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Au pair testifies against Brendan Banfield in Herndon double murder trial

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.

News

Tysons man sentenced for fraud after $1M luxury watch scheme

By Jared Serre

Published January 12, 2026 at 1:45PM

A Rolex watch (photo via Daniel Hay on Unsplash)

A Tysons man will spend nearly two years in prison for fraudulently claiming that he didn’t receive more than $1 million in luxury watches he had ordered, when he was actually attempting to resell them for profit.

Jaivin Raj Karnani, 45, was sentenced Thursday (Jan. 8) to one year and nine months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of mail fraud, announced federal prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

News

Trial begins against husband charged with Herndon double homicide

By Associated Press and Angela Woolsey

Published January 12, 2026 at 11:45AM

A framed photo of Brendan Banfield and Juliana Peres Magalhães on his bedside table in Herndon, provided by police as evidence in their murder case against him (courtesy Fairfax County Police Department via AP, FILE)

Jury selection began this morning (Monday) in the postponed trial against a Herndon man accused by prosecutors of concocting a scheme with his family’s au pair to frame a stranger in the fatal stabbing of his wife.

Brendan Banfield is charged with aggravated murder in the February 2023 killings of Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan at the Banfields’ home in northern Virginia. He has pleaded not guilty in the case.

Around Town

Compass Coffee in West Falls Church could shutter after bankruptcy

By Jared Serre

Published January 8, 2026 at 10:00AM

Compass Coffee located in West Falls Church (staff photo by Jared Serre)

A Compass Coffee location in West Falls Church is one of 10 coffeehouses that could close after the D.C.-based chain filed for bankruptcy this week, according to court documents.

The store located in the Shops at West Falls Church (7393 Route 29) is one of two Virginia cafes that “are unprofitable and provide no benefit,” the coffee chain — seeking to reject the cafe’s lease — alleged in federal court.

News

DOJ alleges McLean man texted death threat to federal employee

By Angela Woolsey

Published December 30, 2025 at 1:30PM

The Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse in Alexandria (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

A McLean man is facing federal prosecution after allegedly threatening a federal employee via a Google Voice text message.

The Justice Department charged Scott Allen Bolger, 33, last Friday (Dec. 26) with sending threats across state lines and making false statements when questioned by investigators, according to a press release and court documents.

News

Man accused of Reston murder now also faces federal charge

By Angela Woolsey

Published December 29, 2025 at 12:30PM

Marvin Fernando Morales Ortez and the firearm allegedly used in the Dec. 17, 2025 fatal shooting of Marvin Ernesto Morales in Reston (photos via FCPD/X)

The federal government is now leveling its own criminal charge against the man accused of a recent murder in Reston.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia has charged 23-year-old Marvin Fernando Morales Ortez with possessing a firearm as someone who is “illegally” present in the U.S.

News

JUST IN: Temporary Annandale immigration court judge fired after defying Trump deportation push

By Associated Press

Published December 19, 2025 at 12:40PM | Updated December 19, 2025 at 1:54PM

The Annandale Immigration Court is housed in an office building at 7619 Little River Turnpike (staff photo by Jared Serre)

By JOSHUA GOODMAN Associated Press

MIAMI (AP) — A U.S. Army Reserve lawyer detailed as a federal immigration judge has been fired barely a month into the job after granting asylum at a high rate out of step with the Trump administration’s mass deportation goals, The Associated Press has learned.

News

Man charged with murder for fatal Reston shooting

By Jared Serre

Published December 19, 2025 at 9:20AM | Updated December 19, 2025 at 10:26AM

Marvin Fernando Morales Ortez and the firearm allegedly used in the Dec. 17, 2025 fatal shooting of Marvin Ernesto Morales in Reston (photos via FCPD/X)

A Reston man was released from the custody of the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday (Dec. 17) less than 24 hours before allegedly killing another man, police said.

After a nearly two-hour manhunt, 23-year-old Marvin Fernando Morales-Ortez was arrested Wednesday afternoon and charged with one count of second degree murder — a felony that carries a maximum of 40 years in prison.

News

Vienna man convicted of killing girlfriend on Burke Lake Park camping trip

By Jared Serre

Published December 8, 2025 at 4:45PM

Fairfax County Courthouse (staff photo by James Jarvis)

A Vienna man was convicted today (Monday) of murdering his girlfriend while camping in Burke Lake Park in 2023.

Rami El-Sayed, 36, was convicted on one count each of first-degree murder and concealment of a dead body, the Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office announced.

Countywide

FCPS opts to resolve student’s lawsuit over gender identity policies

By Angela Woolsey

Published December 4, 2025 at 10:00AM

Sign for a girl's restroom in a Fairfax County school (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Fairfax County Public Schools has decided to resolve a former student’s lawsuit challenging its policies supporting transgender students before it can reach trial.

The now-graduated student, identified as Jane Doe and represented by the right-wing organization America First Legal, recently accepted the Fairfax County School Board’s offer of a judgment that includes $50 and compensation for legal fees, according to court documents.