Day 2 of au pair affair murder trial: Accused mistress returns to witness stand
RESTON, Va. (7News) — After nearly two full days, the prosecution and defense finished their questioning of Juliana Peres Magalhaes, the au pair at the center of an affair and alleged murder scheme that resulted in two victims getting killed inside a Fairfax County home in February 2023.
Cameras inside a Fairfax County murder trial are a rarity, permitted only at a judge’s discretion under Virginia law. For many viewers, the last time courtroom proceedings here were broadcast wall-to-wall was during the Johnny Depp–Amber Heard defamation trial in 2022 — a high-profile civil case that drew international attention.
WATCH DAY 2 BELOW OR HERE AT 10 A.M.
Now, cameras are again rolling as jurors hear testimony in the double-murder trial of Brendan Banfield, a former IRS agent accused of conspiring with the family’s au pair to kill his wife, Christine Banfield, and another man, Joseph Ryan.
Day 2 of testimony marks a pivotal moment, as jurors begin weighing emotionally charged eyewitness accounts against physical and digital evidence prosecutors say tells its own story.
The prosecution’s case hinges heavily on the testimony of Juliana Peres Magalhaes, the Banfields’ former au pair, who has admitted to her role in the killings and is cooperating with authorities as part of a plea agreement. She has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and faces a recommended sentence of time served.
Peres Magalhaes entered the Virginia courtroom on Tuesday, ready to testify about what she witnessed in the 2023 double murder inside a Reston home.
Her eyes did not meet those of Brendan Banfield, the man whom prosecutors said convinced Peres Magalhaes to help him carry out the murder of Banfield's wife, Christine, alongside luring and killing another man inside his home.
For two hours on Tuesday, prosecutors questioned Peres Magalhaes, Banfield's au pair, on her role in the plot and her alleged affair with Banfield.
Those questions from prosecutors continued for the first 15 minutes on Wednesday, as she took the witness stand for the second day in a row.
The prosecution shifted the focus of their question from the alleged scheme and murders, to Peres Magalhaes' experience navigating the legal system.
Banfield's lawyer attacked the former au pair's credibility because of the plea deal she accepted, and the fact it took her a year and multiple offers before coming to an agreement.
Prosecutors asked why it took so long. Peres Magalhaes said it was because Banfield's mother had been paying for her lawyer and she was concerned she would lose legal representation if she flipped on the accused killer.
The bulk of the day was spent on Banfield's lawyer asking a long list of questions.
John Carroll, Banfield's lawyer, had Peres Magalhaes read dozens of letters she sent from jail to Banfield and her own mother, which indicated she was feeling more anxious the longer she was in jail and worried prosecutors wanted to use her to arrest her former boss.
Questions then focused on the former au pair's inability to remember specific details and dates of the alleged murder plot. This led to tense back-and-forth between the attorney and Peres Magalhaes, at times.
Perhaps the biggest revelation during this line of questioning came when Peres Magalhaes admitted on the stand she has received money in her jail canteen account from a media production company, in order to pay for food and calls home to Brazil, and she is negotiating selling her story for when she is released.
Throughout the day, the jury did not provide much in emotional reaction to new revelations or testy exchanges between Peres Magalhaes and Carroll, though they seemed locked in to every word.
Peres Magalhaes, for her part, mostly kept her composure without any emotional outbursts. However, after some repeat questions from Carroll, she expressed frustration because she felt she answered those questions already. Some of those repeat questions were met with objections from prosecutors.
BANFIELD DOUBLE MURDER TRIAL | Banfield trial begins with opening statements, au pair testimony
Prosecutors allege the killings were the result of months of planning fueled by an extramarital affair between Banfield and Peres Magalhães. They say the pair created fake online accounts to lure Ryan to the family’s home, staging the scene to look like a violent home invasion.
What comes next:
Now that both sides are done questioning Peres Magalhaes, prosecutors are expected to move down the list of their witnesses.
They still have detectives and other officials involved in the investigation yet to be called to the stand.
Proceedings continue at 10 a.m. Thursday. There will be no court appearances on Friday.
Additionally, the courthouse will be closed on Monday's federal holiday.
This trial is scheduled to last four weeks, with an anticipated end date of February 6.
READ WEDNESDAY'S LIVE UPDATES BELOW:
4:28 p.m.: Jury is dismissed for the day.
- PeresMagalhaes' testimony is finished.
- Peres Magalhaes testifies she has never been in jail or in trouble with the law.
4:15 p.m. Prosecution begins redirect
4:14 p.m. Defense wraps up Au Pair questioning.
