Brendan Banfield sentenced to life in prison in au pair affair murder case

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. – Brendan Banfield, a former IRS law enforcement officer who was having an affair with his family’s Brazilian au pair, was sentenced Friday to life in prison without parole for killing his wife and a man prosecutors say was lured to the couple’s home in a setup.

Banfield claimed he shot Joseph Ryan after finding him attacking his wife on the morning of Feb. 24, 2023. Prosecutors said Banfield and au pair Juliana Peres Magalhães set up Ryan in a scheme to get rid of Christine Banfield, a pediatric intensive care nurse.

The sentencing hearing began at 11 a.m., with Christine Banfield’s sister and Ryan’s mother and aunt delivering emotional victim impact statements.

Banfield also addressed the court before the judge announced the sentence. He criticized the investigation and prosecution, saying, “I’m greatly disappointed in the legal system. The system has failed not only me, but also Christine, my daughter Valerie, […] and the rest of my family.”

He insisted he was wrongfully convicted, telling the court, “I was found guilty of a crime that I did not commit. It is actually impossible to have committed the crime, as the prosecution, their experts, and their witnesses have presented.”

Banfield spoke for about 10 minutes, recounting the trial and challenging the evidence. He described his marriage as unconventional but functional, saying, “I loved her very much. Despite what you may think of my affairs, our marriage worked for us. It wasn’t something that I looked to end.”

He also spoke about Christine, calling her “a caring mother, a caring wife, a loving nurse,” before again denying responsibility for her death. “But I am not responsible for her death. This is not a knife that I ever held in my hand. And I never stabbed her. Thank you.”

Judge Penney Azcarate called Banfield’s actions evil and calculated. “The disregard of the life of your wife, someone you supposedly loved, is almost unfathomable,” she said in handing down the sentence. The scheme involved “luring a completely innocent man into your deadly trap; continuing on after the murders without a care; and not once — not once — thinking of the impact” on the Banfields’ 4-year-old daughter. Brendan Banfield “took everything from her,” Azcarate said.

What we know:

During the trial, Magalhães testified that Banfield told her he wanted to marry her and have children with her but needed to “get rid of” his wife first. She said he didn’t want a divorce because “she would have more money than he would” and because he wanted custody of their daughter.

Magalhães told jurors that she and Banfield posed as Christine Banfield on a fetish website and used the account to lure Ryan to the family’s Herndon, Virginia, home for a knife involved sexual encounter, then staged the scene to look like the shooting of a violent intruder.

Magalhães testified that on the day of the killings, she waited in a car outside the house with the Banfields’ child and called Brendan Banfield when Ryan arrived. She said the two brought the child to the basement before going to the bedroom, where they encountered Ryan. Banfield shot Ryan and then stabbed Christine Banfield with the knife Ryan had brought. When Magalhães saw Ryan moving, she fired a second shot that killed him.

Jurors also convicted Banfield of child endangerment in February because the couple’s 4 year old daughter was home during the killings. Magalhães pleaded guilty to manslaughter after agreeing to testify against Banfield. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison following his trial.