Virginia man faces sentencing for double murder scheme in affair with Brazilian au pair

Brendan Banfield faces the possibility of life in prison. In addition to murder, jurors in February convicted Banfield of child endangerment because the couple’s 4-year-old daughter was home during the killings.

During Banfield's trial, Magalhães testified that he had told her he wanted to marry her and have children with her, but he needed to “get rid of” his wife first. He didn’t want a divorce because “she would have more money than he would” and because he wanted custody of the couple’s daughter, said Magalhães, who was 21 when she started working for the Banfields in 2021.

Magalhães told jurors that she and Brendan Banfield had impersonated Christine Banfield on a website for sexual fetishes. They used the site to lure Ryan to the house in Herndon, Virginia, for a sexual encounter involving a knife and staged the scene to look as though they had shot a violent intruder.

Magalhães testified that on the day of the killings, she waited in a car outside the house with the Banfields' child. When Ryan arrived, she called Brendan Banfield, who was waiting at a nearby McDonald's. The pair took the child to the basement and then went to the bedroom, where they encountered Ryan. Brendan Banfield shot Ryan and then stabbed Christine Banfield with the knife Ryan had brought. When Magalhães saw Ryan moving, she fired a second shot that killed him.

Some media have dubbed the case the “au pair affair.” Magalhães pleaded guilty to manslaughter after agreeing to testify against Brendan Banfield. Magalhães was sentenced to 10 years in prison after Banfield's trial.