Virginia Nanny Double‑Murder Trial: Banfield Cries as Bodycam of Wife’s Death Plays, Judge Lets Case Proceed
Brendan Banfield, an ex‑federal agent, is on trial in Fairfax County for the 2023 killings of his wife, Christine Banfield, and visitor Joseph Ryan; prosecutors say Banfield and Brazilian au pair Juliana Peres Magalhães impersonated Christine on a sexual‑fetish site to lure Ryan, and Magalhães—who pleaded guilty to manslaughter and has testified—says the two killed both victims and staged the scene to look like an intruder attack. The defense has attacked Magalhães’ credibility with jailhouse letters and questions about who controlled the online account and forensic work, a judge denied a motion to dismiss, jurors have viewed body‑cam footage that showed Banfield visibly emotional, and he also faces child‑abuse and felony child‑cruelty counts.
📌 Key Facts
- Opening statements are scheduled to begin on Tuesday; 12 jurors and four alternates have been seated. Court will run Monday–Thursday starting at 10 a.m., and the trial is expected to last about four weeks.
- Brendan Banfield faces aggravated murder charges in the double killings and separate child‑abuse and felony child‑cruelty counts tied to his then‑4‑year‑old daughter being in the house during the incident.
- Juliana Peres Magalhães pleaded guilty to manslaughter in late 2024, is cooperating with prosecutors, and testified that she and Banfield created a sexual‑fetish social‑media account (used on FetLife) in Christine Banfield’s name to lure Joseph Ryan to the house for a knife‑involved sexual encounter that they then staged to appear as an intruder attack; she said she crouched behind the bed covering her eyes and ears while Banfield stabbed Christine and that both victims were killed.
- Prosecutors say the crime scene was staged (pointing to the placement of Christine’s eyeglasses and other signs of “neatness”), and evidence includes a knife partially hidden under blankets and two handguns in the master bedroom; a former Fairfax digital forensics examiner testified that Christine — not a fake account — connected with Ryan, and a University of Alabama team peer‑reviewed and affirmed that finding.
- The defense has aggressively attacked Magalhães’s credibility, highlighting jailhouse letters with conflicting statements, her memory gaps about who created and used the social‑media/email accounts, claims she changed her story after arrest and losing faith in her first lawyer, and disclosures she received commissary support from media producers while discussing possible book/streaming deals.
- The defense also challenges the investigation itself, noting that the Fairfax digital examiner was transferred out of the unit in late 2024 and the original lead detective was reassigned after disputing the catfishing theory, and argues multiple people had access to devices in the home.
- After the prosecution rested the defense moved to dismiss the charges for insufficient direct evidence tying Banfield to the killings; the judge denied that motion and allowed the trial to continue. Magalhães’s testimony has concluded and the trial has moved on to forensic and law‑enforcement witnesses.
- During police body‑camera video played for jurors, Banfield was observed shaking his head, sniffing and wiping away tears but did not speak; legal analysts say the case hinges on Magalhães’s plea‑deal testimony vs. the defense’s efforts to reframe her as the mastermind and undermine her credibility.
📰 Source Timeline (10)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
January 21, 2026
11:52 PM
Nanny affair case turns emotional as alleged killer husband watches bodycam video
New information:
- Detective Zachary Beckner returned to the stand during the defense case and walked jurors through police body‑camera video from the night of the killings.
- As the body‑cam video played, Brendan Banfield was observed shaking his head, sniffing and wiping away tears but did not speak.
- The defense formally moved to dismiss the charges after the prosecution rested, arguing the state had not directly tied Banfield to the killings; the judge denied the motion and allowed the trial to continue.
- The article reiterates that prosecutors are leaning heavily on Juliana Peres Magalhães’s plea‑deal testimony that she and Banfield planned the killings, while the defense continues to attack her credibility and highlight Banfield’s post‑crime demeanor.
January 20, 2026
2:00 PM
Nanny love triangle murders trial pits dueling stories of mastermind behind case ‘out of a TV movie’: expert
New information:
- Confirms that au pair Juliana Peres Magalhães’ testimony has concluded and that the trial will now move to additional forensic and law‑enforcement witnesses.
- Highlights that the defense is explicitly trying to reframe Magalhães as the mastermind, with legal analysts describing the case as hinging on attacks on her credibility and plea‑deal motives.
- Details a key evidentiary dispute over who controlled the FetLife account used to contact victim Joseph Ryan, with the defense stressing that multiple people had access to devices in the home.
- Adds prosecution emphasis on the "neatness" of the crime scene, such as Christine Banfield’s carefully placed eyeglasses, as alleged proof the scene was staged.
January 16, 2026
9:23 PM
Inside The Banfield Trial: Au Pair Testifies
New information:
- Juliana Peres Magalhães has taken the stand and testified that she and Brendan Banfield carried out an elaborate catfishing scheme to lure Joseph Ryan to the Banfield home.
- According to Magalhães’ testimony, the scheme was designed to make it appear that Ryan stabbed Christine Banfield.
- The piece reiterates that Magalhães previously pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in Ryan’s killing and is now cooperating with prosecutors.
