After nearly three years of investigation into the double murder case that rocked the suburbs of Virginia on February 24, 2023, former IRS law enforcement officer, Brendan Banfield, was found guilty on Monday, February 23, 2023.
A Virginia jury convicted Brendan of two counts of aggravated murder, along with a firearms offense and child endangerment, according to NBC News. Reports suggest he is facing an automatic life sentence.
The 40-year-old accused was having an affair with the family’s Brazilian au pair, Juliana Magalhães. He allegedly plotted to kill his wife, 37-year-old Christine Banfield, by luring another man, 39-year-old Joseph Ryan.
The former IRS officer pretended to be his wife to lure the man to their home for what was believed to be a fake r— scenario to frame him for his wife’s murder.
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On the morning of February 24, 2023, police responded to a 911 call made by Magalhães. When they arrived at the Banfields’ residence, they found that Christine Banfield had been stabbed several times, and another man, later identified as Joseph Ryan, had been fatally shot.
When officials interrogated Brendan Banfield on what had transpired before they arrived, he told them that he had received a call from Magalhães. As soon as he entered his home, the ex-IRS officer rushed to their bedroom to look for his wife on the second floor.
He claimed that Ryan attacked Christine and, in a fit of rage, grabbed the gun and allegedly shot himself. Brendan added that he also directed Magalhães to shoot him again.
However, prosecutors later identified the discrepancies in their narratives, and later evidence proved that it was, in fact, a double murder plot that Brendan Banfield had hatched to get rid of his wife.
The mystery surrounding the murder further intensified when detectives found a computer in the family’s home. This directed them to the profile of Christine on FetLife. Communications between Ryan and Christine were also found, which hinted at a possible meet-up at their residence.
Magalhães, during the investigation, revealed that on that fateful day, she had left the house with the Banfields’ 4-year-old daughter. However, she had to return as she had forgotten the lunch boxes. She saw an unknown car in the vicinity and rushed to inform Christine; however, she did not respond to her calls. Then she informed Brendan.
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As the investigation intensified, the ex-IRS officer’s statements got murkier as he said later that he heard offensive sounds coming from the bedroom, before the sounds changed. He also testified that earlier, too, his wife had intimate episodes with other men.
Detectives, however, testified repeatedly that there was no history of Christine using dating sites. Instead, the digital trail showed that dating and fetish activity only occurred when both Brendan and the au pair were at home.
However, it was Magalhães testimony that revealed the entire plot. In her statement, she stated that Brendan had expressed his desire “to get rid of” his wife in October 2022.
The au pair also testified that she helped Brendan catfish Ryan online. She further revealed that Brendan wanted to marry her and did not want to divorce his wife, as he would have to pay a huge sum as alimony. He also wanted the custody of his child.
