(CNN) 鈥� Nearly eight months after Brendan Banfield鈥檚 wife and a stranger were killed in the Banfields鈥� Virginia home in February 2023, police returned to the scene of the killings.
They entered the home and went to the bedroom where Christine Banfield was fatally stabbed. There, on the bedside table, investigators found a framed photo of Brendan smiling with another woman 鈥� the family鈥檚 au pair, according to court records.
Brendan Banfield now faces a double-murder trial, with jury selection scheduled Monday, as prosecutors allege he plotted with the au pair to kill his wife and another man. Prosecutors say that man had been lured to the home to frame him for Christine鈥檚 death 鈥� and to make his own killing appear to be an act of self-defense.
Banfield 鈥� a former IRS agent, 鈥� has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder and a firearm offense in the fatal stabbing of his wife and the fatal shooting of Joseph Ryan.
Prosecutors say Brendan Banfield and the family鈥檚 Brazilian au pair, Juliana Peres Magalh茫es, were having an extra-marital affair and carried out the plan together. The salacious plot features allegations of BDSM sexual role play, trips to the gun range and false 911 calls, all in an attempt to kill Banfield鈥檚 wife and frame Ryan, according to prosecutors.
Peres Magalh茫es was initially charged with murder and has since pleaded guilty to a lesser count of involuntary manslaughter .
She has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in exchange for a recommendation that she be sentenced to time served, according to the plea agreement. She is likely to be the star witness in Banfield鈥檚 murder trial.
The trial is expected to last about four weeks.
Banfield has been held without bond since his arrest, . He faces up to life in prison on the murder charges.
Salacious allegations to face jury
The case began with calls to 911 from within the Banfields鈥� Herndon, Virginia, home on February 24, 2023. In one call, Banfield told dispatchers he鈥檇 shot a man who stabbed his wife, according to police. There was no forced entry at the home.
In an upstairs bedroom, Christine Banfield, 37, with stab wounds and Ryan, 39, dead of gunshot wounds nearby. She was taken to a hospital and later pronounced dead, according to Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis.
Peres Magalh茫es, 25, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and a firearm offense in October 2023 and has been in custody since her arrest.
When police searched the home, they found a framed photo of Banfield and Peres Magalh茫es smiling together on his bedside table.
A year later, in October 2024, court records show Peres Magalh茫es pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. At a plea hearing, prosecutors read aloud a statement laying out the key allegations in the case.
As they alleged, Peres Magalh茫es began working as an au pair for the couple in late 2021, and in August 2022 she and Brendan Banfield began an extra-marital relationship.
鈥淚n the fall of 2022, Brendan Banfield expressed to Peres Magalh茫es his desire to be rid of his wife and soon thereafter began planning to kill his wife as well as, ultimately, Joseph Ryan, the victim in this case,鈥� prosecutors said.
Banfield set up an account on Fetlife.com, a sexual fetish site, began communicating with Ryan and lured him to the Banfield home, prosecutors said. Ryan 鈥渓ikely believed鈥� he was meeting Christine Banfield for a consensual sexual encounter involving 鈥渧iolent sexual role play鈥� with a knife, prosecutors said.
Banfield directed Peres Magalh茫es to talk with Ryan in a phone call to confirm details, according to prosecutors. She expressed hesitation with the plan at various points, prosecutors said, but 鈥渉e insisted it was too late for her to back out.鈥�
Banfield taught the au pair how to fire a gun at a local gun range in the fall and winter of 2022, prosecutors said.
As part of their plan, when Ryan came to the home, Peres Magalh茫es called Banfield to report that a strange man was at the house, and Banfield was waiting at a nearby McDonald鈥檚 so he could return to the home quickly, prosecutors said.
He and Peres Magalh茫es put his child in the basement and then went upstairs to the Banfields鈥� bedroom, with Brendan Banfield holding his service weapon and the au pair holding a firearm he had purchased a month earlier, according to prosecutors.
鈥淭he two entered the bedroom and Joseph Ryan was holding Christine Banfield down,鈥� prosecutors said. 鈥淏rendan Banfield called out, 鈥楶olice officer,鈥� and then shot Joseph Ryan in the head, and Ryan fell away from Christine Banfield.鈥�
Peres Magalh茫es called 911 but ended the call at Banfield鈥檚 direction, prosecutors said.
Banfield stabbed his wife, according to prosecutors. Peres Magalh茫es saw Ryan still moving and shot him, prosecutors said.
The au pair then called 911 again and they reported the killings as if Ryan was an intruder who had stabbed Banfield鈥檚 wife, according to prosecutors.
鈥楾here was a lot more to what met the eye鈥�
Banfield was indicted on murder charges in September 2024. The indictment alleges he 鈥渨illfully, deliberately, and with premeditation鈥� killed his wife and Ryan.
鈥淚 knew, I suspected, I had a feeling that there was a lot more to what met the eye that morning,鈥� Chief Davis said. 鈥淎nd certainly it has taken a road, 570 days later, where we are finally in a position to announce that two persons are being charged and held responsible and introduced to our criminal justice system for these two murders.鈥�
Weeks later, Peres Magalh茫es pleaded guilty to the lesser charge for shooting and killing Ryan, .
鈥淭oday鈥檚 agreement marks a significant step forward in this case, and it is an important development in our pursuit of justice for the victims and their families,鈥� Fairfax County Commonwealth鈥檚 Attorney Steve Descano said of the au pair鈥檚 .
In addition, on a count of felony child abuse and neglect and felony child cruelty related to the killings in December 2024. His daughter, who was 4 at the time, was present at the scene, according to prosecutors.
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