Brendan Banfield To Be Sentenced Friday In Fairfax ‘Au Pair Affair’ Murders

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — Brendan Banfield, the former IRS agent convicted of killing his wife and another man in a plot involving his former au pair lover, is scheduled to be sentenced Friday morning in Fairfax County Circuit Court.

Banfield’s sentencing is set for 11 a.m. before Chief Judge Penney Azcarate. The hearing comes one day after Azcarate denied a motion by Banfield’s attorneys to set aside the verdict, according to the Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.

“I am gratified that Judge Azcarate upheld the jury’s verdict,” Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said in a statement Thursday. “Defense’s claims of error were not supported by law and the Judge ruled accordingly. Sentencing Friday will be an opportunity for the defendant to finally face judgment for his crimes.”

Banfield was convicted in February of two counts of aggravated murder, one count of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and one count of child endangerment in the Feb. 24, 2023, deaths of Christine Banfield, 37, and Joseph Ryan, 39, at the Banfield family’s home in Reston’s Hattontown neighborhood.

Because of the aggravated murder convictions, Banfield faces a mandatory life sentence.

Banfield’s sentencing had originally been scheduled for May 8, but was delayed after his attorneys filed the motion asking the court to set aside the verdict.

Au Pair Murders Draw National Attention

A Fairfax County jury found Banfield guilty Feb. 2 after a trial that drew national attention because of the details of the alleged plot, including an affair between Banfield and Magalhaes, the use of a fetish website and prosecutors’ allegations that the crime scene was staged to make Ryan appear to be an intruder.

Jurors deliberated for several hours on a Friday before returning the following Monday and announcing the verdict shortly after 5 p.m.

During closing arguments, prosecutors said Banfield and Magalhaes lured Ryan to the Banfield home by posing as Christine Banfield on a fetish website. Ryan believed he was going to the home for a consensual sexual encounter, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said Banfield shot Ryan in the bedroom, stabbed Christine Banfield and then manipulated the scene to make it appear that Ryan had attacked her. Magalhaes also shot Ryan, according to prosecutors.

“They got Joe Ryan into the house, and then they shot him,” prosecutor Jenna Sands told jurors during closing arguments. “Brendan stabbed Christine, let her bleed out on the floor, and then dripped, smeared and wiped her blood on Joseph Ryan’s body to make it look like he had attacked Christine. Then they called the police.”

Banfield testified in his own defense during the trial and denied making any plan with Magalhaes to kill his wife.

“I think that it’s an absurd line of questioning for something that is not serious, that a plan was made to get rid of my wife,” Banfield testified, according to previous Patch reporting. “That is absolutely crazy.”

Magalhaes testified during Banfield’s trial as part of a plea agreement. She told jurors she began working as the Banfields’ au pair in October 2021, when she was 21, and that she and Banfield began a sexual relationship about 10 months later.

She testified that Banfield told her he wanted to marry her and have children with her, but that he needed to “get rid of” his wife first. Magalhaes said Banfield did not want to divorce Christine Banfield because he feared she would have more money and because he wanted custody of the couple’s 4-year-old daughter.

Magalhaes pleaded guilty in October 2024 to one count of manslaughter in Ryan’s death. Prosecutors had agreed to recommend a sentence of time served in exchange for her cooperation, but Azcarate rejected that recommendation in February and sentenced Magalhaes to 10 years in prison, the maximum sentence for the charge.

Also See ...

• Brendan Banfield's Attorneys Want Verdict Set Aside In Au Pair Affair Case
• Brendan Banfield Found Guilty Of Murder In Au Pair Affair Trial
• Au Pair 'Wanted The Truth To Come Out' About Ex-Lover, 2023 Homicide
• Banfield Bought Gun A Month Before Wife's Grisly Murder, Witness Says
• Au Pair Reveals New Grisly Details Of Herndon Double Murder

The killings were reported the morning of Feb. 24, 2023. Police found Christine Banfield suffering from stab wounds to her upper body and Ryan suffering from gunshot wounds. Christine Banfield was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Ryan died at the scene.

According to the Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, Banfield and Magalhaes created an account on FetLife in January 2023 while posing as Christine Banfield. Prosecutors said the two used Christine Banfield’s computer to message potential matches until they identified Ryan, who lived in Springfield.

Prosecutors said Ryan was asked to bring a knife to the home as part of what he believed was a consensual sexual encounter. In the months before the killings, prosecutors said Banfield took Magalhaes to a shooting range, bought a gun and exchanged phones with her.

On the morning of the killings, prosecutors said Banfield left the home shortly after 7 a.m. and Magalhaes left around the same time, saying she was taking the couple’s daughter to the zoo. Instead, prosecutors said, she waited nearby until Ryan arrived and then called Banfield, who was waiting at a nearby McDonald’s.

Prosecutors said Banfield and Magalhaes entered the home, leaving the child in the basement, and confronted Ryan and Christine Banfield in the bedroom. Banfield, who was a law enforcement agent with the IRS, shot Ryan in the head with his service weapon, prosecutors said. Magalhaes shot Ryan in the chest with another gun, and Banfield stabbed Christine Banfield in the neck seven times with the knife Ryan had brought to the home, prosecutors said.

Banfield was arrested Sept. 16, 2024, after a 19-month investigation.

Friday’s hearing is expected to include victim impact statements before Azcarate imposes Banfield’s sentence.