Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - HAND THAT ROCKED THE CRADLE: AU PAIR PLOTS MURDER OF LOVE-RAT-BOSS’ WIFE, HUBBY BUSTED

Episode Date: September 24, 2024

It took over a year for Virginia police to make a second arrest in connection with the murders of Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan. Juliana Peres Magalhães, the au pair caring for Banfield's daughter, faces second-degree murder charges, but only in Joseph Ryan's death. The person indicted in Christine Banfield’s killing is her husband, Brendan Banfield. He faces four counts of aggravated murder and one count of felony firearm use. That day, Banfield told 911 he shot a man who had stabbed his wife. Investigators say the killings were part of a larger scheme. Peres Magalhães and Brendan Banfield began a romantic relationship in the months leading up to the murders, and allegedly continued the affair afterward. On the day of the murders, Magalhães called 911 to report an emergency. She hung up during the first call, and more than 10 minutes later, she called again, with Brendan Banfield speaking to the dispatcher. He claimed he shot a man who had stabbed his wife. According to Peres Magalhães, they found Joseph Ryan holding a knife to Christine Banfield’s throat. She alleged Ryan stabbed Christine Banfield, and Brendan Banfield then shot Ryan. Magalhães also told authorities she fired one shot at Ryan with a second gun. Prosecutors and police say Brendan Banfield and Juliana Peres Magalhães had been having an affair for months before Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan were killed.   Joining Nancy Grace today:  Brian Foley –  Board-certified Criminal Defense Attorney, Former Chief Prosecutor in Harris County, (Houston) Texas; Author: “What Prosecutors Don’t Tell You”; Instagram @brianfoleylawpllc/ YouTube – @brianfoleylawyer/X: @brianpllc Courtney Lasky, M.Ed., LBA, BCBA   –  Board-certified Behavior Analyst, Autism Expert, and Chief Clinical Officer with Little Stars Therapy Services Ron Bateman – Sheriff (Former Homicide and Undercover Narcotics) & Author: “Silent Blue Tears: Voice of The Victims;” X: Ronbatemanbooks Dr. Jan Gorniak – Medical Examiner, Clark County Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner (Las Vegas, NV), Board Certified Forensic Pathologist Sierra Fox - Anchor/Reporter, Fox 5 Washington DC; @thesierrafox: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. The hand that rocked the cradle. It's not just a movie anymore. Did a glamorous young au pair plot the murder of her love rat boss's wife? And what about hubby? I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. So let me understand. The glamorous young au pair, as she is called, leaves to take the baby, just four years old, to the zoo and then day of all days realizes, oops, I forgot lunch. Okay. So she goes back and comes upon what? A homicide scene? Listen. Fairfax County police officers responded to a 911 call

from within the home. In an upstairs bedroom, we found Joseph Ryan deceased as a result of gunshot wounds and found Christine Banfield suffering from stab wounds. Christine was transported to a local hospital and pronounced dead. We received, we recovered rather, two firearms and a knife. This morning at 7 49 a.m. we received a cell phone 9 call that was an open line hang-up. That call was captured and noted, and 13 minutes later at 8.02 a.m., we received a cell phone 911 call from the very same cell phone, and two persons communicated with our 911 call taker. At that 802-911 cell phone call, the husband and the au pair communicate with the 911 call taker. The husband tells the 911 call taker that he just shot a man inside of his home. And the husband tells the 911 call taker that the man who he had just shot had stabbed

his wife. Okay. Whoa, this is so crazy. So the au pair comes back. She finds this scene. Where did hubby come from? He is a fed for Pete's sake. I assume he was on his way to work, a fed, a federal agent. So they come upon the wife bleeding out. You know what? Let me go straight out to investigative reporter and anchor Sierra Fox. You can find her on Fox 5 or find her online at the Sierra Fox. Sierra, thank you for being with us. Let me just understand. When the nanny, the au pair, gets back to the house to retrieve the lunches,

