Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - Nanny Tied Up in Fetish Murder Plot: The Story So Far

Episode Date: November 28, 2024

Juliana Peres Magalhães came to the United States from Brazil to work as an au pair for the Banfield family in Fairfax County, Virginia. Now, three years later, she has pleaded guilty to a manslaughter charge for her role in a conspiracy that left Christine Banfield and a man named Joseph Ryan dead. Christine's husband, Brendan Banfield, faces aggravated murder charges. Law&Crime's Angenette Levy looks at the entire case and newly-released body camera footage of Magalhães in this episode of Crime Fix — a daily show covering the biggest stories in crime.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: If you’re ever injured in an accident, you can check out Morgan & Morgan. You can submit a claim in 8 clicks or less without having to leave your couch. To start your claim, visit: https://www.forthepeople.com/CrimeFixHost:Angenette Levy  https://twitter.com/Angenette5CRIME FIX PRODUCTION:Head of Social Media, YouTube - Bobby SzokeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinVideo Editing - Daniel CamachoGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this law and crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. That's Juliana Perez-Mogelhays, a nanny who worked for a family in Virginia who's now admitted to being part of a sinister murder plot that involved an affair and a fetish website. I lay out the details of the case so far and the body camera footage that likely implicated her. Welcome to Crime Fix. I'm Anjanette Levy. When Juliana Magalhães came to the United States from Brazil to work for the Banfield family as an au pair, she probably never envisioned she'd end up in a jail cell charged with second-degree murder. In fact, I'm sure she didn't. Who would? It was 2021, and Magalhães probably thought she had a pretty good gig.

She was working for Brandon and Christine Banfield in Fairfax County, Virginia. That's a nice suburb outside of Washington, D.C. Christine was a pediatric intensive care nurse and Brendan an IRS agent. They had a four-year-old daughter. Life was good, or so it seemed, from the outside looking in. At some point, prosecutors in Fairfax County

say Juliana and Brendan started having an affair and Brendan suggested life would be a lot easier if Christine weren't around. That's according to prosecutors. On February 24th, 2023, Juliana Mogulhays called 911 and reported a terrifying crime that someone had been hurt. She was hyperventilating. So Brendan Banfield took the phone and told police what happened. Fairfax County police arrived and this is what they found. Hey, can you come down with me? We're getting the ambulance here now. My host kid is on stage.

Okay. I'm in here. How old is your host kid? She's four and a half. Four and a half? Where is she? I need to talk to her. She doesn't know anything.

Can we get her and we'll go outside? Now, this was obviously a grave situation, and it was very serious. It doesn't get more serious than this if you're in local law enforcement. Officers had arrived at a house where a woman had been stabbed and a man shot, and a four-year-old little girl was in the house, the Banfield's daughter. You know how many that hurt?

No, not this year. I think he's upstairs. Where do we go? She's grabbing the four-year-old. We're going to go outside. Okay, perfect. Just grab her, please. This is hard. She's grabbing their four-year-old. We're going to go outside. Okay, perfect. Just grab her, please. It's okay.

This is hard. I know, this is hard. Let's get her outside, and then I need to get some information from you. Hi, Val. Hey. Hi. Hello. Hey, I'm Officer Bell.

Nice to meet you. Do you want to go outside with us? We need to go outside, okay? Let's go. Can you imagine? This little girl is in the basement while her mother is murdered upstairs. It's absolutely unbelievable. And you might listen to me telling you about something like this, but seeing that little girl is like a gut punch. And the fact that someone who was supposed to protect her has now admitted to being part of killing her mother. It's absolutely heartbreaking.

The video continues. I think he has some stickers for you. I was going to take care of you this morning. And then I forgot the lunch we were going to bring. I turned around and came back here. And then I saw this car. You deserve it. I like both of them. You don't know who the person is? I have no idea.

And then also his car called her to see what's going on because it's early in the morning. Like, the people was here. And then he was just writing a voicemail. I called Brandon, it's her husband. He's up there. I go to him. I see his French car, but I don't know who is that. Can you please come here?

