Man who had affair with au pair found guilty of murdering wife, another man

A Virginia antheral having an matter with the family's Brazilian au brace was recovered blameworthy Monday of murdering his woman and different man that prosecutors accidental was lured to the location arsenic a autumn guy.

Brendan Banfield, a erstwhile IRS instrumentality enforcement officer, told constabulary helium came crossed Joseph Ryan attacking his wife, Christine Banfield, with a weapon connected the greeting of Feb. 24, 2023. He changeable Ryan and past Juliana Magalhães, the au pair, changeable him, too.

But officials argued successful tribunal that the communicative was excessively bully to beryllium true, telling jurors that Banfield acceptable Ryan up successful a strategy to get escaped of his wife. It aboriginal came retired that Brendan Banfield and Magalhães had been having an affair.

Magalhães pleaded blameworthy to manslaughter successful 2024 and testified against her erstwhile person astatine trial. She said they had impersonated Christine Banfield, a pediatric intensive attraction nurse, connected a website for intersexual fetishes. She said they utilized the tract to lure Ryan to the location for a intersexual brushwood involving a knife, staging the country to look arsenic though they had changeable an intruder who was attacking the wife.

Defense lawyer John Carroll argued that Magalhães' grounds could not beryllium trusted due to the fact that she was cooperating with prosecutors to effort to debar a agelong situation sentence. In his ain testimony, Banfield said that the grounds was " perfectly crazy."

Carroll besides introduced grounds showing that determination was dissent wrong the constabulary section implicit the mentation that Magalhães and Brendan Banfield impersonated Christine Banfield connected societal media successful a "catfishing" scheme. An serviceman who concluded from integer grounds that Christine Banfield was down the societal media relationship was aboriginal transferred successful what Carroll said was punishment for disagreeing with a mentation favored by the department's higher-ups.

In closing arguments, authoritative Jenna Sands told the assemblage they did not person to trust solely connected Magalhães' testimony, pointing to what she called a "plethora of evidence." That included adept grounds that humor stains connected Ryan's hands suggested Christine Banfield's humor had been dripped onto him from above.

The assemblage deliberated for astir 9 hours crossed 2 days earlier reaching a verdict. Banfield faces the anticipation of beingness successful situation astatine sentencing.

Magalhães was scheduled to beryllium sentenced aft Banfield's trial. Attorneys person said she could beryllium allowed to locomotion escaped if she is sentenced to clip served.  

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• Shooting
• Homicide
• Trial
• Virginia