number one, did she leave the baby in the car? Did she bring the baby in? She brought the four-year-old daughter inside and put her inside the basement while she went upstairs to check out the scene. Okay, wait a minute. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Sierra, how did she know when she went in to put the baby in the basement and go upstairs? I thought she was just going in the kitchen to pick up lunch. Exactly. As you know, Nancy, this case has a lot of twists and turns, very confusing and complicated. No idea why exactly she would bring the four-year-old daughter inside when she thought there may be a threat. Okay, right there. Hold on, Sierra. Wait a minute. It would be a cold day in H-E-L-L that this one comes into the house with that mouthful of red lipstick and takes care of the children. Okay. Call me crazy. Ron Bateman is joining me,

former homicide undercover narcotics agent, author of a crime trilogy, Silent Blue Tears at ronbatemanbooks.com. But for my purposes, veteran law enforcement. Look, uh-uh, N-O. This one is not going to be my babysitter, Ron Bateman. Why does she have to have a mouthful of red lipstick to take care of a baby? Yeah, I wonder who was involved in the interview uh, the interview process to select this au pair. I'm sure it wasn't the wife. Uh, I'm sure the husband had all the, uh, saying in this hiring. Well, I can just tell you this, Ron Bateman. Uh-uh. N-O. Okay. Call me crazy. I'm sure you already have Courtney Lasky joining us. Uh, board certified behavior analyst. Courtney, why does she have to have a mouth full of red lipstick to take care of a four-year-old baby girl? You know, I think some

would argue it is a personal preference. Maybe she loves to feel good about herself, but there's not a need for it. You're right. This has nothing to do with anything, but I can guarantee you this, Brian Foley. Brian Foley is joining us, a veteran trial lawyer, former chief prosecutor in Harris County, that's Texas, author of What Prosecutors Don't Tell You. I don't know what you're talking about right there. Now criminal defense attorney attorney Brian Foley. Did you see those two pictures? Did you? Yeah, seems like, you know, very attractive young au pair. Okay. You know, Brian Foley, you seem pretty calm about it. You know, I don't know if your wife would feel the same way, but let me get off her lipstick and her pushup bra and her teardrop open shirt right there and her selfie. Let me get back to the actual murder. That is why we are

here tonight. Sierra Fox, this is what I want to understand. Sierra Fox joining me from Fox 5 DC. Sierra, so the au pair, aka babysitter that lives in your house, comes in, and for some reason she instinctively puts the four-year-old baby alone downstairs in the basement, and then she goes upstairs. You told me she just came back to get the lunch, the sandwiches, but that said, after she goes upstairs, what does she say she finds? Well, when police arrived on scene, she told them that this was an intruder situation, that there was a break-in, and that her and Brendan Banfield, who is the husband, her employer, was inside and acting in self-defense. So before she went inside the home, when she turned around while she was on her way to the zoo with the four-year-old girl and she went back because she forgot the lunches,

she actually called the husband husband telling him that she saw someone outside walking to the home. So while he was on his way to work, he drove back to the house and that's when they both went upstairs and then the bloody scene. Okay, I think I've got that straight. Listen guys, this is Chief Kevin Davis, Fairfax Police. The first 911 call came from the what we now know to be the au pair's cell phone. That 911 call was an open mic, nothing discernible on that call. It was a quick hang-up. We noted that call 13 minutes later from the same 911, from the same cell phone.

A 911 call was made, and on the phone was first the au pair communicating with us, and then she apparently handed the phone to the husband. The husband communicated with us, and that's when the husband told us that he shot and killed a man inside of his home and that's when the husband told us that the man who he shot and killed was stabbing his wife okay so we don't have just the wife stabbed and she dies the mother of the four-year-old little girl, we have this guy that we learn is Joseph Ryan and he gets shot dead. All right. So Sierra Fox joining us, Fox 5 Washington, this is not just a homicide. This is a double homicide. Unless of course the husband really is acting in self-defense,

which is a complete defense. But we've got two dead bodies. Let me just put it that way. Is that right? Two dead bodies. Yep. A double homicide. Dr. Gorniak is joining us. For those of you that don't know her, Dr. Jean Gorniak is a renowned medical examiner who worked in the Clark County Medical Examiner's Office, and that is Vegas. Translation, never a lack of business at the Vegas morgue. Dr. Gorniak, I'm just thinking this through. Number one, when you find a female victim who is unclothed, you can immediately rule out suicide statistically. Women do not kill themselves to be found. I think it's instinctive. I'm not sure about that.

