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Virginia Au Pair Gets Ten-Year Prison Term in Fairfax County Manslaughter Case Tied to 2023 Double Murder Plot and Plea Deal

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — Juliana Peres Magalhães was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison and two years of probation in Fairfax County after pleading guilty to manslaughter in the killings of Joseph Ryan and Christine Banfield. Judge Penney Azcarate imposed the maximum sentence allowed on the charge, which Magalhães entered in 2024 as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.

Azcarate said Magalhães’ conduct was deliberate and self-serving, and she told her that she did not deserve anything other than incarceration and time to reflect on what she had done. The sentencing capped a case that began with the Feb. 24, 2023, deaths inside the Banfield home in northern Virginia and has already produced a separate murder conviction for Brendan Banfield.

Court Weighs The Plea

During Friday’s hearing, Magalhães told the court she had caused pain that could not be measured and asked for forgiveness from the Benson family and the Joseph Ryan family. She said she lost herself in her relationship with Banfield and described changes she said she had made while in jail over the past three years.

Prosecutors had agreed in the plea arrangement to recommend time served, but the judge was not bound by that request. According to the court record described in the hearing, Magalhães also spent nearly four hours speaking with prosecutors after the deal, and she testified in Banfield’s January trial.

How The Killings Unfolded

Investigators said the case began with a plot involving Banfield and Magalhães, who were believed to be having an affair and to have planned to kill Banfield’s wife. Prosecutors said part of that plan involved creating a social media profile that pretended to be Christine Banfield on a fetish site, which drew Ryan into conversations about a knife, chains and rope.

When police were called to the house, Banfield and Magalhães said they had returned home to find Ryan stabbing Christine Banfield. They told officers and the 911 dispatcher that each fired a shot, and authorities later said Magalhães admitted to firing the second, fatal round. In October 2023, she was charged with second-degree murder in Ryan’s death before later taking the plea agreement.

What Happens Next

Banfield was convicted in February on all four counts against him, including two counts of aggravated murder, child endangerment and possession of a firearm in commission of a felony. Because Virginia abolished the death penalty in 2021, he faces life in prison without parole, and his sentencing hearing is set for May 8.

Family members of Ryan and Christine Banfield attended Friday’s hearing, and Ryan’s mother and aunt delivered victim impact statements. Judge Azcarate said impact statements from Christine Banfield’s family could not be included because Magalhães was charged only in Ryan’s death. For future updates, Fairfax County court records and the local prosecutor’s office remain the places to check.

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