According to prosecutors’ indictment on the first day of the trial on Tuesday, a Brazilian maid testified that her employer planned a double murder by using a man he lured from a BDSM website as a scapegoat to avoid a divorce.
Brendan Banfield, 40, is accused of murdering his wife, Christine Banfield, and a stranger named Joseph Ryan, whom he allegedly planned to frame for her murder. Fairfax County prosecutors used the Banfield family’s Brazilian maid as a key witness in the case against him.
Juliana Peres Magalhaes, 25, pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter for her role in the double murder conspiracy and agreed to testify against Brendan Banfield, with whom she had a romantic relationship while working as a maid for the couple.
Juliana Peres Magalhaes will testify on Tuesday. Court TV via AP
On Tuesday, Peres Magalhaes testified against Banfield, saying he confided in her in October 2022 that he wanted to “get away” from his wife and that divorce was not an option. He was worried about money and custody of their daughter, who was four years old when her mother died.
Prosecutors allege that Banfield created a profile on FetLife.com, a website for BDSM and other unconventional sexual preferences, to contact Ryan. Posing as Ryan’s wife, in February 2023, Banfield allegedly invited Ryan to their home to stage a mock rape involving chains and knives.
According to Peres Magalhaes’ testimony, Brendan Banfield used his wife’s laptop to create the account. Christine Banfield, an intensive care nurse, would often throw her laptop bag near the door, and that’s how they were able to access her computer, Peres Magalhaes told the court.
Encouragement
“He always made sure that we logged into the account when she was at home, so that throughout the investigation it would be clear that, whenever she used that account, she was at home,” Peres Magalhaes said.
The account was created in January 2023, after, according to Peres Magalhaes, she and Brendan Banfield had gone to the shooting range at least twice.
In her opening testimony at the trial on Tuesday, prosecutor Jenna Sands said Ryan was instructed not to stop “even when she was crying for help.”
According to the prosecution’s indictment, Brendan Banfield left the house for a short time and instructed Peres Magalhaes to wait and signal when Ryan arrived.
Sands stated that he disabled the door lock and confirmed Ryan’s arrival while his wife was still asleep, then planned to return while Ryan was in the bedroom with his wife.
“Brendan entered the bedroom, first shot Joe in the head, then picked up the knife Joe was carrying and stabbed Christine multiple times in the neck,” Sands said. “He ordered Juliana to shoot Joe a second time with her gun, this time the bullet lodged in Joe’s chest while Christine was dead or dying.”
Peres Magalhaes was arrested eight months after calling 911 to report the incident; prosecutors initially charged her with second-degree murder.
Brendan Banfield is charged with aggravated murder in the murders of his wife and son Ryan, and faces additional charges of aggravated child abuse and child molestation. He could face life imprisonment if convicted of murder.
John Carroll, Brendan Banfield’s defense attorney, countered the government’s accusation that his client impersonated his wife on a BDSM website. In his opening statement, he told the court he would present digital forensic evidence showing Christine Banfield directly communicating with Ryan on that site.
The defense’s testimony regarding the events of that day differed significantly from the prosecution’s argument. Carroll accused the prosecution of exploiting the vulnerability of Peres Magalhaes, an immigrant separated from her family, to coerce her into testifying against his client.
“You’d hear that during that year, before Brendan Banfield was charged, they approached her at least four or five times, through her lawyer, and offered a settlement that she likely accepted,” Carroll said.
Mr. Carroll also referred to the disagreement among investigators regarding the theory that Brendan Banfield acted as a “catfish,” a term referring to using someone else’s online identity to lure others into a relationship. He alleged the police department transferred members of the case who disagreed with this theory.
Brendan Banfield will appear in court on Tuesday. Court TV via AP
Brendan Miller, a former digital forensics expert with the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Department, said last year, after analyzing Christine Banfield’s devices, he concluded that she had communicated directly with Ryan. He was transferred out of the digital forensics unit, but a former Fairfax County commander testified that the transfer was not punitive.
