A Virginia man who conspired with the family's Brazilian au pair to murder his wife has been sentenced to life in prison without parole. Brendan Banfield, a former Internal Revenue Service law enforcement officer, was convicted of aggravated murder and other charges for the death of his wife, Christine Banfield, and a man lured to their home as a fall guy.
Prosecutors said Banfield and au pair Juliana Peres Magalhães orchestrated the killing of Christine Banfield, a paediatric intensive care nurse, on 24 February 2023. Banfield claimed he shot Joseph Ryan after finding him attacking his wife, but the court found the couple had set Ryan up. Judge Penney Azcarate called the conduct 'evil and calculated'.
The judge noted that the scheme involved luring an innocent man into a deadly trap and that Banfield showed no remorse. In addition to murder, Banfield was convicted of child endangerment because the couple's four-year-old daughter was home during the killings. He received an additional five years for that charge and three years for a firearms offence.
During the sentencing, Christine's sister, Danielle Hocker, described her as kind and selfless, while Ryan's mother, Deidre Fisher, said her son was a caring person who would adopt neglected animals. Banfield proclaimed his innocence, saying he loved his wife despite having affairs, but the judge was unmoved by his lack of remorse.
