Au pair Juliana Peres Magalhães testified in court Tuesday during the trial of her employer, Brendan Banfield, in the February 2023 killings of Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan.
Banfield has pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder for the deaths of his wife and Ryan. He also faces felony child abuse and neglect and felony child cruelty charges due to the fact that the Banfields’ 4-year-old was in the home at the time of the incident.
Alleged Murder Scheme
In the trial, which began Monday, prosecutors argued that Banfield lured Ryan to his home as part of a scheme to kill his wife and frame Ryan. Magalhães testified for two hours and will reappear Wednesday to continue answering questions, The Washington Post reported.
Magalhães told the court Tuesday that she began working for the Banfields in 2021 as an au pair. She began an affair with Brendan Banfield about 10 months later, CBS News reported. She testified that Banfield told her he wanted to marry her but needed to “get rid of” his wife.
Magalhães testified that Banfield’s plan involved creating a fake profile in his wife’s name on a sexual fetish site. He and Magalhães used that account to set up a meeting with Ryan, in which he would act out a “rape fantasy” by entering the home while Christine was sleeping and bring restraints and a knife, The Washington Post reported. Other preparations included replacing windows with soundproof glass and visiting a gun range.
Au Pair’s Murder Testimony
The au pair’s testimony also described the scene on the day of the murder. She described seeing Ryan pinning Christine down and hearing Christine shout “Brendan! He has a knife!”
Magalhães said Banfield, a federal agent, drew his service weapon and shot Ryan. Magalhães called 911 but hung up when Banfield signaled for her to do so. She then saw Banfield pick up Ryan’s knife and repeatedly stab his wife. She called 911 again when Banfield told her to.
Banfield had told police at the time that he shot Ryan because he entered the bedroom and saw Ryan stabbing his wife.
Magalhães was originally charged with murder but later pleaded guilty to a downgraded charge of manslaughter and agreed to cooperate in the investigation.
Feature image, stock.adobe.com