- Based on letters, Peres Magalhaes recalls taking depression and anxiety medication for at least two months while in jail.
- Defense asked Peres Magalhaes if she took any of Christine's devices on Febuary 23 including her laptop the day before Peres Magalhaes alleges they planned to killed Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan.
- Peres Magalhaes says Banfield would upload and check emails on his late wife's computer
3:49 p.m. court resumes
3:28 p.m.: Court takes afternoon break
1:30 p.m.: Defense questions Peres Magalhaes on her activities leading up to the murders
1:02 p.m. Court is in recess for lunch.
- Peres Magalhaes testified that a media company and producers have been paying her commissary and helping her speak with her mother who is in Brazil in a potential exchange for her to share her story.
- Defense asked Peres Magalhaes to read a portion of 'Smart Jail Mail." The defense asked, Is this indication of you letting go of Brendan in your relationship? Peres Magalhaes responded: "I guess so."
- Smart jail mail: Peres Magalhaes is reading messages sent to family and friends about the coming and going of her lawyers. "Tomorrow, when my lawyer comes to see me, I'll send you a message."
- Peres Magalhaes' testimony continues
- Brandon Banfield re-enters court
11:47 a.m.: Court resumes.
11:33 a.m.: Judge takes 15-minute morning recess
11:15 a.m.: The defense has Peres Magalhaes read a hosts of letters and conversations between Peres Magalhaes and family regarding waiting on her lawyers to visit.
10:34 a.m.: Peres Magalhaes reads a letter submitted into evidence
- Peres Magalhaes says she created a website on Jan. 9
- Peres Magalhaes says sometime in October "the plan was to get rid of Christine." au Pair said yes
10:19 a.m.: Defense ask when the plan was originated
10:12 a.m.: Peres Magalhaes says it was the "right thing to do" to testify against Brandon Banfield
10 a.m.: Court resumes, Peres Magalhaes, the au pair, takes the stand
DAY 1 RECAP:
Prosecutors and Banfield's defense team both provided opening statements before several back-to-back testimonies from officers, a Fairfax County 9-1-1 records keeper, and the medical examiner, before Peres Magalhaes took to the stands.
Banfield's defense spent the bulk of his opening statement challenging Peres Magalhaes' credibility, pointing out how many times the prosecution offered her a plea deal she turned down before accepting her current one.
Peres Magalhaes claimed she began an affair with Banfield in August 2022, and in October, Banfield began discussing how he wanted to "get rid of" Christine and marry Peres Magalhaes. When asked about a divorce, Peres Magalhaes told the court that Banfield said the process would cost too much money and that he didn't want to split child custody.
Banfield convinced Peres Magalhaes to learn how to fire a gun, and the two worked together to create a fake account under Christine's account to lure a man to the house, the au pair said.
Once they found the right man, Joseph Ryan, they lured him to the house and began efforts to stage the incident as if Ryan were a home intruder, Peres Magalhaes claimed.
She said Banfield changed his daily routine days prior, instructed Peres Magalhaes to get a new phone and Apple ID, and told her to park in a different location on the day of the murders. The au pair said she told Christine she would be away from the house around the same time as the meetup.
Brendan Banfield, Juliana Peres Magalhães (Fairfax County Police Department)
After Ryan arrived at the house, the pair then quietly entered the house through the basement. Shortly after, Peres Magalhaes said Banfield stabbed both Ryan and Christine and fatally shot Ryan.
She also testified that she witnessed Banfield repeatedly stab his wife, Christine, during the attack.
“Christine’s first reaction — that’s the first time I heard her say anything,” Peres Magalhaes told jurors. “Then she yelled back at Brendan saying, ‘Brendan, he has a knife.’ That’s when Brendan first shot Joe.”
When asked where Christine Banfield was stabbed, Peres Magalhaes replied simply:
“The neck.”
A lawyer for Banfield said in opening statements that it was Ryan, not Banfield, who killed Christine, but conceded his client and the au pair were having an affair.
The defense sharply disputes that version of events, arguing that investigators manipulated evidence and built their case around a cooperating witness with every incentive to lie.
Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor, says jurors will ultimately have to decide whether Peres Magalhaes is credible — or simply saying what prosecutors want to hear.
“I think the key evidence in this case is going to be the cooperating witness, Juliana, the Brazilian au pair, as well as the digital evidence connecting the two — their extramarital affair and then the setup in this case to make the murders of Christine and Joseph Ryan seem like self-defense,” Rahmani said.
