Statements made by an au pair made to police in the wake of a high-profile double killing in Northern Virginia will not by thrown out, a judge ruled Thursday.
Attorneys for the au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhaes, had filed a motion to suppress testimony their client made to officers minutes and hours after police arrived at the crime scene in Herndon in February 2023.
Peres Magalhaes and Brendan Banfield, the father of the family for whom she worked, are accused of working together to kill Banfield's wife, Christine Banfield, and a stranger, Joseph Ryan, inside the married couple's home.
Lawyers for the au pair wanted some of her statements to Fairfax County police thrown out, but a judge denied this motion during a hearing Thursday.
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Prosecutors allege she was having an affair with Brendan Banfield and was part of a plot to get his wife out of the picture. Prosecutors say the au pair and Banfield used a sex fetish website to lure Ryan to the family's Herndon home in February 2023. Brendan's wife was found stabbed to death in the home, and Ryan was found shot nearby.
Peres Magalhaes is charged in Ryan's murder.
Last week, Fairfax County police charged Brendan Banfield with the murders of his wife and Ryan.
Peres Magalhaes' lawyers wanted her statements to police thrown out because they said officers seized her illegally, but the judge ruled against it, saying any reasonable person would feel free to leave. The judge pointed out that she was not handcuffed or locked up in a squad car and said the tone of the officers was consoling.
The judge also stated the defense did not specify what testimony they wanted to suppress, saying in court that they could not just ask for everything said after Peres Magalhaes left with police to be suppressed.
Brendan Banfield is due for a bond hearing Friday. His attorney argues that he's not a flight risk and that he's the sole caregiver for his daughter. They say that he would live with his mother and grandmother, along with his daughter, if he were to be released.
