Attorney hammers au pair over inability to remember details in double murder case

FAIRFAX, Va. (CN) — With downcast eyes and slow, crackling speech, 25-year-old Juliana Peres Magalhães took the witness stand for a second day Wednesday, this time to proclaim her desire to let the truth out about the brutal killings that resulted in the ongoing trial of her onetime lover, Brendan Banfield, 40.

“I withheld the truth for a long time, just for myself. It was too much for me. There is only so much your brain can take,” she testified during the trial presided over by Penney S. Azcarate, chief judge of the circuit court in Fairfax County, Virginia.

Magalhães, an au pair from Brazil, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter for her part in the case. She has testified that Banfield cooked up a plan to lure Joseph Ryan, 39, to the house using a fetish website to create an alibi for the murder of his wife, Christine Banfield, a pediatric ICU nurse.

Banfield, an IRS investigator, faces charges of aggravated murder and child abuse stemming from the presence of his then 4-year-old daughter the day of the crime. He faces the possibility of life in prison.

Magalhães is a key witness, having agreed to give testimony for the prosecution. But under cross examination from John F. Carroll, Banfield’s attorney, she was unsure about the timing of events and had trouble independently remembering details about letters she’d received or sent while in jail.

She explained that she had “blocked out” some details of the case. “The brain has a way of protecting you,” she said.

“So, your brain blocked out the details of this plan that essentially your future depends upon,” Carroll remarked.

He also asked her about plans to do a Netflix interview for a program about the case — and the possibility of payment. In a message to a family member, she wrote, “We do deserve something.”

“Just give the details as to why you think you deserve something,” Carroll said. “You were charged with murder because you shot someone. Am I wrong?”

“No you’re not,” she responded.

Magalhães said that she is thinking of her family.

“I didn’t say I deserved something because of what I did,” she said.

In her testimony, Magalhães recalled that she and Banfield commenced an affair soon after she took the au pair job. She said Banfield wanted to end his marriage but didn’t want the expense of a divorce or the hassle of sharing custody of the child. Using a fetish website, she said he posed as his wife and invited Ryan — a stranger — to the house for a rape fantasy.

Soon after Ryan’s arrival on Feb. 24, 2023, Banfield confronted him, shooting him in the head before stabbing his wife to death, according to Magalhães. When Banfield saw Ryan move, he directed Magalhães to shoot the man again, she said.

Banfield contends that he arrived home and confronted Ryan in the bedroom. In his version of events, Ryan stabbed Christine Banfield.

Throughout the second day of the trial, Carroll pointed to messages and texts indicating Magalhães’ desperation and growing frustration with her lawyer since her Oct. 19, 2023, arrest. She was the first suspect in the case, arrested nearly a year before Banfield.