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Jurors resumed deliberations Monday morning in the trial of Brendan Banfield, the former IRS law enforcement officer accused of killing his wife and another man inside his Herndon home in 2023.
The 12-member Fairfax County jury began deliberating midday Friday and returned to closed-door discussions at 10 a.m. Monday. Banfield has pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors allege Banfield and the family’s Brazilian au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, were having an affair and devised an elaborate plot to kill Christine Banfield while framing Joseph Ryan for her death.
According to the prosecution, Banfield created online accounts impersonating his wife and used a fetish website to lure Ryan to the home. Ryan allegedly believed he was arriving for a consensual but violent sexual encounter with Christine Banfield.
Prosecutor Jenna Sands told jurors that Banfield and Magalhães shot Ryan after getting him inside. Sands alleged that Banfield then stabbed his wife, allowed her to bleed to death and transferred her blood onto Ryan’s body to make it appear that Ryan had attacked her before police were called.
Magalhães testified that Banfield shot Ryan in the head and that she shot Ryan in the chest. Initially charged with Ryan’s murder, she later pleaded guilty to manslaughter and testified for the prosecution under an agreement calling for a sentence of time served.
Defense attorney John Carroll argued that Magalhães fabricated the account prosecutors wanted in exchange for favorable treatment. He said the prosecution failed to corroborate its claim that fake online accounts were used to lure Ryan into the house.
Carroll also emphasized that Banfield’s DNA was not found on the knife used to kill Christine Banfield. He argued that the person who brought the knife into the house was responsible for the stabbing.
The defense further accused prosecutors of avoiding testimony from Fairfax County police investigators whose findings about blood and digital evidence allegedly conflicted with the state’s theory. Carroll asked jurors to reject what he characterized as a manipulated investigation and acquit Banfield on every charge.
In rebuttal, Sands challenged the defense account that Banfield and Magalhães interrupted a home invasion. She argued that if that version were true, Magalhães would also have been innocent rather than pleading guilty to manslaughter. Sands urged jurors to decide whether the evidence more strongly supported Magalhães’ testimony or Banfield’s account.
Christine Banfield and Ryan were killed on Feb. 24, 2023. Banfield’s 4-year-old child was home at the time, resulting in a child-endangerment charge. Banfield also faces a charge of using a firearm in the commission of a felony.
The two aggravated murder counts present jurors with different legal theories. One alleges that Banfield killed Ryan and Christine Banfield as part of the same act. The other alleges that he killed two people within a three-year period.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed Friday that jurors would not be permitted to consider less serious homicide charges. That leaves an all-or-nothing decision on each aggravated murder count. A conviction on either could bring life in prison without the possibility of parole.