The Brazilian au pair mistress of a Virginia federal agent and father accused of killing his spouse described the twisted rape plot they allegedly hatched to attempt to body the slaying on one other man, as she took the stand Tuesday within the homicide trial.
Juliana Peres Magalhães, 25, advised the courtroom how she and married dad, Brendan Banfield, a former IRS particular agent, created a faux account on a fetish web site to discover a man they may pin the spouse’s homicide on, setting it up as a violent residence invasion, Fox Information reported.
Utilizing images of the tragic spouse and mother, Christine Banfield, the pair lured Joseph Ryan to the Banfield’s residence within the leafy suburb of Herndon, Virginia, in February 2023, Magalhães testified.
In opening statements, prosecutors mentioned Brendan posed as his spouse and gave Ryan particular directions detailing a violent rape fantasy to play out.
“Brendan created the narrative that Christine desperately wished to be raped. Posing as Christine, he advised Joe what to do: Come to the house,” prosecutor Jenna Sands advised the courtroom, Fox reported.
“The door will probably be unlocked. Christine will probably be asleep in mattress. Come straight upstairs, reduce off her clothes, tie her, rape her. Easy and enjoyable,” she mentioned.
On the morning of the alleged homicide, Magalhães sat in her automotive close to the house along with her boss’s daughter and waited for Ryan to reach.
When he arrived, the nanny known as Christine as a part of the alleged plot, figuring out that Brendan had turned off her telephone. She then known as her lover, who was ready in a close-by McDonald’s, and advised him there was an intruder within the residence, she testified.
Brendan quickly returned to the household residence, the place he and Magalhães allegedly left the Banfields’ younger lady within the basement whereas they went upstairs to the bed room — the place an unknowing Christine thought she was being attacked by Ryan.
Christine screamed that he had a knife, the nanny testified, and Brendan shot him along with his service weapon, in an alleged try and appear to be he had saved his spouse from an intruder.
“After I received to the bed room, Brendan yelled, ‘Police officer,’ and Christine’s first response – it was the primary time I heard her say something at that time – and he or she yelled again at Brendan, saying, ‘Brendan, he has a knife,’ and that’s when Brendan first shot Joe,” Magalhães advised the courtroom.
She then described how she lined her eyes and ears on the opposite aspect of the mattress, whereas Brendan allegedly climbed on prime of his spouse and stabbed her within the neck.
“I had put my palms on the carpet, and as quickly as I felt blood, I simply eliminated my palms from the carpet,” Magalhães mentioned, including that blood additionally soaked into her socks and footwear.
Brendan allegedly staged the crime scene to appear to be a house invasion gone unsuitable, whereas Magalhães known as 911 and advised cops Ryan stabbed Christine, prosecutors mentioned.
In the meantime, the daddy allegedly conspired to create an “alibi” by altering his routine within the weeks earlier than the murders, anticipating the investigation and guaranteeing he can be at a McDonald’s on the time of the staged break-in.
“[Brendan] knew that we would have liked to have some alibis. He knew that he wanted to vary his routine a number of weeks prior. So it wouldn’t be odd that he wasn’t, you realize, simply at McDonald’s on that day, particularly,” Magalhães testified.
Magalhães had earlier described how the couple turned intimate in August 2022.
“He talked about his plan to do away with [Christine]. Initially, he didn’t know what he would do. He simply talked about that he would give it some thought [and] let me know when he thought of it,” the nanny mentioned.
Banfield’s legal professional, John F. Carroll, didn’t reply instantly to requests for remark.
In courtroom on Tuesday, he advised the choose that Magalhães had been arrested in October 2023 purely to “flip her” towards his shopper.
The Brazilian nationwide pleaded responsible to manslaughter in October 2024 and will probably be sentenced after Brendan’s trial.
If discovered responsible, the previous IRS particular agent faces the opportunity of life in jail.
His trial is anticipated to final roughly 4 weeks.
