Virginia Man Found Guilty in BDSM-Themed Double Murder Plot Involving Au Pair
FAIRFAX, Va. — A federal jury has convicted a former IRS agent of orchestrating a brutal double homicide under the guise of a consensual BDSM encounter, capping a trial that exposed a tangled web of infidelity, financial motive, and calculated violence.
Brendan Banfield, 42, was found guilty on February 2 of two counts of aggravated murder in the 2023 deaths of his wife, Christine Banfield, a 37-year-old pediatric nurse, and 39-year-old Joe Ryan. Prosecutors successfully argued that Banfield, with the assistance of the family's Brazilian au pair Juliana Peres Magalhaes, lured Ryan to their Virginia home under false pretenses before killing both victims.
According to trial testimony, the murder plot took root in late 2022 after Banfield began an affair with Magalhaes. Faced with the prospect of a costly divorce and a custody battle over his young daughter, Banfield allegedly told Magalhaes that "divorce was not an option." Instead, prosecutors said, he devised a plan to kill his wife and frame a stranger for her death.
The scheme involved Banfield creating a profile on fetish website Fetlife.com, impersonating his wife to initiate contact with Ryan. Communications outlined a violent role-play scenario involving restraints and a knife. On February 23, 2023, Ryan arrived at the home expecting a consensual encounter. Magalhaes, who had pleaded guilty to manslaughter prior to the trial, testified that Banfield—waiting nearby—drove home after her signal, shot Ryan in the head, and then stabbed his wife repeatedly in an attempt to stage the scene.
"I ran to the other side of the bed... covering my ears and my eyes," Magalhaes told the court, describing the stabbing. "A few times I looked and I was able to see him stabbing her."
Social media posts entered as evidence, including photos of Magalhaes at a gun range and of the pair in a bathtub, painted a picture of the relationship that fueled the crime. Banfield now faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.
Analysis: The case highlights the extreme dangers of digital deception and the manipulation of online communities for criminal purposes. It also raises grim questions about the breakdown of familial trust, placing domestic employees in positions of unprecedented complicity.
Public Reaction
David Chen, Legal Analyst: "The prosecution's case was built on a mountain of digital evidence and the accomplice's testimony. This verdict underscores how premeditation, especially when it involves such elaborate staging, almost always leads to the harshest convictions."
Reverend Sarah Miller, Community Advocate: "My heart breaks for the victims' families and for that child who lost her mother. This is a horrific tragedy that speaks to a profound moral sickness. We must pray for healing."
Mark Gibson, True Crime Commentator: "It's the cold, transactional calculus that chills me. No crime of passion here—just a spreadsheet of murder. He valued his money and freedom over two human lives and thought he could outsmart everyone. The arrogance is staggering."
Elena Silva, Neighbor: "They seemed like a normal family. Christine was so kind. It's terrifying to think what was happening behind closed doors. That poor man, Ryan, was just manipulated and used. The whole thing is pure evil."