Attorneys for an au pair charged in a double homicide in Northern Virginia filed a motion to suppress testimony their client made to officers minutes and hours after they arrived at the crime scene.
Prosecutors and police say Brendan Banfield plotted with Juliana Peres Magalhaes to kill his wife, Christine. The suspects were involved in an affair for months before Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan were killed in the Banfields’ Herndon home in February 2023, prosecutors say.
The suspects used a sex fetish website to lure Ryan to the home, prosecutors say.
Christine Banfield was found stabbed to death in the home. Ryan was found shot nearby.
Peres Magalhaes told Fairfax County police officers she and Brendan Banfield found Ryan attacking Christine in the bedroom and that Brendan shot and wounded Ryan during the attack. The suspects told police Brendan then told Peres Magalhaes to get another gun so they could shoot him again.
At Thursday’s hearing, Peres Magalhaes’ attorneys argued testimony their client gave police should be suppressed because police unlawfully seized her. They said in body camera video their client is seen asking officers, “Do I have to go? Can I go back inside of the house?”
The prosecution argued against the claim that Fairfax County police seized the au pair, saying police treated her with care and respect. Officers did order her to leave and go to police headquarters, prosecutors said. Police wanted to provide a safe option where Peres Magalhaes and the Banfields’ young daughter could be warm and safe, prosecutors said.
The judge is expected to make a ruling on the defenses motion to suppress the au pair’s testimony next Thursday.
Peres Magalhaes was charged with second-degree murder in Ryan's death last year.
Brendan Banfield was indicted Monday on four counts of aggravated murder and use of a firearm in commission of a felony.
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