au pair for a family in Herndon, Virginia, was arrested and charged with shooting and killing a man at the family's home earlier this year, police say. But authorities still haven't charged anyone in the fatal stabbing of the 37-year-old mother of the child that the live-in nanny cared for.
On Feb. 24, 37-year-old Christine Banfield was stabbed and 39-year-old Joseph Ryan was shot to death inside a bedroom at Banfield's home on Stable Brook Way.
"They found a horrific scene. What they did is they found Christine Banfield in an upstairs bedroom. She had been stabbed multiple times in the upper body and Joseph Ryan, who had been shot multiple times in the upper body," Fairfax County Police Lt. Erin Weeks said.
Medics took Banfield to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Ryan died at the home, police said.
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Banfield's husband and their au pair, 23-year-old Juliana Peres Magalhaes, both called 911 that morning and were at the scene when Fairfax County officers arrived.
The husband told police that he shot Ryan. But on Thursday, police said forensic evidence and multiple interviews have shown that Peres Magalhaes shot Ryan.
Peres Magalhaes was arrested and charged with second-degree murder in Ryan's death.
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The au pair told police after the shooting that she and the husband were gone, and when she came back to the home, she saw a car she didn't recognize. She then called Christine Banfield, who she believed was alone inside, police said.
When the wife didn't answer, she called the husband, who came home, she told police.
Then, she told police she went up to the bedroom and saw Ryan with a knife, and that Banfield had been stabbed. Police said she told them that the husband shot Ryan.
Police say there's no evidence that Ryan broke into the house.
"The connection that we've been able to locate through the investigation is that he was known to the victim, Christine Banfield," Weeks said.
Police haven't said who they believe stabbed Banfield, and detectives are still doing interviews and reviewing evidence.
Banfield's husband has not been charged with any crime.
A police affidavit said the husband is a federal law enforcement officer and carries a gun for work. He initially refused to cooperate with police, according to the affidavit.
Peres Magalhaes is being held in jail without bond, police said.
Police are asking anyone with information to call 703-246-7800, option 2. People can also submit anonymous tips to 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).
Stay with News4 for updates to this developing story.
