The husband of a woman found stabbed to death in a complicated double murder involving an affair and a fetish website has been charged with her murder.
Christine Banfield, 37, was found stabbed in her bedroom next to 39-year-old Joseph Ryan, who was shot in February 2023.
Her husband, Brendan Banfield, was charged in her death earlier this week with four counts of aggravated murder.
The couple lived in their $1 million home in Herndon with their 4-year-old daughter and au pair Juliana Peres Magalhaes, 24.
Magalhaes is charged in connection with Ryan’s death. Authorities allege she shot him dead after finding him attacking Christine.
Brendan Banfield was charged earlier this week in the death of his wife and indicted on four counts of aggravated murder
Christine Banfield, 37, was found with stab wounds in her bedroom in February 2023
According to officials, Brendan Banfield and Magalhaes were in a romantic relationship at the time of the murders.
Magalhaes and Banfield claimed they entered the house and saw Ryan attacking Christine.
Juliana Peres Magalhaes, 23, is accused of killing a BDSM fetishist as part of a plot with her boss, the IRS agent, to get rid of his wife so they could be together
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, then discovered Christine being attacked.
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.
Prosecutors say the evidence points to a very different story, saying Ryan was shot as part of a plan to get rid of Christine.
Detectives first became suspicious of Magalhaes’ story after she and Banfield failed to disclose their alleged romance during a conversation with detectives.
Police say they have found evidence of a secret love trip and point out that Magalhaes moved into the master bedroom just eight months after the murders.
Prosecutors say the au pair and her boss Brendan Banfield were having an affair, and photos of the couple were found in the bedroom where Christine died.
Prosecutors allege someone created a fake account for Christine on a BDSM site and made plans to have “rough sex” with Ryan, seen here
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 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 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 said the evidence points to a very different story, suggesting Ryan was shot as part of a plan to get rid of Christine.
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.
In announcing the new charges against Brendan Banfield, FairFax County District Attorney Steve Descano said: “On February 24, 2023, I stood in the middle of a dead-end street in Fairfax County and covered the deaths of two people in a residential home.
“Now, 570 days later, we know that the deaths of Joseph Ryan and Christine Banfield were indeed murder.”