I'm scared. I was just bothering the car. And then he came here and then we went inside. The guy, I don't know who it is, he was spanking her. I was just here. Were you here when it happened or did you walk up in there and that's how they were? Yeah, he went upstairs first and then I went to see what's going on. I left Valerie in the basement. And then when I went upstairs, Brendan was saying, police, drop the knife, drop the knife. So at this point in the investigation, it's very early. This is the story Juliana and Brendan are telling police and the 911 call taker. Prosecutors said Brendan Banfield claimed a man named Joseph Ryan stabbed Christine in the neck. Brendan claimed Christine had invited Joseph

to their home for rough sex. The cases I cover each day for you here on Crime Fix show you just how scary the world can be. And one of the scariest things that can happen is if you ever get hurt. But I want you to know if you're ever seriously hurt or in an accident, your case could be worth millions. And that's where Morgan & Morgan comes in. The firm has an army of more than 1,000 lawyers who will fight for what you deserve, and they have the track record to prove it. In the past few months, Morgan & Morgan has won big verdicts like $12 million in Florida, $26 million in Philly, and $6.8 million in New York. All of those were much higher than the highest insurance company offer. Seeing if you have a case can be done in eight clicks or less,

and you don't even have to leave your couch to start one. Also a great thing, you only pay Morgan & Morgan if you win. There are no upfront fees. So if you're ever hurt, you can easily start a claim at forthepeople.com slash crimefix. Let's go back to the body camera video and what Juliana told police. The guy who shot is a, they think of the end of police officer. So we got to think about that.

That car, we don't know who, that's the guy who came up here that started the issue. This car is the outside guy, the silver car. These two. So this is their car. That is the guy who came here.

Okay. Okay. Um... Hello. Grab her. For the man that was too fast, they were yelling at each other. He was saying like, drop, drop, drop the, the... I'm sorry, my first language is not English.

No, no, no, you're doing really well. Um... He was saying drop, drop, drop the... Oh... The knife or the gun? The gun. And Brandon said, no, police, drop the knife. And he was saying, I'm going to kill her, I'm going to kill her.

And I don't know, he started stabbing her. I think Brandon shot him. And he asked me to help to shoot him too because... It's okay. You don't have to get to tell him to because. It's OK. You don't have to get it all out right now. I never saw that before. You didn't see the girl before either?

So the guy and the girl, you don't know. She's my boss. OK. He's Valer's mom. But I never seen it before. A short time later, police decide they're going to take Juliana and the child to the police station. All right, Juliana. So the next steps for something like this, we want to make sure that both of you are safe. So what we have is kind of a safe location to take you.

It's at our headquarters. OK, we're just I'm going to put I'm going to it's a safe. Like I said, it's it's like a safe location away from this. This is all we're trying to do. So, I'm sorry. Like I said, it's like a safe location away from this. This is all we're trying to do. Okay. I'm sorry? What about Brendan? I'm sorry.

Say that one more time. What about Brendan? I'm not 100% sure. They'll update me as we head over to the safe location, okay? Brendan's probably going to go to the same location. He'll probably be in the same building. I want to go to him. Okay.

He's okay. Like I said, he walked out to the car all by himself. All right. He's not going to the hospital. That doesn't mean he's not hurt. And I'm sure he's very shaken up the same as you. It was a very scary situation. Okay. You take them both home? Yeah, bro. So why don't, don't I'm gonna have her ride In the back and I'll have you right in the front with me or unless you both want to run I'll have you both right in the back. Okay Yeah, yeah, yeah, I don't want to separate you okay, so when you guys get there there's comfy couches We can get you guys some snacks if you want exactly there you can use okay we can put the tv on for a little bit try and see if we can give you a drawing get some get some coloring

books and stuff they definitely got coloring books there they got toys all right we have to go it's it's it's imperative for your safety type deal we we want you to be in a safe location we want to know where you're at that way. And right now it's closed off. A lot of, we have to close it off. Now you notice Juliana asked about Brendan. At this point, Juliana is being treated as a witness and she tells the officers that she's scared. I know. I'm scared. I know. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay to be scared. You're going to be with Valerie. Alright? You guys are going to take care of each other.

Okay? And I'm sure they're going to have some very nice people there that will talk with you. Okay? They'll help you feel better. Alright? Alright? Can I help you? Okay.

Okay? Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay.

Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. I know the help you feel better all right why don't we go in the back of the cruise and then we're gonna go yeah right now so that way we can it's a okay sir all right you guys aren't in any trouble yeah no no I don't know. This is very normal after those kinds of things. How about you guys? I can't watch you, so... Your seatbelt is okay.

The officer drove Juliana and the little girl to the police station. It took some time, but later in the year, in October of 2023, Juliana was arrested and charged with second degree murder in Joseph Ryan's death. Prosecutors believe Brendan posed as Christine on a website called FetLife. It's a site that connects people with sexual fetishes. Brendan, they say, chatted with Joseph to lure him to his home. Juliana and Brendan claimed Brendan shot Joseph after he stabbed Christine and that Juliana shot Joseph once after he moved following the first shot fired by Brendan. Now, this was in February of 2023. Detectives uncovered photos on social media of Brendan and Juliana kissing a month before the murders.

