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Christine Banfield, a working medical professional was brutally stabbed to death at her residence in Herdon, Virginia on February 24, 2023. The body of a man, named Joseph Ryan, was found beside her. However, he had been shot to death, unlike Banfield.
The double murder shocked the officers at Fairfax County Police Department, who found it difficult to establish a connection between the two murders. However, once they started looking into the victims' relationships, they discovered that the plot behind the murders was a sinister one.
Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan's double homicide will be featured in the latest episode of Kendall Rae's True Crime with Kendall Rae podcast. The episode, which was released on January 22, 2025, will take a look at murders that were orchestrated by Christine's husband Brendan Banfield.
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Investigation into the murder revealed that Brendan was having an affair with the family's au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhaes. Brendan and Juliana planned the murder such that it would look like an act of self-defense.
What happened to Christine Banfield?
Christine Banfield was a 37-year-old woman, who worked as a nurse at a hospital in Fairfax County, Virginia. She was married to Brendan Banfield, and the two had a daughter named Valerie. The family also had an au pair, named Julianna Peres Magalhaes, a Brazillian nation. According to an NBC Washington article, Brendan and Julianna began having an affair in August 2022.
A New York Times article reported that on the day of the murders, Julianna reportedly took Brendan and Christine's daughter to the zoo at around 7 am. However, she supposedly returned after realizing that she had forgotten their lunch. Julianna reportedly stated that she found an unfamiliar car parked in front of the Banfield house and called Brendan, who arrived soon after.
The two, along with Banfield's daughter, entered the house and while Julianna took the child to the basement, Brendan tried to figure out what was happening. When he went to the second floor of the house, Brendan saw an unknown man holding a knife to Christine Banfield's throat. The man was later identified as Joseph Ryan.
According to the story Julianna and Brendan told the police, upon seeing them, Joseph stabbed Christine, and as in an act of self-defense, Brendan shot Joseph. Although Christine Banfield was taken to a hospital, she didn't survive her stab injuries.
It is worth noting that Magalhaes had called 911 twice but hung up each time before the call was answered. However, a third time, ten minutes later, she called again and waited for someone to answer. As she reported an emergency, Brendan took the phone and informed them that he had shot an intruder to death, who had killed his wife.
As per CBS News, when the police arrived at the scene, Magalhaes made up a story, about when she and Brendan had left the house early that morning.
The investigation behind the murder of Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan
As the police began investigating the case, they found Brendan and Julianna to be their main suspects after they discovered that they were having an affair. As per CBS News, two months before the murder, the duo visited a gun range together, and Brendan also reportedly bought a gun a few weeks later.
Investigators also tried to find a link between Joseph Ryan and Christine Banfield but only found that they had exchanged a few messages. However, upon digging deeper, they realized the messages from Christine looked like someone else, pretending to be her, had sent them.
When the investigators searched the Banfield residence, they found incriminating evidence on the computer. They discovered that someone had created Christine's profile on a s*x site where someone was talking to Ryan, pretending to be her. The text messages on the computer revealed that the person pretending to be Christine had asked Ryan to meet her at the house on the day of the murders.
Brendan Banfield and Juliana Peres Magalhaes were charged with double homicide.
Brendan Banfield and Juliana Peres Magalhaes were arrested by investigators from the Fairfax County Police Department in October 2023. Magalhaes was charged with second-degree murder, for her involvement in the crime. During her interrogation, she revealed that it was Brendan, who told her to bring the gun. Ryan was shot multiple times, while Christine was stabbed to death.
The Fairfax County Police Department Chief spoke to NBC Washington and said that from the beginning he had suspected that the case would have a "lot of twists and turns."
"I suspected from the very beginning — and I went to the scene of that double murder — that there was going to be a lot of twist and turns to this investigation. The twists and turns are still on going," he added.
The trial for the double homicide began in April 2024, with the prosecutors stating that Brendan started having an affair with Magalhaes. They claimed that the two eventually decided to eliminate Christine Banfield and devised a plan to make her death look like an accident and blame it on someone else. They also revealed that Brendan bought a gun specifically for the murder.
Investigators also discovered that the couple had changed their phones days before the murder. Other evidence that solidified the prosecution's case was when investigators discovered that all the pictures of Christine in the Banfield home had been replaced with those of Jualianna.
As per ABC News, Brendan Banfield was charged with the double homicide of Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan, and his next trial is set to be in February 2025. Juliana Peres Magalhaes could face up to 10 years in prison for her involvement in the double homicide. Her next trial is scheduled to take place on March 21, 2025.
True Crime with Kendall Rae covered the investigation into the murder of Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan in its latest episode.
The podcast is available to listen to on both Spotify and Apple Music.
