A Herndon man has officially been charged with murder in connection to the 2023 deaths of his wife and another man at their home in the Frying Pan area.
Brendan Banfield, a former IRS criminal investigative agent, was indicted today (Monday) by a grand jury for his alleged involvement in the shooting and stabbing that killed Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan, a 39-year-old Springfield man, the Fairfax County Police Department and Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano announced.
“We’re extremely pleased that we’ve been able to bring this indictment, as this case has weighed heavily not only on the minds of the chief and I, but on the minds of the community,” Descano said at a 5 p.m. press conference. “I hope that the family, friends and loved ones of Christine and Joseph can find some solace in the knowledge that we’re pursuing justice.”
Banfield was arrested this afternoon following his indictment, WUSA9 reported.
#Breaking: Husband of Christine Banfield, 1 of 2 people killed inside her Fairfax Co. home, was just arrested by police. The couple’s au pair, who reportedly was having an affair w/ the husband, had already been charged with the murder of second victim. Waiting on charges. @wusa9 pic.twitter.com/Z2602FuYGf
— Matthew Torres (@News_MTorres) September 16, 2024
Banfield is the second person to be charged for the double homicide. In April, a grand jury indicted a 23-year-old, live-in au pair employed by the Banfields, Juliana Peres Magalhaes, for second-degree murder after prosecutors alleged that she shot Ryan.
According to police, officers responded to the Banfield house in the 13200 block of Stable Brook Way around 8 a.m. on Feb. 24, 2023 after receiving multiple 911 calls from Magalhaes and Brendan Banfield, who said he shot a man who had stabbed his wife.
Ryan was found dead at the house, while Christine Banfield later died from her injuries after being taken to a hospital. Two firearms and a knife was recovered from the scene, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said.
While officials declined to provide many additional details to avoid prejudicing a potential jury, Davis confirmed that Magalhaes and Brendan Banfield were engaged in an affair, as prosecutors contended at a preliminary hearing in April.
At the hearing in April, prosecutors said photos of them together were found in the house when police arrested Magalhaes last October, and they both reportedly visted a shooting range in Ashburn and replaced their phones before the killings.
Ryan went to the house to meet up with a woman he had connected with through the BDSM and kink-focused dating app FetLife, the Washington Post reported. The account featured a photo of Christine Banfield that she had sent to her husband about a month before the killings, but prosecutors say there’s no indication that she was interested in knife play or BDSM.
Prosecutors said Brendan Banfield had purchased a gun about a month before the fatal shooting from the same range that he visited with Magalhaes. They believe Ryan was shot first by Banfield and then by Magalhaes.
According to court records, Banfield has been charged with four counts of aggravated murder — two related to the premeditated killing of multiple people and two related to killing more than one person within three years — as well as one count of using a firearm while committing a felony.
“We wanted to cover all our bases, make sure that the jury had every option that they could possibly want when taking in the evidence,” Descano said, admitting that the charges are “a little unusual.”
Banfield is expected to be arraigned later this week, with a court hearing scheduled for this Thursday (Sept. 19), Descano said. He and Magalhaes are both in custody now at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.
A criminal jury trial is scheduled for Magalhaes’s case on Nov. 12.
Brendan Banfield is no longer employed by the IRS, as of Sept. 4, a spokesperson for the tax agency told FFXnow.
