A Brazilian au pair involved in a Virginia double-murder case took a plea deal Tuesday, cooperating with prosecutors as they prepare to go to trial against her former boss.
Juliana Peres Magalhaes, 24, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Joseph Ryan last year at the home where she worked for Brendan and Christine Banfield. Christine Banfield’s body was found in the home the same day with stab wounds, and she was declared dead at a hospital.
Brendan Banfield, 39, is charged with four counts of aggravated murder and one count of use of a firearm in commission of a felony in the deaths of both his wife and Ryan. His trial is set for February.
Peres Magalhaes, who faces up to 10 years in prison, is scheduled to be sentenced in March.
Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano announced the plea deal, calling it a "significant step forward in this case."
“Much of the information that led to this agreement cannot be made public at this time, due to the upcoming criminal trial against the other defendant in this matter," Descano said.
Peres Magalhaes called 911 on the morning of Feb 24, 2023, and reported that a friend was hurt, police have said. A man, later identified as Brendan Banfield, took the phone to tell the dispatcher “that an unknown male had entered his home and he had shot them," authorities said.
But investigators said they found no evidence of forced entry. Police described the scene at the home as "horrific" and "appalling."
Initially, Peres Magalhaes was arrested in October 2023 on charges of second-degree murder and use of a firearm in commission of a felony. Her plea deal downgrades the murder charge to manslaughter and drops the firearms charge.
Brendan Banfield was not charged until this September, when a grand jury indicted him.
He had been called to testify at a hearing in April, but according to NBC Washington, he declined to answer questions, citing his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
Officials laid out a theory in April that Peres Magalhaes and Brendan Banfield were having an affair and plotted to kill his wife to be together, NBC Washington reported at the time. Photos of the two together were found in the Banfields' bedroom, as well as the au pair's lingerie, prosecutors said at the time.
According to the theory, Ryan was contacted by someone purporting to be Christine Banfield through a fetish sex website.
Authorities have doubts it was actually her he was messaging, but those interactions are alleged to have led Ryan to the Banfields' home, where he was killed.
Peres Magalhaes and Brendan Banfield said Ryan attacked Peres Magalhaes, which led him to shoot Ryan in self-defense, according to NBC Washington.
Prosecutors said at the time that the two of them went to a shooting range together a couple of months before the murders and that Banfield had purchased a gun from the range.
According to NBC Washington, Peres Magalhaes told detectives that the first shot from Brendan Banfield didn't kill Ryan, so he told her to go get the gun purchased from the range. She did and then shot at Ryan a second time, the station reported authorities as saying.
An attorney for Brendan Banfield did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the plea deal Monday.
