Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan: The Fairfax 'Au Pair Affair' Murders

Christine Banfield was a wife and mother. Joseph Ryan was a man who believed he was meeting someone who needed help. On February 24, 2023, both were killed inside a home in Herndon, Fairfax County, Virginia. This is their case — told from the public record, with what was proven in court kept separate from what was only argued.

What the court found

On February 2, 2026, a Fairfax County jury convicted Brendan Banfield, 40, a former IRS agent, of two counts of aggravated murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and child endangerment. Prosecutors described a premeditated plot: Banfield and the family’s au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, lured Joseph Ryan to the house and staged the scene to look like a home invasion gone wrong. The jury rejected that staging.

Peres Magalhães, who testified as part of a plea agreement, was sentenced to ten years in prison — the judge declining the prosecution’s “time served” recommendation.

On June 5, 2026, Brendan Banfield was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole — the mandatory sentence for aggravated murder under Virginia law — with additional consecutive terms imposed on the firearm and child-endangerment counts. The day before, on June 4, the court denied a defense motion to set the verdict aside. He retains the right to appeal his conviction.

Proven vs. argued

• Proven in court: the jury’s verdict — aggravated murder of Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan, the firearm count, and child endangerment.
• Argued by prosecutors: the precise sequence of the plot and the staging; some details remain the state’s account of events.

We mark that line on purpose. A conviction is fact; a narrative theory is not, and we do not blur the two.

Frequently Asked Questions

Was Brendan Banfield convicted? Yes. A Fairfax County jury convicted him on February 2, 2026, of two counts of aggravated murder, a firearm count, and child endangerment.

Has he been sentenced? Yes. On June 5, 2026, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, with additional consecutive terms on the firearm and child-endangerment counts. A defense motion to set the verdict aside was denied on June 4. He may still appeal his conviction.

What happened to the au pair? Juliana Peres Magalhães was sentenced to ten years after testifying under a plea agreement.

We center Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan — not the man convicted of killing them. Sourced from court records and the public record; no gratuitous detail.

If you need support: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (call or text 988) · National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-7233 (text START to 88788) · RAINN 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).