FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA - After allegedly sleeping with the family au pair for barely two months, Virginia IRS agent Brandon Banfield decided he would put together a plan to leave his wife and run off with the Brazilian nanny. That plan, however, did not include a divorce.
Instead, the 40-year-old dad allegedly devised a twisted plot to lure the nanny to his home under the guise of playing out a rape fantasy with his 37-year-old wife, Christine, and then shoot the au pair in the act and stab his wife to stage an assault and murder, all while making himself appear a tragic hero, the New York Post reported.
That's according to the nanny herself, who testified about the whole affair as Banfield's murder trial kicked off last week. During the testimony, 25-year-old Juliana Peres Magalhães detailed weeks of meticulous preparation while insisting she was only following her lover's orders.
In October 2021, Magalhães was hired by the Banfields to help take care of their four-year-old daughter. She was paid $200 per week and moved into their Herndon home as a live-in au pair.
Within a year, her job became more than a babysitting gig when she allegedly began sleeping with Banfield around July or August 2022, according to WUSA9. By fall, they were in love, and that's when Banfield told Magalhães that he wanted to get rid of his wife, said Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Jenna Sands.
Divorce was not an option, Sands said, because he didn't want to share custody of the pair's four-year-old daughter. "He thought Christine was a terrible mother," Sands said. "He wanted her out of the picture."
Sands alleged that Banfield considered hiring a hitman but thought it was too risky before coming up with the plan that eventually took Christine's life. He used her email address to set up an account on Fetlife, a sexual fetish website, Sands alleged, and made a post asking for someone to fulfill a "stranger rape fantasy."
That's when he allegedly, as Christine, started chatting online to TacoSupreme7000. Behind that account was a stranger named Joseph Ryan.
After a full month of talking to Ryan online, he allegedly agreed to come to the home and play out this fantasy, that he would come to the house while she was asleep, cut off her clothes, tie her up, and rape her. The date this would happen would be on Banfield's birthday.
Ryan apparently agreed to meet her ahead of time, to bring a knife, and to leave his phone in the car. "Most importantly, he was not to stop," Sands said. "Even if she looked terrified, even if she was calling for help, he was to follow through."
That morning, Magalhães left the home with the child, carrying a gun bought for her by Banfield, Sands said. Banfield then turned off Christine's phone and turned off the lock on the front door. He reportedly left and was waiting at a nearby McDonald's, the prosecution said.
When Ryan arrived at the home as planned, Banfield allegedly returned and shot him in the head with his IRS-issued gun. At some point, the nanny called 911, but it was too early, so she hung up after just eight seconds. Using the knife Ryan brought, Banfield allegedly stabbed Christine several times in the neck.
"I was just crouching down on myself and covering my ears and covering my eyes," Magalhães testified. "A few times I looked, and I was able to see him stabbing her."
He also allegedly told the nanny to shoot Ryan again, this time in the chest. Approximately 15 minutes after that, she called 911 again, this time to report the incident. Banfield allegedly began wiping Christine's blood over Ryan's body to make it look like he'd been the one who attacked his child's mother.
After the dust settled, the nanny moved into the suburban home and hung her clothes in the dead mother's closet. She even slept in the same bed where she said Banfield stabbed his wife to death, and placed a picture of the new couple on their bedside table, she said during her testimony.
The relationship didn't last long. She was arrested in October 2023, and a year later, she pleaded guilty to manslaughter in exchange for receiving a lighter charge and time-served at her sentencing.
Banfield was arrested later, in September 2024, just a month before Magalhães struck her plea deal. He pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder. His attorneys insist that the nanny's version of the story is false, arguing that she was coerced into lying in exchange for a softer sentence.
The 911 calls were both played in court. During the second call, Banfield can be heard saying, "I shot him. I'm a federal agent. This is my house. There's someone here. I shot him. He stabbed her."
If convicted, Banfield faces life in prison. The trial is expected to last between three and four more weeks.
Instead, the 40-year-old dad allegedly devised a twisted plot to lure the nanny to his home under the guise of playing out a rape fantasy with his 37-year-old wife, Christine, and then shoot the au pair in the act and stab his wife to stage an assault and murder, all while making himself appear a tragic hero, the New York Post reported.
That's according to the nanny herself, who testified about the whole affair as Banfield's murder trial kicked off last week. During the testimony, 25-year-old Juliana Peres Magalhães detailed weeks of meticulous preparation while insisting she was only following her lover's orders.
In October 2021, Magalhães was hired by the Banfields to help take care of their four-year-old daughter. She was paid $200 per week and moved into their Herndon home as a live-in au pair.
Within a year, her job became more than a babysitting gig when she allegedly began sleeping with Banfield around July or August 2022, according to WUSA9. By fall, they were in love, and that's when Banfield told Magalhães that he wanted to get rid of his wife, said Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Jenna Sands.
Divorce was not an option, Sands said, because he didn't want to share custody of the pair's four-year-old daughter. "He thought Christine was a terrible mother," Sands said. "He wanted her out of the picture."
Sands alleged that Banfield considered hiring a hitman but thought it was too risky before coming up with the plan that eventually took Christine's life. He used her email address to set up an account on Fetlife, a sexual fetish website, Sands alleged, and made a post asking for someone to fulfill a "stranger rape fantasy."
That's when he allegedly, as Christine, started chatting online to TacoSupreme7000. Behind that account was a stranger named Joseph Ryan.
After a full month of talking to Ryan online, he allegedly agreed to come to the home and play out this fantasy, that he would come to the house while she was asleep, cut off her clothes, tie her up, and rape her. The date this would happen would be on Banfield's birthday.
Ryan apparently agreed to meet her ahead of time, to bring a knife, and to leave his phone in the car. "Most importantly, he was not to stop," Sands said. "Even if she looked terrified, even if she was calling for help, he was to follow through."
That morning, Magalhães left the home with the child, carrying a gun bought for her by Banfield, Sands said. Banfield then turned off Christine's phone and turned off the lock on the front door. He reportedly left and was waiting at a nearby McDonald's, the prosecution said.
When Ryan arrived at the home as planned, Banfield allegedly returned and shot him in the head with his IRS-issued gun. At some point, the nanny called 911, but it was too early, so she hung up after just eight seconds. Using the knife Ryan brought, Banfield allegedly stabbed Christine several times in the neck.
"I was just crouching down on myself and covering my ears and covering my eyes," Magalhães testified. "A few times I looked, and I was able to see him stabbing her."
He also allegedly told the nanny to shoot Ryan again, this time in the chest. Approximately 15 minutes after that, she called 911 again, this time to report the incident. Banfield allegedly began wiping Christine's blood over Ryan's body to make it look like he'd been the one who attacked his child's mother.
After the dust settled, the nanny moved into the suburban home and hung her clothes in the dead mother's closet. She even slept in the same bed where she said Banfield stabbed his wife to death, and placed a picture of the new couple on their bedside table, she said during her testimony.
The relationship didn't last long. She was arrested in October 2023, and a year later, she pleaded guilty to manslaughter in exchange for receiving a lighter charge and time-served at her sentencing.
Banfield was arrested later, in September 2024, just a month before Magalhães struck her plea deal. He pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder. His attorneys insist that the nanny's version of the story is false, arguing that she was coerced into lying in exchange for a softer sentence.
The 911 calls were both played in court. During the second call, Banfield can be heard saying, "I shot him. I'm a federal agent. This is my house. There's someone here. I shot him. He stabbed her."
If convicted, Banfield faces life in prison. The trial is expected to last between three and four more weeks.
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