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BREAKING: Herndon’s Brendan Banfield found guilty of murdering wife, another man

Published February 2, 2026 at 5:15PM | Updated February 2, 2026 at 7:37PM

Brendan Banfield, pictured during trial on Jan. 30, 2026 (screenshot via CourtTV)

A Herndon man faces life in prison after being convicted today (Monday) of murdering his wife and another man while having an affair with the family’s au pair.

After a trial that spanned more than two weeks, it took just one-and-a-half days for the 12-person jury to return a verdict against Brendan Banfield, finding the 40-year-old former IRS officer guilty for the February 2023 murders of Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan.

News

Jury in Herndon ‘au pair affair’ double murder must now decide husband’s guilt

By Associated Press

Published January 30, 2026 at 3:50PM

Brendan Banfield arrives to testify in his double murder trial in Fairfax County Circuit Court, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Fairfax, Va. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner, Pool)

By OLIVIA DIAZ and TRAVIS LOLLER Associated Press

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — Jurors began deliberating Friday on whether a former IRS law enforcement officer in Virginia conspired with his family’s Brazilian au pair, with whom he was having an affair, to kill his wife and pin it on a stranger.

News

Herndon double murder suspect testifies man he shot was stabbing his wife

By Associated Press

Published January 30, 2026 at 9:15AM | Updated January 30, 2026 at 4:02PM

Brendan Banfield looks on during his double murder trial in Fairfax County Circuit Court, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Fairfax, Va. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner, Pool)

By OLIVIA DIAZ Associated Press/Report for America

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — In the cold formality of a northern Virginia courtroom, Brendan Banfield testified on Thursday that prosecutors got it wrong: He did not fatally stab his wife in 2023, but instead shot the man who did.

Countywide

Partial federal shutdown seems increasingly likely as Democrats demand ICE changes

By Associated Press

Published January 28, 2026 at 4:30PM | Updated January 28, 2026 at 7:43PM

A demonstrator holds a sign during a rally outside of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

By MARY CLARE JALONICK and KEVIN FREKING Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — As a partial government shutdown looms at week’s end, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer has laid out a list of demands for the Department of Homeland Security, including an enforceable code of conduct for federal agents conducting immigration arrests and a requirement that they identify themselves to the public.

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Virginia Democrats to appeal after judge rules redistricting resolution illegal

By Angela Woolsey and Associated Press

Published January 27, 2026 at 5:20PM

FILE - The state and U.S. flags fly over the Virginia State Capitol as the 2024 session of the Virginia General Assembly gets underway, Jan. 10, 2024, in Richmond, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

A Virginia judge ruled Tuesday that a proposed constitutional amendment letting Democrats redraw the state’s Congressional maps was illegal, potentially foiling their efforts to pick up seats in the U.S. House in November.

Tazewell Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley Jr. struck down the legislature’s actions on three grounds, ruling that lawmakers failed to follow their own rules for adding the redistricting amendment to a special session; failed to approve the amendment before the public began voting in last year’s general election; and failed to publish the amendment three months before the election, as required by law.

News

JUST IN: All Amazon Fresh stores to close, with some turning into Whole Foods

By Angela Woolsey and Associated Press

Published January 27, 2026 at 1:10PM

Amazon Fresh store in Lorton Marketplace Shopping Center (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Amazon is throwing in the towel on Amazon Fresh, announcing today (Tuesday) that it will close all locations in favor of a renewed focus on Whole Foods Market and other concepts.

The last day of operation for Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go stores is Feb. 1, with the exception of its California locations, which will remain open longer to comply with state requirements, Amazon said.

Countywide

Fairfax’s initial snow totals from Sunday fall short of January 2025 storm

By Angela Woolsey and Associated Press

Published January 26, 2026 at 3:45PM | Updated January 26, 2026 at 4:51PM

Preliminary snowfall totals for D.C. region from Winter Storm Fern on Jan. 25, 2026 (via National Weather Service)

Though it ground most activity in the D.C. region to a halt yesterday (Sunday), Winter Storm Fern ultimately came up short of last year’s biggest winter event in terms of total snowfall.

The storm dumped between 5.5 inches and 8.5 inches of snow and sleet on different parts of Fairfax County, according to unofficial measurements taken by National Weather Service staff and trained spotters.

Countywide

Sewage spill in Potomac River not affecting Fairfax Water supply, utility says

By Emily Leayman and Associated Press

Published January 26, 2026 at 2:45PM

A warning sign at the site of a massive pipe rupture, as sewage flows into the Potomac River, right, in Glen Echo, Md., Friday, Jan. 23, 2026 (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

A sewage spill in the Potomac River northwest of D.C. last week has not affected drinking water in Fairfax County, the local water utility says.

The spill occurred in Montgomery County, Maryland, along Clara Barton Parkway, which hugs the northern edge of the Potomac River near Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historic Park. The spill was caused by a DC Water sewer pipe that collapsed late Monday, Jan. 19, shooting sewage out of the ground and into the river.

News

Led by Fairfax’s Ilia Malinin, figure skaters push limits of human performance

By Associated Press

Published January 16, 2026 at 2:45PM

Ilia Malinin competes during the men's short program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Sports Writer

It was at a relatively minor event in upstate New York in September 2022 that Ilia Malinin, the self-anointed “Quad God” who was fast becoming the biggest name in figure skating, finally landed the jump that so many people had thought impossible.

News

Au pair testifies against Brendan Banfield in Herndon double murder trial

By Emily Leayman and Associated Press

Published January 14, 2026 at 8:30AM | Updated January 14, 2026 at 7:25PM

Juliana Peres Magalhães is escorted into the courtroom before continuing her testimony, during the double murder trial for Brendan Banfield in Fairfax County Circuit Court, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Fairfax, Va. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner, Pool)

On the second day of Brendan Banfield’s trial for the February 2023 killings of his wife and another man at a Herndon-area home, the woman originally accused of fatally shooting the man testified against her alleged former lover in Fairfax County court.

Juliana Peres Magalhaes, who was employed by the Banfield family as an au pair, testified following opening arguments yesterday (Tuesday) in Fairfax County Circuit Court with Judge Penney Azcarate presiding. Brendan Banfield is facing seven felony charges — including four counts of aggravated murder — in relation to the killings of 37-year-old Christine Banfield and 39-year-old Joseph Ryan.