FAIRFAX, Va. – A Virginia man accused of orchestrating a double homicide involving his wife and another man is set to go to trial Monday in a case prosecutors describe as an elaborate scheme designed to frame an innocent victim. According to AP, the trial centers on whether the defendant staged the killings to appear as self-defense after luring the victim to his home.
Prosecutors Outline Alleged Murder Scheme
Brendan Banfield is charged with aggravated murder in the February 2023 killings of his wife, Christine Banfield, and Joseph Ryan inside the family’s northern Virginia home. Banfield has pleaded not guilty.
Court records show that Banfield and the family’s Brazilian au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, were present in the home at the time of the killings. Authorities initially said Banfield and Magalhães told investigators they witnessed Ryan, whom they claimed was a stranger, stabbing Christine Banfield in the primary bedroom after entering the house. Both later said they shot Ryan in response.
State Claims Scene Was Staged
Prosecutors now argue the incident was staged. They allege Banfield and Magalhães lured Ryan to the house and created a narrative portraying Ryan as a dangerous intruder who was killed in self-defense. Officials say Banfield and Magalhães had been involved in a romantic relationship that began the year before the killings.
Both were arrested between 2023 and 2024 and initially charged with murder. In 2024, Magalhães pleaded guilty to a reduced manslaughter charge after agreeing to cooperate with investigators.
Social Media “Catfishing” Allegations
According to Magalhães’ statement to authorities, she and Banfield allegedly created a social media account in Christine Banfield’s name on a platform catering to sexual fetishes. Prosecutors say Ryan connected with the account and agreed to meet at the Banfield home on Feb. 24, 2023, for a sexual encounter involving a knife.
Prosecutor Eric Clingan said the statement allowed investigators to unify their case theory.
“With 12 different homicide detectives, there were 24 different theories,” Clingan said last year. “Now, one theory.”
Defense Challenges Prosecutors’ Narrative
Not all investigators agreed with the prosecution’s theory. Brendan Miller, a former digital forensic examiner with the Fairfax County Police Department, testified that his analysis of dozens of electronic devices indicated Christine Banfield herself had communicated with Ryan on the social networking platform.
Miller’s findings were peer-reviewed and affirmed by an evidence analysis team at the University of Alabama, according to court filings.
Miller was later transferred out of the police department’s digital forensics unit in late 2024. A former Fairfax County police commander testified the reassignment was not disciplinary.
Defense Alleges Internal Disputes
Banfield’s attorney, John Carroll, argued in court that Miller’s transfer was directly connected to the case and that internal disagreements existed within law enforcement.
He also said the case’s lead detective was reassigned after questioning the prosecution’s catfishing theory.
“It is a theory in search of facts rather than a series of facts supporting a theory,” Carroll said.
Additional Charges to Be Heard at Trial
Banfield’s young daughter was in the home at the time of the killings. As a result, Banfield also faces child abuse and felony child cruelty charges, which will be considered during the aggravated murder trial alongside the homicide counts.
The case is expected to draw close scrutiny as prosecutors and defense attorneys present sharply conflicting accounts of what happened inside the Banfield home that morning.
