Au Pair Accused of Murder Pleads Guilty to Manslaughter

A Brazilian babysitter accused in connection with the deaths of her ex-girlfriend’s wife and another man has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in one of the killings.

Fairfax County, Virginia, plea agreement between prosecutors and prosecuting attorneys Juliana Peres Magalhaes(24) was the latest development in the bizarre double murder case.

Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said Peres Magalhaes’ plea agreement in the Tuesday, Oct. 29, shooting of 39-year-old Joseph Ryan “is a significant step forward in this case, and it’s a significant development in our pursuit.” Justice for the victims and their families.”

Peres Magalhaes’ ex-boyfriend, Brendan Banfield, was indicted by a Fairfax County grand jury in September on four counts of aggravated murder and one count of use of a firearm in a felony in connection with the 37-year-old deaths of Ryan and Banfield. -his ex-wife Christine Banfield.

Christine Banfield was found fatally wounded after being stabbed in her home in Herndon, Virginia, on February 23, 2023. He later died in hospital. Ryan was found dead nearby, shot in the head and chest.

Prosecutors allege Peres Magalhaes and Brendan, a former agent with the Internal Revenue Service’s criminal division, began an affair in August 2022 after moving into the Herndon, Virginia, home Brendan shared with Christine, a pediatric intensive care nurse. their daughter, who was 4 years old at the time.

According to Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Eric Clingan’s statements at an Oct. 29 plea hearing in Fairfax County Circuit Court, Brendan soon “expressed a desire to be rid of his wife.”

A month before the murders, Brendan allegedly created a profile on bondage website Fetlife.com and began communicating with Ryan, a mixed martial arts enthusiast who loved live-action role-playing.

Brendan then allegedly instructed Peres Magalhaes to call Ryan using an encrypted messaging app called Telegram, pretending to be Christine, and verify the details that “both parties were willing participants.”

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Clingan said Brendan “lured” Ryan to the house on the morning of February 24, 2023, and claimed: “Ryan believed that he was probably meeting Christine Banfield to have a consensual sexual relationship that involved restrictions imposed on him, his clothes were cut off, he brought a knife and others.” violent sexual role plays.”

Clingan said Brendan gave Peres Magalhaes the gun he had bought a month earlier and told him to call Christine’s phone when Ryan entered the house and then call Brendan “to tell him there was a strange man in the house and he was scared.”

The call to Christine’s phone went straight to voicemail because Brendan had allegedly turned off his phone and put it in the kitchen drawer before leaving the house that morning.

Clingan said Brendan received Peres Magalhaes’ call while he was at a nearby McDonald’s “waiting so he could get back quickly.”

Prosecutors allege Brendan then went home, shot Ryan in the head and stabbed his wife.

Peres Magalhaes “saw Joseph Ryan moving and shot him,” according to Clingan.

Clingan said the pair then “reported the crime as if Joseph Ryan was an intruder who stabbed Christine Banfield.”

After executing a search warrant for the Banfield home in October 2023, investigators found photos of Brendan and Peres Magalhaes in “affectionate poses” throughout the bedroom, along with the babysitter’s underwear. That same month, Peres Magalhaes was charged with second-degree murder and use of a firearm in Ryan’s death. He was not charged in connection with Christine’s death.

On Oct. 25, after two years in custody and just days before a scheduled trial, the former caretaker gave a “detailed account” of the murders and “supported evidence was found” by Fairfax County Police, Clingan said.

He faces up to 10 years in prison. But, New York Times prosecutors reportedly agreed to recommend that Peres Magalhaes be released from custody with credit for time served on the condition that Brendan continues to cooperate with authorities after his trial.

The sentencing date was set as March 21, 2025. Brendan is scheduled to appear in court on February 3, 2025.