I'm not a shrink. I can rule that out immediately. But let me talk to you about the number of wounds to this young mom nurse neck. I mean, if you want to kill somebody quickly, there are two ways to do that. One, stab them to the heart and two, stab them to the neck, the jugular. Explain. So yes, when someone is stabbed to the heart, obviously that's the main organ that supplies blood to the heart, obviously that's the main organ that supplies blood to the body.

So when you're losing blood from the heart, blood is not circulating about the body. So your body's not getting any oxygen. Major vessels come off of the heart into the neck. So when you get stabbed in the neck, major arteries are going to be severed and you're going to be losing blood from there too. So both areas, when someone is stabbed there are going to lead to someone hemorrhaging. So they're going to lose a lot of blood, decreased oxygen to the brain and leading to death. I've got a question. Other than possibly Dr. Gorniak, a stab to the heart or the neck, I guess the third most lethal stab would be to the femoral artery on the leg. What do you think? Yes, those are, people don't realize that the big artery got

supplied the blood to the legs or the femoral arteries. And sometimes we can't even tell that someone can even have a gunshot wound, a stab wound, and get that vessel. And then once again, all that blood is bleeding inside of the leg. And sometimes we're surprised, like, okay, how did they die? And it's because they got that artery in the leg. Also, common places to be stabbed is in the chest, and the lungs could be punctured, and they can bleed out into their chest also. I'm just thinking, Ron Bateman joining me, former homicide detective and now author. Ron, I'm just thinking about this lady, this mom, minding her own business, up in her bedroom, probably in bed,

thinking her daughter, her baby, has gone to the zoo and that her husband, the fed, has gone to work. And all of a sudden, all H-E-double-L breaks loose, and there she is stabbed multiple times in the neck. That is a horrible way to die. Absolutely. You can't defend yourself when you're stabbed in the carotid artery in your neck. I mean, you're rendered completely useless at that point. So there's no way she could even take any maneuvers to try to defend herself. It's a very sad,

sad situation for sure. You know, another thing, this is reminding me, Brian Foley joining us, veteran trial lawyer out of Texas. It's reminding me of comparisons. there she is in her nurse outfit. I believe she was in the NICU ward, a pediatric nurse. Brian Foley, this is very similar to the Brian Koberger stabbings, where the victims are in bed, quasi-asleep, some ambulance, I guess, half-asleep, half- half awake. And they are immediately confronted with a stabber. Now, that's a whole different mentality. It's not like a sharpshooter at a distance where the person doesn't even seem real. It's like you're shooting at an arcade duck going by on one of those conveyors. It's not real. But stabbing someone, and unlike strangling them, which is also an

up-close and personal murder, it takes a degree of viciousness to stab someone. And you've got to be prepared for immediate blood flow, especially if an artery such as the carotid artery or the jugular is stabbed. That's a whole different mindset, Brian Foley. So how would you in any way minimize that with a jury? Stabbed in the neck repeatedly? A naked lady up in her bedroom? Yeah, I think, you know, as a defense attorney, when you're confronted with a situation like this, you want to point to the amount of confusion that there is in something like this. Why is there both a gun and a knife being involved? If this is all a plot, we know that the husband is an IRS criminal agent.

He had a gun issued to him by the IRS that was used in this. Why are they doing multiple different plots? Why are they bringing in this unknown person, Joseph Ryan, from out of nowhere. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Brendan Banfield finds his wife Christine nude and a man he doesn't know with a knife to her throat. Banfield tells the man to put the knife down, but he starts stabbing the 37-year-old mother. Brendan Banfield carries a gun as an IRS special agent, and he draws his service revolver and

shoots the man in the head. The intruder is wounded and down on the ground. Banfield calls for Perez Magaliz and tells the au pair to get his personal gun, a Glock, out of the bathroom safe. Giving her the code, the au pair retrieves the Glock and at Banfield's direction, shoots Joseph Ryan through the heart as he is laying on the ground. Let me understand what I'm hearing. Guys, in the last hours, a bombshell development in the investigation into the deaths of two people. Number one, the mother in this case, a local nurse, the mother of a four-year-old little girl, Christine Banfield, stabbed to death. Multiple stab wounds to the next.

