When you’re about to become an au pair, you don’t think that you’ll be involved in a serious crime… Juliana Peres Magalhaes, a 23-year-old au pair from Brazil, has been charged in connection with a double homicide that occurred in Herndon, Virginia.
The incident took place in February 2023, when the bodies of 39-year-old Joseph Ryan and 37-year-old Christine Banfield were discovered in the Banfield family home.
Juliana Peres, The Brazilian Au Pair Case About a Double Homicide and an Affair
#Podcast #JulianaPeresMagalhae GLAM AU PAIR, 23, PLOTS STAB DEATH OF BOSS’ WIFE?: Brazilian Au Pair, Juliana Peres Magalhaes and her charge leave the Banfields’ Fairfax County, Virginia home but turn around when Peres Magalhaes realizes she forgot their… https://t.co/p9F2ekNQ4d pic.twitter.com/NCEbSFaVSP
— Global Voters (@global_voters) June 8, 2024
On the morning of February 24, 2023, emergency services were called to the Banfield residence. Upon arrival, they found Joseph Ryan dead from gunshot wounds and Christine Banfield with fatal stab wounds.
Initially, Christine’s husband, Brendan Banfield, claimed that Ryan had broken into their home and stabbed his wife, prompting him to shoot Ryan in self-defense. However, further investigation led to the arrest of Peres Magalhaes.
Juliana Peres Magalhaes has been indicted on charges of second-degree murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony in relation to Ryan’s death.
She remains in custody without bond and faces up to 43 years in prison if convicted.
“I pray for the prosecutors and the judge to understand who is guilty in this case, because it is not Juliana,” Marina Peres Souza said.
During her time as an au pair, according to court records, she and Brendan Banfield were involved in an affair that Brendan’s wife said she had no idea about.
From her cell in the Fairfax County jail, Magalhães keeps dreaming with being in Brazil.
“I am tired of this place, this situation,” Magalhães wrote to her mother in an email, according to The Washington Post. “I am unhappy, and nothing makes me happy. I just want to get out of here and go back home to be with you guys. We will be together soon, with God’s grace, mommy,” she said.
During the preliminary hearing in April, Banfield walked into a Fairfax County courtroom and took the stand, speaking publicly about the murders for the first time. Magalhães simply listened while his wrists were cuffed as a prosecutor questioned him about the case.
Despite efforts to find clear answers in the case, Brendan chose to simply invoke the Fifth Amendment in each and every question.
