Brendan Banfield takes the stand to testify in his own defense at his double-murder trial

By Lauren del Valle, CNN

(CNN) — A Virginia man on trial for allegedly killing his wife and another man is now testifying about his side of the story.

Prosecutors say Brendan Banfield concocted an elaborate scheme to kill his wife, Christine Banfield, and another man, Joseph Ryan, in their family home in February 2023. He faces life in prison if convicted on aggravated murder charges.

Banfield has maintained his innocence, and his lawyer has accused prosecutors and investigators of manipulating evidence to suit their theory against his client. Now he’s on the stand addressing the jury in his defense.

Prosecutors put on a case over four days of testimony, telling the jury Banfield plotted with his family’s au pair to pose as his wife on a fetish website and lure Ryan to their home under the guise of having a consensual violent sexual encounter. Banfield was having an extramarital affair with the au pair at the time, prosecutors say.

The plan, according to prosecutors, was to frame Ryan for Christine Banfield’s death and make Ryan’s killing appear to be an act of self-defense.

When the incident first unfolded February 24, 2023, the au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, and Banfield called 911 to report the incident from the scene.

They told investigators Peres Magalhães saw Ryan enter the house early that morning and called Brendan Banfield, who rushed home to investigate. Banfield, who was an armed IRS investigator at the time, said he shot Ryan once in the head when he saw Ryan stabbing his wife in their bedroom. Peres Magalhães used Banfield’s personal firearm to shoot Ryan a second time.

When police officers arrived on the scene, they found Banfield kneeling over his wife’s body with his hands on her neck. He said he was applying pressure to her wounds to slow the bleeding, according to body-worn camera footage played in court.

Peres Magalhães was arrested for Ryan’s murder in October 2023, and a year later agreed to cooperate with prosecutors against Banfield in exchange for a recommendation that she be sentenced to time served. She testified at trial that the crime scene was actually staged by Banfield, who concocted the scheme to “get rid” of his wife.

Prosecutors have alleged Banfield moved Joseph Ryan’s body before police arrived, and, according to Peres Magalhães, she saw Banfield take handfuls of his wife’s blood and drip it on Ryan in an effort to frame him.

Brendan Banfield’s DNA was not found on the knife used to fatally stab Christine. Analysis only recovered DNA from Christine and Joseph Ryan, who prosecutors say brought the knife there at Brendan Banfield’s direction, posing as his wife.

Peres Magalhães, on the stand, acknowledged that she wants to get out of prison but also said the guilt and shame of hiding the truth weighed on her.

Banfield’s defense attorney has accused prosecutors of offering Peres Magalhães a way out of prison in exchange for a false story to pin the murders on Banfield.

Taking the stand comes with potential risks for Banfield. He’ll have to endure cross-examination from a prosecutor and the jury will get to weigh the credibility of his testimony, which will likely be at odds with that of Peres Magalhães.

Banfield was not arrested and charged with murder for his wife’s and Ryan’s deaths until September 2024.

Defense attorney John Carroll has also accused Fairfax County police of ignoring digital data recovered from Christine Banfield’s devices that he says disproves the theory that Banfield “catfished” Ryan, posing as his wife.

The defense called a digital forensics expert witness who told the jury that, based on his analysis, digital data from devices belonging to Christine Banfield, Brendan Banfield and Peres Magalhães does not support prosecutors’ catfishing theory.

Carroll also called several law enforcement witnesses to the stand to question the police investigation of the case.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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