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Virginia suburb rocked by murders as prosecutors highlight key evidence

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Virginia prosecutors have listed blood as a key piece of evidence that led to the arrest of a former IRS agent in connection with the 2023 murders of his wife and an unidentified man in the idyllic Washington, D.C., suburb of Herndon. It is said to be based on droplet analysis. Up to the on-site report.

Brendan Banfield, her husband and father of their then-4-year-old daughter, and his family's then-22-year-old Brazilian au pair, Juliana Perez Magalhães, along with Brendan's wife, Christine Banfield, a Fairfax County NICU worker. He is accused of murdering. The employee and Joseph Ryan, a 38-year-old man who showed up at the Banfields home with a knife. in Herndon, Virginia. In February 2023.

Ryan's connection to his family and au pair remains unclear.

Deputy Fairfax Commonwealth's Attorney Eric Clingan said in court on Sept. 27 that investigators spent a year reviewing “two definitive reports from expert forensic investigators,” and found that Ryan and Christine He said he determined there was enough evidence to prove the theory that the body was removed after death. . According to the Associated Press, Ryan had Christine's blood on his arm.

Wealthy Virginia husband and nanny charged with apartment murder in love triangle

Brendan Banfield is charged with four counts of aggravated murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felon. (Fairfax County Police Department)

John Carroll, a lawyer for Brendan and Perez Magalhães, argued that newly discovered evidence by prosecutors does not prove that Brendan killed his wife and Ryan.

“That just doesn't make sense, Judge,” he said in court on Sept. 27, as reported by the Associated Press.

A wealthy Virginia suburb is shaken by an apartment murder mystery, and a nanny's trial begins.

Fairfax Circuit Court Chief Judge Penny Azcarate ultimately decided to deny Brendan bail at the end of a hearing last week.

Juliana Pérez Magalhães mugshot

Juliana Perez Magalhães is charged with aggravated murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felon. (Fairfax County Police Department)

Brendan Banfield was arrested last month, more than a year after the double murder, and has been charged with four counts of aggravated murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.

Magalhães, who was arrested about eight months after the killing, is also charged with aggravated murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felon.

Virginia au pair murder: Fetish conspiracy, affair, gun range linked to double murder at home, prosecutors say

“On February 24, 2023, I stood in the middle of a cul-de-sac in Fairfax County and spoke about the deaths of two people inside a home. Now, 570 days later, we know of the death of Joseph Ryan. “Kristin Banfield is actually a murderer,'' Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said at a September press conference.

christine banfield

Christine Banfield was stabbed to death in her bedroom in Fairfax County, Virginia. (Facebook)

When police first responded to a 911 call from the residence that day, they found Christine with a stab wound to the neck and Ryan with a fatal gunshot wound in an upstairs bedroom. Davis said authorities took Christine to a hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.

Authorities recovered a knife and two firearms from the scene.

Virginia au pair charged with murdering man in his home: police

“We know that Brendan Banfield and Juliana Magalhães were in a romantic relationship at the time of the murder,” Davis said at a press conference in September. “Due to the ongoing investigation, we will not discuss the victim, Joseph Ryan's involvement in the incident at this time,” Davis said.

Fairfax County Police first responded to a double homicide that occurred on February 24, 2023 in the 13200 block of Stable Brook Way in Herndon, Virginia.

Fairfax County Police first responded to a double homicide that occurred on February 24, 2023 in the 13200 block of Stable Brook Way in Herndon, Virginia. (FOX5DC)

On February 24, 2023, Magalhães told police he left the Banfields' home in the 13200 block of Stable Brook Way in Herndon to take his young daughter to the National Zoo. She told authorities that she started driving, realized she had left the packed lunch she had prepared for the field trip at home, then turned around and noticed an unfamiliar car parked in her driveway.

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She then reportedly called Brendan, a former IRS criminal investigator who was out for work at the time, and told him about the unknown car that was in her driveway. The two decided to meet at the Banfields' house and walk through the house together. The Washington Post reported.

Juliana Perez Magalhães

Juliana Perez Magalhães (Instagram)

Magalhães initially told police that when she and Brendan went inside, they saw an unknown man, Ryan, holding a knife at Christine. She is said to have described him as an intruder. Ryan was apparently clothed, but Christine was naked in the master bedroom of the house.

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It remains unclear what happened inside the house that Friday morning, but Magalhães and Brendan appear to have admitted to shooting Ryan, who was holding a knife at Christine.

Prosecutors allege Banfield's home computer was linked to an account on a sexual fetish website, the paper said.

Brendan Banfield is charged with aggravated murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felon.

Brendan Banfield is charged with aggravated murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felon. (Virginia County Police Department)

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The account on that computer apparently displayed a photo of Christine in a swimsuit, but it's unclear exactly who was communicating on that account. The profile also didn't seem to show “the slightest evidence that she was interested in knife play, bondage or BDSM.” According to the paper, Clingan previously told the court:

Ryan, the man who allegedly held Christine at knifepoint, also had an account on the website and was apparently communicating with someone who was accessing the site from Banfield's computer.

Framed photo of Brendan Banfield and Juliana Magalhães

Prosecutors said a framed photo and lingerie of Brendan Banfield and Juliana Magalhães were found in the room where the double murder occurred. (Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney's Office)

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Authorities arrested Magalhães in October 2023 after she moved into the Banfields' master bedroom and placed a framed photo of her and Brendan on the nightstand next to the bed. A grand jury indicted the 23-year-old woman in April, and a trial is scheduled for November.

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Mr. Magalhães' lawyer, Ryan Campbell, did not respond to Fox News Digital's inquiry. The agency confirmed that Brendan is no longer employed by the IRS.

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