Also, a guy that nobody seemingly knows, a 39-year-old guy, Joseph Ryan. He's up in the bedroom with the mom. Why is he there? So, Sierra, the husband, shot the intruder, I guess, even though there's no forced entry. But why did he then go tell the au pair to shoot Joseph Ryan as well? Right now, investigators haven't revealed exactly why Joseph Ryan was shot twice and why the husband would tell the au pair to get his block with the code and then shoot Ryan again, who is inside the Banfield's

home. Okay, this is what I don't understand, Ron Bateman. Why did the hubby, the husband, and the au pair have to kill the so-called intruder Joseph Ryan, who I don't think was an intruder, but that's putting the cart before the horse. Why'd they have to kill him twice? So am I supposed to believe that the husband shoots Ryan, who he finds with his wife in the head and then says, okay, I've shot him. I've got a gun on him. Now you, here's the code. You go get this other gun and now you shoot him. That's total BS. And at a time like that, you're not telling anybody, hey, here's the code, one, two, three, four, pound, pound, pound. Now get the gun. No, I mean, the chief of police,

the sheriff, his head must have blown off when he heard that. Why not just shoot the guy twice yourself? Yeah. I mean, first off, it was reported that he was shot in the head by the IRS agent. So therefore, you're most likely dead. You're completely incapacitated for sure. But he's an investigator and he wants his cohort to be equally culpable. So he then has her do the same thing and shoot him supposedly in the heart. So now if I'm going to go down, you're going down too. So that way they're both culpable. I think that's the underlying plan. Let me see that picture of Joseph Ryan again. He's petting a little puppy dog. Okay. He looks harmless, but of course looks can be deceiving. Okay. Here's another fly in the ointment. The double 911 call. I promise you, if I'm calling 911, I'm not going to hang up and wait 13 minutes and call back.

If there's a 911 call, there darn well better be a 911 happening. So listen to this. Christine Banfield is mortally wounded, bleeding profusely as she lays on the floor in the Banfield bedroom. The man who had been stabbing her is Joseph Ryan. He's wounded when Brendan Banfield shoots him with a service weapon, but is killed when au pair Juliana Perez-Mogulis shoots him through the heart as he's laying on the floor. Juliana Perez-Mogulis calls 911, and after connecting with the operator, she hands the phone to Brendan Banfield. This is the second time that day that Magaliz dials 911. The first she called from the basement, but she later told police she hung up when she realizes she has no idea of

what's going on upstairs. Okay. I found out Sierra Fox digging through some police docs that the husband told the babysitter to go in, to put the baby in the basement. That's the story. But here's what I want to understand also, Sierra Fox, Joseph Ryan, who's lying dead on the floor when cops get there, he shot in the head and the heart. Is that right? That's what I read in court documents. Yes.

Okay. So they didn't think shooting him in the heart was enough to kill him or the head. They had to kill him twice also. So the wife is stabbed multiple times in the neck, the jugular vein, and he, Joseph Ryan, shot in the head and the heart. Okay. I don't think this guy broke in. Listen. On the sexual dating site, FetLife, a profile is created using the online name of Anastasia9. Finding the Anastasia9 profile for Christine Banfield and communications between Anastasia9 and Joseph Ryan, authorities believe someone other than Christine Banfield set up the profile and it was someone else that was communicating with Joseph Ryan while pretending Anastasia9 is Christine Banfield.

