Husband plotted double murder to "get rid of" his wife after affair, au pair testifies
Key Points:
- Brendan Banfield, a suburban Washington, D.C. man, is charged with aggravated murder for the 2023 killings of his wife, Christine Banfield, and Joseph Ryan at their northern Virginia home; he has pleaded not guilty and faces possible life imprisonment.
- Banfield, who was having an affair with the family's Brazilian au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, allegedly devised a plan involving a fake online profile of his wife to lure Ryan to the house under the pretense of an arranged sexual fantasy.
- Prosecutors say Banfield and Magalhães orchestrated the scenario to kill his wife, motivated by custody and financial concerns, with Magalhães cooperating with investigators and pleading guilty to mansl