Kriti Mehrotra
When Christine Banfield was killed inside her suburban Virginia home in February 2023, it left the community shaken, as explored in ABC’s ’20/20: The Au Pair, the Affair, and Murder.’ The 37-year-old mother of one was found dead inside an upstairs bedroom alongside the remains of a man named Joseph Ryan, which initially gave rise to numerous speculations. However, it soon became evident that they were both victims of a planned scheme that paved the way for the arrest and conviction of two individuals.
Christine Banfield Was Fatally Stabbed in Her Bedroom
A native of New York born in 1985, Christine Ann Benson Banfield was the apple of her family’s eyes as they had quickly realized that her candor, care, and compassion knew no bounds. That’s despite her having health issues throughout her early years, according to her father, Gary Benson, with a blood disorder resulting in her experiencing frequent bruising and nosebleeds. She thus had to take several precautions growing up, which ultimately inspired her to pursue a career in the medical industry and enroll at Quinnipiac University for a nursing degree.
Christine worked hard over the years to evolve into a Pediatric Intensive Care Nurse, a position she proudly held by the early 2020s. According to her loved ones, she was an unwaveringly devoted family woman as well. She spent most of her free time with her husband, Brendan Banfield, and their adorable daughter, Valeria Ava Banfield. She had tied the knot with the man she believed to be her forever in 2010 and welcomed their little girl in 2018, shortly before they decided to relocate to Virginia in 2019 for better opportunities.
The Banfields settled into a beautiful suburban home on the 13200 block of Stable Brook Way in Reston, Virginia, where Christine was found dead on February 24, 2023. Two 911 calls were made on the fateful morning – one by Brendan and another by the family’s au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, claiming that a stranger had attacked the 37-year-old in her bedroom. When officials arrived at the scene, they rushed the mother of one to a nearby hospital as she had multiple stab wounds across her upper body, but to no avail. She died from her extensive injuries.
Christine Banfield Was Targeted By Two People She Trusted Most
The moment first responders stepped into the scene, they knew something had gone terribly wrong as they saw two unconscious individuals as well as blood spatter across the room. As per police records, Brendan was also inside the room, reportedly on top of his wife of 13 years and putting pressure on her neck wounds to allegedly stop her significant blood loss until help arrived. It was only when Christine was transported to the local hospital, and the still unidentified man was declared dead, that officials got a clear statement from the only other two adults in the house.
According to records, Christine and Brendan’s 4-year-old daughter was also at home, but she was unharmed in the basement throughout the time of the murder in the upstairs bedroom. There were also no signs of a forced entry, which is why detectives immediately flagged it when the IRS agent and Juliana told them the strange man had broken in and suddenly attacked the mother with a knife. They then asserted that they had both shot the man in self-defense, clarifying that Brendan had fired the first shot, whereas the au pair had fired the second and final shot. However, things changed when investigators began looking deeper into the matter as they uncovered that Brendan and Juliana had been having an affair since August 2022, not long after she became the family’s au pair.
As if that’s not enough, with the second victim having been identified as 39-year-old Joseph Ryan, who seemed to have no prior criminal record or connection to the Banfields, his death was also investigated. That’s when officials realized that the physical and digital evidence contradicted the duo’s statements, and with Juliana having fired the second, fatal shot, she was arrested for second-degree murder and firearm offenses in October 2023. It was almost a year later that she came to the officials and admitted that the entire ordeal had been planned by her and Brendan, claiming they wanted to be together, but he didn’t want to file for divorce owing to financial and custodial reasons.
Christine Banfield’s Assailants Were Convicted Less Than Three Years Later
When Juliana finally came forward with the truth, what unraveled was a complex web of lies and deceit. Investigators had long had their suspicions owing to the evidence they had uncovered about her affair with Brendan, but the details of their orchestration for homicide were unclear to them. According to records, Brendan and Juliana had essentially led a double life: employer-employee at home, but a couple outside, complete with dinner outings and romantic getaways to places like New York. Therefore, as per Juliana’s claims, when they became serious, she asked whether he was planning to leave his wife to be with her. She claimed she had always suggested divorce.
However, Juliana told officials that Brendan didn’t want to go down that route, claiming he didn’t want to compromise on the custody of their daughter or their financial wealth. He then began talking about “getting rid” of his wife, as per prosecutors. Per Juliana’s testimony, they discussed staging a scenario wherein they hoped to frame someone else for her murder. According to court records, Brendan created a fake account on a fetish website under his wife’s name. During the trial, prosecutors alleged and reportedly showed evidence that he messaged people under the pretense of Christine wanting to participate in consensual-non-consent roleplay. Investigators testified that that’s where he came across Joseph Ryan and called him to the home on the fateful morning, allegedly asking him to bring his knife for the roleplay by giving “consent” as Christine.
As per court records, Brendan and Juliana then carried out their plan, with the former stabbing his wife before they killed Joseph and called 911 separately to make it seem like they shot him in self-defense. In the month preceding the ordeal, he had reportedly bought a gun and taught Juliana how to shoot it by taking her to different shooting ranges. He was arrested in September 2024 and held without bail as he was considered a flight risk, less than a month after which Juliana pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in Joseph’s killing. Brendan stood trial in early 2026. With Juliana’s testimony, he was convicted as charged on February 2. He was found guilty 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 for the commission of a felony with a minor in close proximity.
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