FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) 鈥� A Virginia man who was having an affair with the family鈥檚 au pair was sentenced Friday to life in prison without parole for the who was lured to the couple’s home as a fall guy.
Brendan Banfield, a former IRS law enforcement officer, claimed he after he came across Ryan attacking his wife on the morning of Feb. 24, 2023. But prosecutors said Brendan Banfield and Brazilian set Ryan up in a scheme to get rid of Christine Banfield, a pediatric intensive care nurse.
Judge Penney Azcarate called Banfield鈥檚 actions evil and calculated.
鈥淭he disregard of the life of your wife, someone you supposedly loved, is almost unfathomable,鈥� she said in handing down the sentence, which is mandatory in Virginia for an aggravated murder conviction. The scheme involved 鈥渓uring a completely innocent man into your deadly trap; continuing on after the murders without a care; and not once 鈥� not once 鈥� thinking of the impact鈥� on the Banfields’ 4-year-old daughter. Brendan Banfield 鈥渢ook everything from her,鈥� Azcarate said.
In addition to murder, jurors in February convicted Banfield of child endangerment because the couple鈥檚 daughter was home during the killings. Azcarate sentenced Banfield to an additional five years on that charge and three more years on a firearms charge.
Speaking at his sentencing, Banfield proclaimed his innocence. Banfield said he loved his wife and, although he had affairs, he never intended to leave her.
Azcarate was unmoved, citing his lack of remorse as a reason she felt no hesitation in ordering him to remain behind bars for life.
During Friday’s hearing, Christine Banfield鈥檚 older sister, Danielle Hocker, described her sister as kind, caring, reliable and selfless. She said they grew up chasing fireflies and sleeping next to each other on the floor in sleeping bags.
鈥淲hen she was born, ‘I’ became 鈥榳e鈥�,鈥� Hocker said. 鈥淚 haven鈥檛 stopped saying 鈥榳e鈥� when I speak about my childhood after her death, except now when I do, it takes my breath away 鈥� a pause filled with love that has nowhere to go.鈥�
Ryan鈥檚 mother, Deidre Fisher, told the court that her son was an 鈥渆xtremely caring鈥� person who was a caretaker for his grandmother and other loved ones.
鈥淛oe was a guy who believed in fighting for the underdog, and even actual neglected dogs,鈥� Fisher said, with a small laugh. 鈥淗e would walk into an animal shelter and ask for the oldest, ugliest dogs, bring them home and love them for years.鈥�
Ryan’s aunt, Sangeeta Ryan, said Banfield 鈥渄idn鈥檛 just take Joe and Christine from us. He tried to erase the truth of who they were.鈥�
During Banfield’s trial, Magalh茫es testified he had told her he wanted to marry her and have children with her, but he needed to 鈥済et rid of鈥� his wife first. He didn鈥檛 want a divorce because 鈥渟he would have more money than he would鈥� and because he wanted custody of the couple鈥檚 daughter, said Magalh茫es, who was 21 when she started working for the Banfields in 2021.
that she and Brendan Banfield staged the scene at the home in Herndon, Virginia, to look as if they had shot a violent intruder. The pair had pretended to be Christine Banfield on a fetish website to lure Ryan to their house for a sexual encounter involving a knife.
On the day of the killings, Magalh茫es waited in a car outside the house with the daughter. When Ryan arrived, she called Brendan Banfield, who was waiting at a nearby McDonald’s. The pair took the child to the basement and then went to the bedroom, where they encountered Ryan. Brendan Banfield shot Ryan and then stabbed Christine Banfield with the knife Ryan had brought. When Magalh茫es saw Ryan moving, she fired a second shot that killed him.
On Friday, Banfield emphasized that there was dissent within the police department over the theory that he had impersonated his wife, saying it would have been impossible for him to send some of the messages.
Some media have dubbed the case the 鈥渁u pair affair.鈥� Magalh茫es after agreeing to testify against Banfield. to 10 years in prison after Banfield’s trial.
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