An au pair accused of murdering a BDSM fetishist as part of an elaborate plan to get her boss’s wife out of the way so they could be together has spoken from jail.
Juliana Peres Magalhaes, 24, is charged with the murder of Joseph Ryan, 39, who was found shot to death inside the million-dollar home of the family he worked for in Herndon, Virginia.
Magalhaes claimed to have shot Ryan dead after finding him in the middle of an attack on his employer’s wife, Christine Banfield, 37, who was found fatally stabbed in February last year. No one has been charged over his death.
Magalhaes maintains his innocence and told his mother he hopes to reunite with her soon in his native Brazil.
“We will be together soon, with the grace of God, mommy,” she wrote to her mother in Portuguese in June. The Washington Post “I’m not happy and nothing makes me happy. I just want to get out of here and go home to be with you.”
Juliana Peres Magalhaes, 24, accused of killing a BDSM fetishist as part of a plot with her boss, an IRS agent, to get rid of his wife so they could be together, has spoken from jail.
He also complained about his current incarceration in the Fairfax County Jail.
“I’m tired of this place, of this situation,” Magalhaes added.
Her mother, Marina Peres Souza, also remains convinced of her daughter’s innocence.
“I pray that the prosecutors and the judge understand who is guilty in this case, because it is not Juliana,” he said in Portuguese.
Magalhaes and Banfield’s husband said they entered the home and found Ryan attacking Christine.
Banfield, an Internal Revenue Service agent, told police he grabbed his service weapon and shot and wounded Ryan.
He told police he then ordered Peres Magalhaes to take another gun and shoot him again, which she did, allegedly killing him.
But in a preliminary investigation, prosecutors said evidence points to a different story, suggesting Ryan was shot to death as part of a muddled plot to get rid of Christine so Banfield and Magalhaes could be together romantically.
Christine Banfield, 37, a mother of one, was also found fatally stabbed at the scene of her home after being attacked in her bedroom in February 2023. She is seen with her husband Brandon
Joseph Ryan, 39, was found shot to death inside the $1 million home. Prosecutors suggest he was killed…
Now shocking new details have emerged about that day, including that Banfield’s four-year-old daughter was in the basement when the murders took place.
Magalhaes told police he had left the family home to take the boy to the zoo, but returned after realizing he had left his lunches behind.
She said she left the boy in the basement after she and Banfield heard what sounded like an intruder before following him upstairs, where they came upon Christine being attacked.
Investigators became suspicious of Magalhaes’ story after she and Banfield failed to disclose their alleged affair when they spoke to detectives.
But police said they discovered evidence of a secret lovers’ getaway and noted that just eight months after the murders, Magalhaes had moved into the master bedroom.
They produced a photograph showing a framed photo of Magalhaes and Banfield on her bedside table and her clothes were in Christine’s closet.
According to prosecutors, the au pair and her employer Brendan Banfield were having an affair, which detectives discovered when they returned to the home after the murders and found picture frames filled with photos of the now-couple in the bedroom where Christine died.
At a preliminary hearing, Banfield, who has not been charged, took the stand but pleaded his Fifth Amendment right and refused to answer questions about his relationship with the au pair and whether he shot Ryan.
Prosecutors allege someone created a fake account for Christine on a BDSM site and made plans to have “rough sex” with Ryan before they were both killed.
The mother reportedly did not sound like herself in her alleged conversations with Ryan, leading police to believe someone else was posing as Christine and arranged a meeting at the home on the day of the murders.
The court heard that the fetish website account Ryan had been posting on was maintained on Christine’s computer under the username Annastasia9.
“However, there was not a shred of evidence that she was interested in knife play, bondage or BDSM,” prosecutor Eric Clingan said.
Ryan and the account user talked about rough sex and blood play, an act in which someone deliberately cuts another person.
During the chats, Annastasia9 wrote that she cheats on her husband “whenever she wants.”
Prosecutors say someone created a fake account for Christine on a BDSM site and made plans to have “rough sex” with Ryan before they were both killed in the luxury home.
Detectives also said Magalhaes moved into the master bedroom just months after the murders.
Prosecutors also pointed to a 10-minute delay between Magalhaes’ first 911 call and his last call.
“That’s not what a person in that situation would do unless they were trying to cover something up,” said Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Kelsey Gill.
On the first call at 7.47am, operators heard a guttural moan and then silence.
There were two more attempts within a few seconds before Magalhaes called again for help.
She was interrupted by Banfield who then told the operator he had just shot an intruder who was stabbing his wife.
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