Before her arrest, police returned to the Banfield home and found a framed photo of Brendan and Juliana on the nightstand. Juliana had basically moved into the bedroom, according to police. Photos attached to court documents showed Juliana's belongings in the master bedroom after the murders, including her lingerie. NBC Washington reported that Juliana told detectives that the first shot Brendan fired at Joseph didn't kill him. So Brendan got another gun and fired at Joseph again. Prosecutors also found a photo of Juliana shooting a gun at the range. They had previously said that Juliana and Brendan went to a shooting range together in the months before the murders and that Brendan had bought a gun there.

Juliana pleaded not guilty. But then in September of 2024, police took Brendan Banfield into custody and charged him with several counts of aggravated murder for the deaths of his wife, Christine, and Joseph Ryan. We're extremely pleased that we've been able to bring this indictment as this case has weighed heavily, not only on the minds of the chief and I, but on the minds of our community.

I hope that the family, friends and loved ones of Christine and Joseph can find some solace in the knowledge that we're pursuing justice for them. Assistant Commonwealth attorney Eric Klingin said blood spatter experts analyzed the crime scene and believe Christine and Joseph's bodies had been moved after they were killed. Those experts, according to published reports, also believe that Brendan smeared Christine's blood on Joseph's body to stage the scene and essentially frame him for Christine's murder. The Commonwealth's attorney explained the charges Brendan Banfield faces. So we did charge for different aggravated murder charges, even though we're only talking about two victims. The reason we did that, it's very lawyerly and technical, but essentially it boils down to in believe that our presentation of evidence can possibly hit both of those different subsections elements. So what we decided to do is we wanted to put all of them in there to give the jury the full picture of what they can choose from. But we anticipate that, of course, we have. The reason that we did that, quite frankly, is we wanted to cover all our bases, make sure that the jury had every option

that they could possibly want when taking a look at the evidence. So I know that it's a little unusual, but the aggravated murder statute, the way it's written in Virginia, is a quite unusual statute. We wanted to just cover our bases. Now to the twist in the case. Giuliana's trial was supposed to start this month in November, but she agreed to plead guilty to manslaughter and will testify against Brendan Banfield at his trial next year. The second degree murder charge she had faced, it's gone. Prosecutors are recommending that Juliana be released with time served. So if Brendan Banfield goes to trial in February of 2025,

Juliana could be out of jail for the deaths of two people serving just more than a year in jail. A manslaughter conviction could carry a 10-year sentence. I recently spoke to trial attorney Rich Schoenstein about the plea deal. The fact that she's pled guilty, accepted a lesser charge and is now cooperating should be of great concern to the defendant. She's getting quite the deal here.

I mean, the prosecutors are recommending that she basically be released with time served. if she follows through on her end of the bargain and the judge signs off on it, will get out after testifying against Brendan Banfield. As long as she cooperates, does everything she's supposed to do, she could, though, get up to 10 years in prison on a manslaughter conviction. So, I mean, they really look at her, it sounds like, as somebody who was kind of duped into going along with this. And he obviously, they believe, the sounds like, as somebody who was kind of duped into going along with this. And he obviously, they believe, the prosecution does, the Commonwealth, is the mastermind. I mean, they think he's the one who's going on the FetLife website, setting up the profile, luring this guy, Joseph Ryan, to the house and trying to make it look like he murdered his wife. And then, according to everything we're reading, smearing his wife's blood on the guy to make it look like he stabbed her. I mean,

this is some pretty horrific, gruesome stuff for a guy who's an IRS agent. I mean, this is some major criminal thinking. Yeah. Well, and I think that's what prosecutors are thinking. He's the mastermind. He's much more culpable than the woman is. And of course, there's also a big age difference. She's, I think, 24 years old. She's young. She's in the country from Brazil. And he is, you know, he's a professional guy. He's at the IRS. He's older. He hatches this plan to kill his wife and somebody else to make it look like somebody else did it and takes these acts that you're talking about, the smearing of the blood. So he is highly culpable. It is premeditated murder. And so I think they view his conviction as much more important than hers. And they're

willing to trade time in order to have a better opportunity to convict him. I'm not surprised. Right now, Brendan Banfield's trial is scheduled for February 2025. And Julianna Magohe's sentencing is scheduled for March. Those dates, of course, could change, but right now that's the schedule. And again, Brendan Banfield has pleaded not guilty and he's in custody at the Fairfax County Jail. That's it for this episode of Crime Fix. I'm Anjanette Levy. Thanks so much for being with me. I'll see you back here next time.