A Virginia man accused of killing his wife and another man at his Fairfax County home is facing additional charges.
Prosecutors said newly discovered findings related to Banfield’s actions on Feb. 24, 2023, provide grounds for the additional charges because Banfield’s then-4-year-old daughter was in the house at the time of the killings.
2023 Killings
Prosecutors allege that Banfield began an affair with the family’s live-in au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, in August, 2022, and that he told her that he wanted to get rid of his wife. Soon after, he conspired with Magalhães to kill his wife, according to a probation document shared by WJLA.Banfield allegedly created an account on an adult website to communicate with other users before he “settled” on Ryan and lured him to the family home. Ryan was allegedly enticed to the house under the guise of meeting Christine Banfield to have a consensual encounter, the probation document says.
Prosecutors claim that on the day of the killings, Ryan arrived at the house, after which Banfield and Magalhães entered the bedroom. It was there that Banfield shot Ryan in the head before stabbing his wife, the document states.
Magalhães called 911 and reported that Ms. Banfield had been hurt, according to the probation document. A man later identified as Banfield stated to dispatchers on the call that he had shot an unknown man who had entered his home because the man had stabbed a woman, authorities said.
Officers arrived at the scene and discovered Christine Banfield in an upstairs bedroom suffering from stab wounds to the upper body, and Ryan with gunshot wounds to the upper body. Christine Banfield was transported to a hospital where she later died, while Ryan was declared dead at the scene.
In an interview with police, Magalhães later admitted to shooting Ryan once after Banfield had shot him in the head.
Initially, the 24-year-old au pair was arrested in Oct. 2023 on charges of second-degree murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony for the death of Ryan. A year later, on Oct. 29, 2024, Magalhães pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter and is in custody awaiting her sentencing date, which has been set for March 21, 2025.
Banfield’s trial date is currently set for Feb. 3, 2025.
