The au pair accused of shooting and killing a man as part of a 2023 double murder in the Frying Pan area entered a plea deal today (Tuesday), ultimately pleading guilty to the amended charge of manslaughter.
It is expected that Juliana Peres Magalhaes will later be recommended a sentence of time served for the charge, so long as she cooperates with the county’s case against co-defendant Brendan Banfield, Deputy Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Eric Clingan said in court.
Peres Magalhaes was charged in October 2023 with second-degree murder. As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors will also no longer pursue a lesser charge for the use of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
“Today’s agreement was a significant step forward in this case,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said.
Banfield is believed to have engaged in an extramarital affair with Peres Magalhaes, who was employed by Banfield and his wife as a live-in nanny.
Prosecutors alleged in court today that Banfield had expressed a desire to get rid of his wife and orchestrated a scheme that ultimately left both Christine Banfield and 39-year-old Joseph Ryan dead inside the Banfield’s Herndon residence in the 13200 block of Stable Brook Way.
Brendan Banfield is believed to have lured Joseph Ryan to the home on Feb. 24, 2023 via the fetish website FetLife, using a fake profile to suggest that Christine Banfield was interested in consensual sexual activity with Ryan, according to prosecutors.
Banfield allegedly enlisted Peres Magalhaes in the scheme by having her call Ryan to confirm the details of his supposed meeting with Christine Banfield, according to an official statement submitted to the court by prosecutors.
“At various points before the 24th Peres Magalhaes expressed to Brendan Banfield that she did not believe he would go through with this plan and, at other times she told him she did not want to continue but he insisted that it was too late for her to back out,” prosecutors wrote.
According to the Fairfax County Police Department, Banfield allegedly told a dispatcher that he shot Ryan in self defense after he came home and encountered Ryan attacking Christine Banfield with a knife. Peres Magalhaes reportedly admitted to investigators that she fired a second shot at Ryan, killing him.
Christine Banfield later succumbed to her injuries from the stabbing at a local hospital, police said.
Peres Magalhaes’s sentencing has been tentatively scheduled for March 21, although it’s likely to be continued until after court proceedings against Brendan Banfield. Because she’s not a U.S. citizen, Peres Magalhaes may also face deportation to her native Brazil.
If Circuit Court Judge Penney Azcarate rejects the plea deal, Peres Magalhaes could face up to 10 years in prison for the manslaughter charge.
Banfield was indicted last month on four counts of aggravated murder and one count of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. His trial is currently scheduled to begin on Feb. 3, 2025, lasting an estimated four weeks.
