Editor's Note: A warning that this story contains details that some people may find disturbing. Discretion is advised.
What to Know
- Brendan Banfield is accused of stabbing and killing his wife, Christine Banfield, and shooting Joseph Ryan in February 2023 at the Banfields' Herndon home.
- Prosecutors say the killings were part of an elaborate plan so Brendan Banfield and his family's au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhaes, could be together.
- Peres Magalhaes, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in Ryan's death in October.
- A grand jury has indicted Brendan Banfield on additional charges of child abuse and child cruelty.
A Fairfax County, Virginia, man accused of plotting with his family's au pair to kill his wife and another man is facing more charges.
Prosecutors said Monday a grand jury indicted Brendan Banfield, 39, on one count of felony child abuse and neglect and one count of felony child cruelty.
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Banfield stabbed and killed his wife, 37-year-old Christine Banfield, and shot 39-year-old Joseph Ryan at his home in Herndon on Feb. 24, 2023, police and prosecutors said.
Banfield’s then 4-year-old daughter was home at the time, according to prosecutors.
“Additional information has come to light over the course of our investigation, and we believe these additional charges reflect the events that occurred in the house on that day," Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said in a news release.
In October, the family's au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhaes, pleaded guilty to manslaughter. She was charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of Ryan in 2023.
Alleged murder plot involving a fetish website
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Peres Magalhaes told prosecutors she and Brendan Banfield used a fetish website to lure Ryan to the house.
Prosecutors said Ryan believed he was going there to meet Christine Banfield, for a consensual sexual encounter in which he would tie her down and use a knife to cut off her clothes. Christine Banfield had no idea of the plot, prosecutors said.
Ryan showed up to the house and began carrying out what he thought was the agreed upon plan, holding Christine down at knifepoint, according to prosecutors.
Peres Magalhaes told prosecutors she and Brendan Banfield then burst into the bedroom with guns, pretending to be surprised as if they hadn’t set the whole thing up.
According to the au pair, Brendan Banfield called out “police” because he worked as a federal agent for the Internal Revenue Service. Then, prosecutors say Brendan Banfield shot Joseph Ryan using his service weapon.
Banfield then allegedly stabbed and killed his wife.
Peres Magalhaes said she also shot Ryan because he was still moving. He died at the home.
Banfield was charged in September with four counts of aggravated murder and use of a firearm in commission of a felony. He's being held without bond.
