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Virginia husband charged with murder of wife and husband, couple's au pair faces trial

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A husband has been charged with murder 19 months after police found his wife stabbed to death and another man shot to death in the couple's suburban home in Herndon, Virginia.

Fairfax County District Attorney Steve Descano announced Monday that 39-year-old Brandon Banfield was arrested for the February 2023 murders of 37-year-old Christine Banfield and 39-year-old Joseph Ryan.

His arrest came eleven months after the couple's au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhaes (23), was also arrested and charged in the case.

According to a police press release, on February 24, 2023, officers responded to a 911 call from a woman who claimed her friend was injured.

According to police, a man answered the line and told the operator that he had shot an unknown man who had entered his home and stabbed a woman.

When officers arrived at the house, they found a “horrific” sight, police said.

Banfield was found in an upstairs bedroom with stab wounds to his torso, while Ryan was discovered nearby with a gunshot wound to his torso.

Banfield was taken to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead, while Ryan was pronounced dead at the scene.

Brandon Banfield was charged in connection with the murders of his wife and a man in their home in February 2023
Brandon Banfield was charged in connection with the murders of his wife and a man in their home in February 2023 (Fairfax County Police Department)

Investigators believe Magalhaes made the 911 call, NBC News reported.

In October, Magalhaes was charged with first-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a crime. She is being held without bail at the Adult Detention Center and is scheduled to go to trial in November.

Descano told reporters on Monday that a grand jury had now indicted Banfield, saying new evidence was “instrumental” in bolstering the charges.

Juliana Peres Magalhaes, the couple's au pair, was also charged in the case.
Juliana Peres Magalhaes, the couple's au pair, was also charged in the case. (Fairfax County Police Department)

According to NBC Washington, when questioned by prosecutors at a court hearing earlier this year, Banfield primarily invoked his right under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution not to testify against himself.

Descano and Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis have not disclosed Ryan's connection to the couple.

The Independent has contacted the Fairfax County District Attorney's Office for further details.

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