When police in Fairfax County, Virginia, first started investigating a February 2023 stabbing and shooting that took the lives a woman and another man at a Herndon home, they were certain a “vicious and brutal attack” had taken place in the presence of a 4-year-old girl, but they weren’t at all sure why. On Monday, a judge reportedly found probable cause in the murder case against a family au pair whom prosecutors have accused of carrying on an affair with IRS special agent Brendan Banfield, the husband of victim Christine Banfield, a slain 37-year-old nurse and mother.
Juliana Peres Magalhaes, now 24 and from Reston, is accused of shooting and killing 39-year-old Springfield resident Joseph Nathan Ryan before calling 911 early on the morning of Feb. 24, 2023. Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said the au pair and Brendan Banfield was also on the line. Brendan allegedly said that he shot Ryan in self-defense with his service weapon because the man had “stabbed” Christine Banfield in the neck repeatedly.
Investigators found it odd that there was no “forced entry” into the residence, leading them to conclude that maybe Ryan wasn’t a complete stranger who entered the home just to kill Christine Banfield at knife-point.
WRC-TV reported that the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office is exploring that possibility that someone posed as Christine Banfield on a bondage “fetish” website to lure Ryan to the home and to pin Christine’s death on him so Magalhaes and Brendan Banfield could be together.
Though prosecutors did not make that allegation outright, and though Brendan Banfield has not been accused of any crime, they reportedly focused on other details to support the affair allegation. For instance, defendant Magalhaes and Brendan’s alleged shooting range trip months before the slayings — and an alleged purchase of a second gun, the one that Magalhaes claimed she used to kill Ryan — appeared to establish that the two were close enough to spend time together outside of the house.
But it only looked worse from there, prosecutors indicated. Prosecutors reportedly said that photo evidence obtained from Brendan Banfield’s bedside after Magalhaes’ October 2023 arrest in the death of Ryan showed the widower and the au pair smiling together, her head on his shoulder and her arm around his.
Meanwhile, the local NBC affiliate also reported that investigators found the aforementioned “fetish” website messages with Joseph Ryan inconsistent with the way Christine Banfield’s loved ones knew her to communicate.
To date, no one has been charged in Christine’s death — and unlike Magalhaes, Brendan Banfield has declined to speak with authorities. He invoked the Fifth Amendment at Magalhaes’ Monday probable cause hearing, DC News Now reported.
The post Family au pair’s alleged affair, suspicious ‘fetish’ website activity add twisted layer to mysterious killings of IRS special agent’s wife and other man first appeared on Law & Crime.
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Author: Matt Naham
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