Glamorous au pair accused of twisted murder plot after scandalous affair with her boss speaks out from jail – as chilling details from night of horrific crime at $1M mansion are revealed
An au pair accused of murdering a BDSM fetishist as part of an elaborate plan to get rid of her boss’s wife so they could be together has spoken out from prison.
Juliana Peres Magalhaes, 24, is accused of murdering Joseph Ryan, 39, who was found shot to death in the $1 million home of the family she worked for in Herndon, Virginia.
Magalhaes claimed to have shot Ryan dead after finding him during an attack on her employer’s wife, Christine Banfield, 37, who was found fatally stabbed in February last year. No one has been charged in her death.
Magalhaes has maintained her innocence and told her mother she hopes to be reunited with her soon in her native Brazil.
“We will be together again soon, with God’s grace, Mom,” she wrote to her mother in Portuguese in June, The Washington Post reports. ‘I’m unhappy and nothing makes me happy. I just want to get out of here and go back home to be with you guys.’
Juliana Peres Magalhaes, 24, who is accused of killing a BDSM fetishist as part of a plot with her IRS boss to get rid of his wife so they could be together, has spoken out from prison
She also complained about her current incarceration in the Fairfax County Jail.
“I’m fed up with this place, this situation,” Magalhaes added.
Her mother, Marina Peres Souza, remains convinced that her daughter is innocent.
“I pray that the prosecutors and the judge understand who is guilty in this case, because it is not Juliana,” she said in Portuguese.
Magalhaes and Banfield’s husband claimed that when they entered the house, Ryan found Christine.
Banfield, an Internal Revenue Service officer, told police he pulled out his service weapon and shot Ryan, wounding him.
He told police that he then ordered Peres Magalhaes to get another gun and shoot him again, which she did and allegedly killed him.
But in a preliminary ruling, prosecutors said the evidence points to a different story, saying Ryan was shot as part of a convoluted plan to get rid of Christine so Banfield and Magalhaes could have a romantic relationship.
Mother of one Christine Banfield, 37, was also found fatally stabbed at the scene of the crime in her home after being attacked in her bedroom in February 2023. She is seen with her husband Brandon
Joseph Ryan, 39, was found shot to death in the $1 million home. Prosecutors suggest
Now, shocking new details about that day have emerged, including that the Banfields’ four-year-old daughter was in the basement when the murders took place.
Magalhaes told police she had left home to take the child to the zoo, but returned when she realised she had left their packed lunches behind.
She said she left the child in the basement after she and Banfield heard what sounded like an intruder. She followed him upstairs, where they found Christine being attacked.
Detectives first became suspicious of Magalhaes’ story after she and Banfield failed to disclose their alleged romance during a conversation with detectives.
However, police say they have found evidence of a secret love escape, pointing out that Magalhaes moved into the master bedroom just eight months after the murders.
They submitted a photo showing a framed photo of Magalhaes and Banfield on her bedside table and her clothes in Christine’s closet.
Prosecutors say the au pair and her boss Brendan Banfield were having an affair, which investigators discovered when they returned to the home after the murders and found photo frames full of pictures of the current couple in the bedroom where Christine died.
During a preliminary hearing, Banfield, who has not yet been charged, testified but invoked the Fifth Amendment and refused to answer questions about his relationship with the au pair and whether he shot Ryan.
Prosecutors say someone created a fake account for Christine on a BDSM site and made plans to have “rough sex” with Ryan before they were both killed.
The mother allegedly did not sound like herself in her alleged conversations with Ryan, leading police to suspect that someone else was posing as Christine and had arranged to meet at the house on the day of the murders.
In court, it emerged that the fetish website account that Ryan was messaging from was on Christine’s computer under the username Annastasia9.
“However, there was no evidence that she engaged in knife play, restraints or BDSM,” prosecutor Eric Clingan said.
Ryan and the account user discussed rough sex and blood play, an act in which one person intentionally cuts another.
During the chats, Annastasia9 wrote that she cheats on her husband “whenever she wants to.”
Prosecutors say someone created a fake account for Christine on a BDSM site and made plans to have “rough sex” with Ryan before they were both killed in the posh home
Detectives also said Magalhaes moved into the master bedroom just months after the murders
The Public Prosecution Service also pointed out that there was a 10-minute delay between the first 112 call and the last report from Magalhaes.
“That’s not what someone would do in that situation unless they’re trying to cover something up,” said Deputy District Attorney Kelsey Gill.
When the first call was made at 7:47 a.m., the dispatchers heard a deep groan and then silence.
Within seconds, two more attempts followed before Magalhaes again pleaded for help.
She was interrupted by Banfield who told the operator that he had just shot an intruder who was stabbing his wife.