2 Homicide Victims Identified; Husband, Au Pair Unhurt: Update

Updated 7:19 p.m.

HERNDON, VA — Fairfax County Police identified the two people who were killed in an early morning shooting and stabbing incident Friday at a home in the Herndon area of Fairfax County, but said who inflicted their fatal wounds is unclear.

Officers responded around 8:03 a.m. to the report of a man who was shot and a woman who had been stabbed at a home at 13230 Stable Brook Way, Chief Kevin Davis told reporters on Friday morning.

"They found a man shot inside the home, who was deceased," Davis said. "The woman who had been stabbed was still alive. She was transported to a local hospital, and she died in the hospital."

Around 5 p.m. Davis provided an update in which he identified the dead man as 39-year-old Joseph Nathan Ryan and the woman as 37-year-old Christine Ann Banfield.

Davis described the two other adults in the home as Banfield's husband and an au pair who lived in the home. A 4-year-old resident was home when the shooting occurred and she is safe, according to Davis.

The 38-year-old husband was treated at an area hospital for a minor injury to his leg and has elected not to answer questions from the Fairfax County detectives, Davis said. The 22-year-old au pair was speaking to detectives.

"We gave the husband an opportunity to talk about the death of his wife and he declined to do that," Davis said, adding that the husband is not a suspect nor has he been charged.

At 7:49 a.m., police received an open line hang-up call from what was determined to be the au pair's cellphone. Davis explained that dispatchers were unable to ascertain the exact address from the hangup call. About 13 minutes later, police received another call from the same cellphone.

"The husband and the au pair communicate with the 911 call taker," Davis said. "The husband tells the 911 call taker that he just shot a man inside of his home. And the husband tells the 911 call taker that the man who he had just shot had stabbed his wife."

Once police reached the home, Ryan was pronounced dead on the scene and Banfield was taken to Reston Hospital Center, where she was later pronounced dead, according to Davis.

"We still have a lot of work to do to identify who exactly shot and killed our male descendent, Joseph Ryan, and who exactly stabbed Christine Banfield to death," he said.

There were no signs of a forced entry and police are working to determine the nature of Ryan's presence in the home.

"We believe that all the persons responsible for what happened here today are known to us and were inside the home," Davis said. "Again, two inside the home were dead and the other two persons were present."

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the police tip line at 1-866-441-TIPS.

Officers are in the 13200 block of Stable Brook Wy in Reston for a shooting. Prelim, a woman was inside a home when she was stabbed. An occupant shot the suspect. One person declared deceased. One taken to hospital w/life-threatening injuries. All parties accounted for. #FCPD pic.twitter.com/TnZBFmTcDz
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) February 24, 2023