Sentencing For Ex-Au Pair In Double Homicide Delayed

HERNDON, VA — Juliana Peres Magalhaes, the former au pair who pleaded guilty last October to one count of manslaughter in the death of 39-year-old Joseph Ryan of Springfield, has a new sentencing date.

Peres Magalhaes had been charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Ryan and Christine Banfield on Feb. 24, 2023. On Oct. 29, 2024, a Fairfax County Circuit Court judge accepted the former au pair’s guilty plea to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Originally, Peres Magalhaes was scheduled to be sentenced on March 21, 2025, but her sentencing date has been rescheduled for Dec. 19, according to court documents.

Christine Banfield's husband, Brandon Banfield, and Peres Magalhaes, the family au pair, were involved in a romantic relationship at the time of the murder, prosecutors have said

Related: Au Pair Pleads Guilty To Manslaughter In Herndon Killing: Reports

The killings happened at a home in the 13200 block of Stable Brook Way in the Hattontown neighborhood in the Herndon area. At the scene, police found Christine Banfield with upper-body stab wounds and Ryan suffering from upper body gunshot wounds.

Banfield was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead, while Ryan died at the scene.

A 4-year-old girl was home when the shooting occurred and was not hurt, police said.

Although Peres Magalhaes faces up to 10 years in prison for the manslaughter charge, Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano asked the judge to cap her sentence as time served. In order to assure her cooperation, he also requested that the sentencing be scheduled after the outcome of Brendan Banfield’s case.

Brendan Banfield’s original trial date was set for Feb. 3, 2025, but in January, the judge rescheduled it for Oct. 20.

Related: New Trial Date For Reston Man Charged With Wife's Death In 2023 Au Pair Murder Case

On Sept. 17, 2024, Descano and Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said Banfield had been charged with four counts of aggravated murder in connection with the 2023 killings of his wife and Ryan. He faces a life sentence for each of the charges.

At a news briefing after the killings, Davis said Peres Magalhaes and Banfield’s husband both called 911. The husband had told a 911 dispatcher he shot a man who had entered the home and stabbed Banfield.

Once the all-clear signal was given, Peres Magalhaes went upstairs to grab some things from her bedroom and led police to the basement floor, according to the video. Officers found Banfield’s daughter waiting downstairs with her jacket zipped up and a backpack over her shoulders.

A framed photograph of both Brendan Banfield and Peres Magalhaes smiling was found on the nightstand in the master bedroom. Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Eric Clingan said in court that Brendan Banfield and Peres Magalhaes started a relationship, and he confided in her his desire to kill his wife, according to The Washington Post.

The pair then opened an account on a sexual fetish website, prosecutors said. That’s where they found Ryan and developed a plan to use him as the purported killer of Christine Banfield.

In court, prosecutors said Peres Magalhaes had moved to Herndon from Brazil in order to work as an au pair for Banfield’s daughter.

On the morning of the killings, the au pair posed as Christine Banfield in a call to Ryan in order to lure him to their home. Once there, Ryan was shot by Brendan Banfield, prosecutors said, according to the Post’s reporting.

At first, Brendan Banfield and the au pair told police that Ryan had stabbed Christine Banfield, prosecutors said. When Brendan and the au pair entered the home, he shot and killed Ryan in the main bedroom, where his wife’s body was found, according to the Post.