Okay, I'm drinking from the fire hydrant right now. Too much, too fast. Let's just start with the fetish website. All right. To Sierra Fox, joining us, Fox 5 DC. Joseph Ryan did not break in. No forced entry whatsoever. Why doesn't anybody have nanny cans for Pete's sake or surveillance video so I can figure out what's going on. The pair, and this is the mom and Joseph Ryan, an unknown male, the one petting the puppy dog. They've been talking on an adult fetish site. And now we find out the mom reportedly has a profile there and she, the mom who works full time as a nurse and takes care of a four year old baby girl wants rough sex at home where her husband just left two minutes before. Okay. Sierra Fox. I can remember when the twins were four years old.

The last thing on my mind was going on an adult fetish website and meeting some guy I've never met for rough sex. Okay. I was just trying to get through the day. Okay. So explain to me this working mom and nurses are on their feet all day long, taking care of a million people from washing their hands and slapping on Purell all day long to cleaning bedpans, to helping people vomit, to bringing meds and making sure they take their meds and they're fed and they're this and they're that all day. They have to wear those special shoes because their legs hurt so much at the end of the day. She comes home to the baby and the fed, the husband with the IRS, no comment there, not a word. And now she wants rough sex. Is that what

I'm supposed to understand? Sierra Fox. Nancy, to your point, this is very, very perplexing. Fairfax County police have not released the specific relationship between Joseph Ryan and Christine Banfield, but sources do confirm they were communicating on a fetish website. Did you say it's perplexing? It is. A lot of questions are being raised. And last week at the press conference with Fairfax County police, they didn't want to explain. Do you have children yet? I do not. No. Okay. See, that's why you have so much energy. Okay. Just wait. Just wait. Trust me, Sierra. The last thing is going to be on your mind. First thing in the morning is having rough sex with a guy you have never met off a fetish website. Now

I need to understand something back to, uh, Ron Bateman. Oh God. Digital evidence. That's what I want right now. I want it fast and I want it now. Digital evidence. How did this website get set up? Did this mom, do we really know she set up the website connection with Joseph Ryan? Because if she didn't, I am telling you, fur is going to fly, Bateman. You know what? That part of the investigation is going to reveal a lot of information. And if you would like for me to talk about it now, I had a conversation with Chief Kevin Davis this morning about this case. I've known Kevin for a long time. He's a great cop, first and foremost.

The case is still ongoing, of course, so he can't reveal everything, but he assured me that they have a very, and I'll quote this, a very strong case, and he has a lot of forensic evidence that's very damning. The husband was treated at a local hospital for a minor injury that he told us he had to his leg, and the husband has elected not to speak to Fairfax County detectives. The au pair is speaking with Fairfax County Detectives right now. The husband is not charged. He is not accused.

He was present at the home. Not speak to detectives. If someone so much as touched a hair on my husband's head, I would be lying on the front step of the police station, screaming at the top of my lungs to get the person that hurt my husband. Did I just hear Brian Foley? Is it possible? The husband has, quote, elected not to speak to Fairfax County detectives after his wife has been stabbed in the neck repeatedly in her bedroom, butt naked, and he doesn't want to talk to detectives? Uh-uh. No, that's not right, Foley. Well, you do have

the Fifth Amendment right not to speak to the police if you don't want to. And he did also shoot somebody just a minute ago. Foley, why wouldn't you want to speak to police? Why wouldn't you want to speak to police and tell them how you came in and this guy's stabbing your wife in the neck? So you shoot him dead in the head, but then for some reason get your au pair with all the red lipstick to shoot him in the heart too. That's a whole other can of worms. But why would he want to take the fifth fully?

Yeah, I mean, there are so many cans of worms. Like, for example, if Christine didn't make that dating profile, I just said, why did she, if I say it, you don't say it right after me echo chamber. What? So if she, uh, if there was confusion in this case, you know, it comes starting with Christine making this website and there's no forced entry. So we know she let this guy in who would have been a stranger to her. And the police's theory is that that guy, a stranger, was recruited by the au pair and the husband. To Courtney Lasky. Now I see why Brian Foley wins so many cases.

He's, you know, he's going to go down with a ship defending this guy and the Courtney Lasky joining us, um, board certified behavior analyst. And you can find her at littlestarterapyks.com. Courtney, I'm not a shrink. I'm not a behavioral analyst like you, much less board certified behavior analyst. But I know when I smell a rat, I smell a rat because I find it really hard to believe that if I had been harmed, stabbed, much less that my husband would not tear the whole place down trying to find out what happened. And he, quote, elects not to speak to police about his dead wife lying naked in the floor. And this guy is a fed. He works with the IRS.

