News

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.


News

The Herndon man accused of killing his wife and another man while having an affair with their au pair denied planning to take his wife out of the picture in court yesterday (Wednesday).

Though Brendan Banfield was forthcoming about his months-long affair with co-defendant Juliana Peres Magalhaes, he firmly rejected the idea that he had planned the killing of his wife, Christine Banfield.


Countywide

Fairfax County Public Schools has once again canceled classes in the aftermath of Winter Storm Fern.

With an abundance of ice and frigid temperatures slowing road and sidewalk cleanups, FCPS announced that schools will be closed tomorrow (Wednesday), though this time, central administrative offices will open on a two-hour delay.


Countywide

Fairfax County government offices and schools will remain closed tomorrow (Tuesday), as work continues to clean up roads after yesterday’s Winter Storm Fern.

In addition to closing schools for a second day, Fairfax County Public Schools is canceling all activities on school grounds, including extracurricular programs, team practices, field trips, middle school after-school programs, and adult education classes.


Countywide

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger declared a State of Emergency today (Thursday), as the D.C. region steels for what could be its biggest snowstorm in years.

With the National Weather Service predicting significant snowfall starting Saturday night (Jan. 24), Spanberger and other state officials urged residents across the Commonwealth to make preparations now to stay at home throughout the weekend and potentially into the coming week.


News

The Dulles Corner office park near the Innovation Center Metro station could become one building smaller, if Fairfax County approves a recently submitted redevelopment proposal.

Developer Pulte Homes and property owner Finmarc Management are seeking to replace the four-story Park West building at 13880 Dulles Corner Lane with 145 townhomes, including 81 attached units and 64 stacked units.


News

Over the course of two years, only one restaurant participated in a pilot program that Herndon council members created with the hope of expanding outdoor dining options within the Town.

That lackluster response — followed by Mile 20’s decision not to obtain another permit in 2026 — led to council members’ unanimous agreement at a work session on Tuesday (Jan. 13) to let its “streetery” initiative expire.


News

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a rezoning proposal on Tuesday (Jan. 13) that will bring nearly 450 new residential units to a 12-acre site in the McNair Farms area near Herndon.

Dubbed Valley Drive Village, the project will replace two 25-year-old office buildings and surface parking in the Dulles Technology Center complex (13600 and 13650 Dulles Technology Drive), which is located within a half-mile of the Innovation Center Metro station.


News

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

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.


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