Photos and other evidence show the two were having an affair for months before the killings, according to prosecutors. News4’s Dominique Moody reports.
A Northern Virginia man accused of having an affair with his family's au pair and then working with her to kill his wife and another man has been denied bond.
Brendan Banfield’s attorney argued for him to be released on bond in a hearing Friday, saying he has no criminal background and he isn't a flight risk.
But prosecutors cited Banfield's history as a federal agent for the IRS and said he would be able to cut off a GPS monitor.
The judge denied the defense's request for bond.
Banfield and the au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhaes, are accused of working together to kill Banfield's wife, Christine Banfield, and a stranger, Joseph Ryan, inside the married couple's Herndon home in February 2023. Prosecutors said Banfield and the au pair concocted a plan to use a sex fetish website to lure Ryan to the home.
Brendan's wife was found stabbed to death in the home, and Ryan was found shot nearby.
Photos the prosecution presented during Friday's hearing show Brendan Banfield with Peres Magalhaes in New York and at a concert venue. The two were involved in an affair for months before the killings, prosecutors said.
More photos show Peres Magalhaes at a Virginia gun range, and attorneys also presented visitor logs of Banfield and Peres Magalhaes at the gun range.
While arguing that the couple had plans to flea the country, the prosecution showed photos Friday of a new Brazilian passport for the au pair. Attorneys said Banfield drove Peres Magalhaes to the Brazilian consulate to apply for a new passport.
The judge ruled Thursday that statements Peres Magalhaes made to police in the wake of the high-profile double killing will not be thrown out. She was 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.
