Virginia husband charged with murder of wife, another man nearly a year after au pair was indicted

A Virginia man has been charged in the killings of his wife and another man last year, authorities said Monday, nearly a year after the couple’s au pair was charged in connection with the double homicide.

Brendan Banfield, 39, has been charged with four counts of aggravated murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony in the Feb. 24, 2023, killings of Christine Banfield, 37, and Joseph Ryan, 39, Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano told reporters.

Brendan Banfield, who lived in the suburban northern Virginia home where his wife and Ryan were found dead, was arrested without incident, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said at the news conference.

It was not immediately clear whether he has a lawyer to speak on his behalf.

New information uncovered by police investigators was “instrumental” in obtaining the indictment, Descano said without providing further details.

Juliana Peres Magalhaes, the Banfields’ au pair, was charged in October with Ryan’s murder. It’s unclear whether she has pleaded guilty. Her attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday night.

Descano said Magalhaes’ trial is expected to begin in November.

Neither Davis nor Descano identified a possible motive in the killings. Davis declined to describe Ryan’s connection to the family.

At the time of the killings, authorities described the scene where Christine Banfield and Ryan were found in Reston, about 20 miles west of Washington, as “horrific.”

Christine Banfield was found fatally stabbed in an upstairs bedroom, the police department said in a news release at the time. Ryan, who had been fatally shot, was found nearby, the department said.

Magalhaes called 911 on the morning of Feb. 24 and said a friend had been shot, a police official told reporters. Brendan Banfield then picked up the phone and told a dispatcher that an “unknown male” had entered his home and shot them, the official said, referring to Brendan Banfield only as the victim’s husband.

Brendan Banfield was called to testify at a court hearing this year, but primarily invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when prosecutors questioned him, NBC Washington reported.