Lawyers for Juliana Peres Magalhaes wanted some of her statements to Fairfax County police thrown out News4’s Juliana Valencia 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 is not a flight risk. The judge denied the request.
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.
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.
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.