1:00 PM
Photos reveal Virginia nanny took slain wife’s place in master bedroom weeks after love triangle murders
New information:
- Fairfax County Sgt. Kenner Fortner testified that eight months after the February 2023 killings, red lingerie‑style clothing and a distinctive yellow T‑shirt originally seen in Juliana Peres Magalhães’ closet had been moved into the primary bedroom.
- Fortner also testified that photos of Brendan and his slain wife Christine had been removed from the master bedroom and replaced with framed pictures of Brendan and Magalhães, after new flooring and bedroom furniture were installed.
- Lead crime‑scene Det. Terry Leach described finding a knife partially hidden under blankets on the bed and two handguns in the master bedroom, noting that the guns’ locations had changed after first responders began resuscitation efforts on Joseph Ryan.
January 15, 2026
11:38 AM
Au pair testifies ex-lover plotted murders of wife and stranger
New information:
- Magalhães testified that she and Banfield created a social‑media account in Christine Banfield’s name on a fetish platform and used it to lure Joseph Ryan to the house for a knife‑involved sexual encounter.
- She described in detail that she crouched behind the bed covering her eyes and ears while Banfield repeatedly stabbed his wife, and that the couple then staged the scene to make it appear Ryan had attacked Christine.
- The article clarifies that Magalhães stayed silent for more than a year and only began cooperating with prosecutors days before her own trial, after pleading guilty to a reduced manslaughter charge.
- Defense attorney John Carroll’s cross‑examination focused on her memory gaps about who created the email/social‑media account and who sent particular messages, and he confronted her with jailhouse letters showing her emotional state in custody.
- Magalhães told the court that shame, guilt, sadness, poor health in jail and isolation from loved ones pushed her to "turn on" Banfield, while also saying trauma has blocked some details from memory.
11:00 AM
Virginia nanny’s jailhouse letters reveal conflicting loyalties in love triangle murder trial
New information:
- Magalhães read multiple jailhouse letters in court, including one telling Banfield, “I love you more than anything,” and another to his mother offering to “take the blame for the both of us.”
- Those letters conflict with an earlier note in which she wrote, “I’m not willing to spend my life in prison for something I didn’t do,” giving the defense fresh ammunition on credibility.
- Magalhães testified that after Banfield’s family stopped paying her jail expenses, unnamed news producers began funding her commissary and "other needs" in exchange for rights to her story, and that she has discussed a potential book or Netflix deal.
- She told the jury she accepted a manslaughter plea because it was “the right thing to do” and described her ongoing feelings of “shame and guilt and sadness.”
January 14, 2026
6:07 PM
Brazilian au pair testifies against former employer and lover in double homicide case
New information:
- Juliana Peres Magalhães, the Brazilian au pair who pled guilty to manslaughter, has now taken the stand and testified that she and Brendan Banfield impersonated his wife on a sexual‑fetish social media site and spent about a month arranging an elaborate rape scenario with Joseph Ryan to 'get rid of' Christine Banfield.
- Magalhães testified that after luring Ryan to the house, she and Banfield killed both Ryan and Christine and staged the scene to look like they had shot an intruder attacking Christine with a knife.
- Defense attorney John Carroll used Magalhães’ jailhouse letters expressing depression and hopelessness to attack her credibility, arguing she only changed her story and implicated Banfield after being arrested and losing faith in her first lawyer.
- The piece reaffirms that Magalhães was initially charged with murder but pled down to manslaughter in 2024 in exchange for cooperation, and that her ultimate sentence will depend on how prosecutors assess that cooperation at the end of Banfield’s trial.
January 13, 2026
12:00 PM
Affluent Virginia suburb rocked as trial begins for ex-federal agent husband in nanny love-triangle murders
New information:
- Confirms that 12 jurors and four alternates have been seated and that opening statements are expected to begin Tuesday.
- Restates prosecutors’ theory that Banfield, impersonating his wife online, lured Joseph Ryan to the home via a fetish website and staged the killings to look like self‑defense.
- Reaffirms that Brazilian au pair Juliana Peres Magalhães pleaded guilty to manslaughter in late 2024 and is expected to testify against Banfield as an eyewitness to the alleged plot.
- Specifies that court sessions in Banfield’s trial will run Monday through Thursday, starting at 10 a.m., and that the trial is expected to last four weeks.
- Quotes defense attorney John Carroll dismissing prosecutors’ account as “a theory in search of facts rather than a series of facts supporting a theory.”
5:33 AM
Opening statements expected in double murder trial of Virginia man having affair with au pair
New information:
- Confirms opening statements are scheduled to begin Tuesday in Brendan Banfield’s aggravated murder trial.
- Details that Magalhães has already pleaded guilty to manslaughter and is cooperating, having told investigators she and Banfield created a sexual‑fetish social‑media account in Christine Banfield’s name to lure Joseph Ryan to the house.
- Reports testimony from former Fairfax County digital forensic examiner Brendan Miller that his analysis showed Christine Banfield, not a fake account, connected with Ryan; a University of Alabama evidence team peer‑reviewed and affirmed his findings.
- Notes that Miller was transferred out of the Fairfax digital forensics unit in late 2024 and that the original lead detective was reassigned after pushing back on the catfishing theory, raising defense claims about a theory‑driven investigation.
- Specifies that Banfield will simultaneously face child abuse and felony child‑cruelty counts, tied to having his then‑4‑year‑old daughter in the house during the killings.
January 12, 2026