Juliana Peres Magalhães, a Brazilian au pair, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in October 2023, admitting her role in a complex double murder plot involving her lover, an IRS agent, and the murder of his wife, Christine Banfield.
The case began on February 24, 2023, when Magalhães, a live-in nanny at the Banfield home in Herndon, Virginia, discovered a gruesome crime scene after returning to the house from an outing with the couple’s 4-year-old daughter.
Magalhães claimed that she found Christine Banfield murdered and a strange man, later identified as Joseph Ryan, wounded. In an attempt to protect herself and Brendan Banfield, she shot Ryan in the chest.
Investigators quickly became suspicious of the scenario Magalhães presented. They found that Joseph Ryan had been in communication with someone pretending to be Christine Banfield, arranging a meeting on the morning of the murders.
The suspicious messages didn’t match Banfield’s usual behavior, suggesting that someone else had orchestrated the meeting between Ryan and Banfield, leading detectives to dig deeper into the case. Evidence later emerged that pointed to Magalhães’s involvement, particularly photographs of her and Brendan Banfield in intimate settings, as well as lingerie found at the crime scene.
Brazilian Au Pair Pleads Guilty to Manslaughter in Double Murder Plot Involving IRS Agent
As the investigation progressed, Magalhães was arrested in October 2023, facing charges of second-degree murder and firearm use. Initially, she denied having an affair with Brendan Banfield, but further analysis of the crime scene revealed a critical detail: blood spatter analysis showed that Christine Banfield’s blood had been smeared on Ryan’s body, suggesting that the crime scene had been staged.
This finding led to the eventual arrest of Brendan Banfield in September 2024, after the evidence linked him to the conspiracy to kill his wife and frame Ryan for her murder.
The plot thickened when Magalhães began to cooperate with authorities, revealing her role in the conspiracy. She explained that she and Brendan Banfield had planned to lure Ryan to the house, intending to frame him for the murder of Christine Banfield.
However, Magalhães also expressed doubts about the plan in the days leading up to the murder, showing signs that she might have wanted to back out. Despite these reservations, she went through with the plan, leading to the tragic events of February 2023.
In the end, Magalhães agreed to plead guilty to manslaughter in a deal with prosecutors, just two weeks before her trial was set to begin. Her sentencing has been postponed until after Brendan Banfield’s trial, which is expected to provide further details on the extent of the conspiracy.
