Major update in horror double murder at $1M Virginia mansion after sordid affair between glamorous au pair and boss

The husband of a woman who was found stabbed to death in a complicated double homicide involving an affair and a fetish website has been charged with her murder.

Christine Banfield, 37, was found inside her bedroom suffering from stab wounds alongside 39-year-old Joseph Ryan who had been shot in February 2023. 

Her husband, Brendan Banfield, was charged earlier this week with her death and indicted on four charges of aggravated murder.

The couple had been living inside their $1 million Herndon home with their 4-year-old daughter and au-pair Juliana Peres Magalhaes, 24. 

Magalhaes is facing charges related to the death of Ryan, with authorities claiming she shot him dead after finding him midway through an attack on Christine. 

Brendan Banfield and Magalhaes are said to have been involved in a romantic relationship at the time of the murders, according to officials. 

Magalhaes and Banfield claimed that they entered the home to find Ryan attacking Christine.

Magalhaes told police she had left the family home to take the child to the zoo but returned after realizing she had left their lunches.

She said she left the child in the basement after she and Banfield heard what sounded like an intruder before they discovered Christine being attacked.

Banfield, a law enforcement officer for the Internal Revenue Service, told police he grabbed his service gun and shot and injured Ryan.

He told police he then ordered Peres Magalhaes to grab another gun and shoot him again, which she did and allegedly killed him.

Preliminary prosecutors said that evidence points to a much different story, suggesting Ryan was gunned down as part of a scheme to get rid of Christine. 

Investigators first became suspicious about Magalhaes' story after she and Banfield failed to disclose their alleged romance when speaking to detectives.

Police said they uncovered evidence of a secret lovers' getaway and pointed out that just eight months after the killings Magalhaes had moved into the main bedroom.

They submitted a picture showing a framed photo of Magalhaes and Banfield on her nightstand and her clothes were in Christine's closet.

Prosecutors allege that 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 court it emerged that the fetish website account Ryan had been messaging on was maintained on Christine's computer under the username Annastasia9.

However, there was 'not one iota of evidence that she was into knife play, binding, BDSM,' said prosecutor Eric Clingan.

Ryan and the account user discussed rough sex and bloodplay, an act where someone deliberately cuts another.

During the chats, Annastasia9 wrote that she cheats on her husband 'whenever she wants to'.

Prosecutors also pointed out a 10-minute delay between the first 911 call being placed and Magalhaes' final call.

In announcing the new charges on Brendan Banfield, FairFax County Attorney Steve Descano said: 'On Feb. 24, 2023, I stood in the middle of a cul-de-sac street in Fairfax County and described the deaths of two persons inside of a residential home. 

'Now, 570 days later, we know the deaths of Joseph Ryan and Christine Banfield are, in fact, murders.'