FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA — A Brazilian nanny who pleaded guilty to manslaughter testified against her former employer and lover on Wednesday in a double murder case that prosecutors say was part of an elaborate scheme to get rid of the man’s wife.
Brendan Banfield is charged Aggravated murder In the 2023 murders of Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan at the Banfield family home in Northern Virginia. He has pleaded not guilty and could face life in prison if convicted.
Prosecutors said Banfield, an IRS agent, and Juliana Perez Magalhaes, the family’s babysitter, were in love. In order to get rid of Christine Banfield, the pair impersonated her on a social media site to arouse sexual interests and spent a month arranging an elaborate rape scenario with Ryan, a stranger. Magalhaes testified Tuesday that they killed Ryan and Christine Banfield after they pretended to shoot an intruder who was attacking Christine Banfield with a knife.
Magalhaes, who grew up on the outskirts of São Paulo, was originally charged with murder but… He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter In 2024 after cooperating with investigators. She will be sentenced at the conclusion of Banfield’s trial. Depending on her cooperation with authorities, lawyers said she could be sentenced to the time she has already served.
Banfield’s attorney, John Carroll, said in his opening statements Tuesday that Magalhaes maintained her innocence for a year but eventually changed her story after losing confidence in her attorney.
“The whole reason she was arrested was to turn her against my client,” Carroll said.
On Wednesday, Carroll asked Magalhaes to read parts of letters she wrote from prison to Brendan Banfield and others. They expressed their depression and frustration about her situation. “No strength. No courage. No hope,” she wrote at one point.
Banfield, whose 4-year-old daughter was at the home the morning of the killing, is also charged Child abuse and felony cruelty to children Regarding the case. He will face these charges during his aggravated murder trial.
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Associated Press writer Travis Lawler in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed.