Bond denied for husband charged in Herndon double murder – NBC4 Washington

A Northern Virginia man accused of having an affair with his family's au pair and then working with her to kill his wife and another man has been denied bail.

Brendan Banfield's lawyer argued for his release on bail at a hearing on Friday, saying he has no criminal background and is not a flight risk. The judge rejected the request.

Banfield and the au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhaes, are accused of working together to kill Banfield's wife, Christine Banfield, and a stranger, Joseph Ryan, at the couple's Herndon home in February 2023.

The judge ruled Thursday that statements Peres Magalhaes made to police following the high-profile double murder cannot be rejected.

Prosecutors accuse her of having an affair with Brendan Banfield and being part of a conspiracy to remove his wife from the scene. Prosecutors say the au pair and Banfield lured Ryan to the family's Herndon home in February 2023 through a sex fetish website. Brendan's wife was found stabbed to death in the house, and Ryan was found shot nearby.

Peres Magalhaes is charged with Ryan's murder.

Last week, Fairfax County police charged Brendan Banfield with the murders of his wife and Ryan.

Peres Magalhaes' lawyers wanted her statements to police thrown out because they said the officers had unlawfully detained her, but the judge ruled against it, saying any reasonable person could feel free to leave. The judge pointed out that she was not handcuffed or locked in a patrol car and said the officers' tone was comforting.

The judge also said the defense had not specified which statement it wanted to suppress and told the court that it could not simply demand that everything said after Peres Magalhaes left with police be suppressed.