He knows the law. So why wouldn't he speak to police? Courtney? That is one of the most pressing questions that I have. He is in the criminal division of the IRS. When we look at behavioral forensics, we first look at all of the individuals involved and we look at their learning histories. Mr. Banfield has an extensive learning history in crimes and understanding the legal aspects, how to plan a crime, how to defend against a crime, how to investigate a crime. So he would have that

knowledge of what he should and shouldn't do following a serious, serious event that occurred in his home. Okay, guys, what happens next? Listen to Kevin Davis, Fairfax County Police Chief. On February 24th, 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 both, in fact, murders. I will not describe our victim Joseph Ryan's relationship with anyone involved because this investigation continues. And, like any criminal investigation, our probing of the facts does not end when an arrest is made. This much is clear. We have evidence to now allege

that Christine Banfield's life was unlawfully taken and Joseph Ryan's life was unlawfully taken. Well, that can only mean one thing. When they say that both Joseph Ryan and Christine Banfield were murdered, that means to me, of course, this will be determined in a court of law, that no one was acting in self-defense. Now, to Dr. Jan Gorniak, a renowned medical examiner, formerly out of Vegas, Dr. Gorniak, I don't like this, but I know it to be true.

It's very hard to date or time stab wounds. For instance, which stab came first? But in this case, to determine who stabbed the wife, Christine Banfield, we could look at the body of Joseph Ryan. Yes, he's been shot in the head and the heart, both obviously mortal wounds. But wouldn't we be able to, for instance, look at his hands to see if they were bloody? Is he the stabber or is somebody else the stabber? What would you look for on his person? When that body rolls into your morgue, what would you do?

It's difficult to determine which one came first, absolutely, because we don't know what positions the bodies were in when they were stabbed. So, for example, we know that she was stabbed in the left side of the neck and the right side of the neck, and we want to know what hand the perpetrator uses. So if she's face down and they're right-handed, she'll have stab wounds on the right side of the neck. And if they're facing each other and the same thing, uses the right hand, that'd be on the right side of the neck. And if they're facing each other and the same thing uses the right hand, that'd be on the left side of her neck. Unfortunately, or fortunately, people just don't stay in one position to sustain injuries like that. Like you said, it's up close and personal. So it's not an injury that's going to be immediately fatal. So you're

going to start moving around, but it's going to be immediately fatal. So you're going to start moving around, but it's going to be very difficult to determine unless the perpetrator has injuries on their hand. It's going to be very difficult to tell who the perpetrator actually was. Dr. Gorniak, at first, I thought that this sounded crazy, but then I started seeing it over and over and over again. And I realize it's true. And I would love to have gotten to look at Brian Koberger's hands immediately after the four university students were murdered quasi asleep. Very often, even if you are using a knife that has a hilt, you know, like one of these, your hand slides down from the handle onto the blade. The human body puts up a lot of resistance when you stab. It's not like stabbing into butter. It's more like stabbing into a roast beef that's

been in the fridge a really long time or turkey, a turkey. Yes, a turkey. Just stabbing straight in and you meet resistance. And very often perps are not prepared for that resistance and they stab and their hand slides down the blade and they get, get sliced. It's actually very common. Um, especially if you have the overhead, overhead stab motion, as opposed to the straight ahead stab motion. Very interesting. It's very interesting, the dynamic of stab wounds. That said, that's one thing that we would look for on Ryan's hands. Is he even the stabber? Also, do you have the victim's blood on Ryan? It's going to be really hard to determine because she's covered in blood. It's a bloody crime scene. She's been stabbed in the jugular vein, for Pete's sake. He's been shot twice.

And somehow you, the medical examiner, have to preserve the clothing, preserve everything you find on the hands, if anything. Because at some point, somebody, a DNA expert, is going to want to differentiate between his blood and her blood. That's a tough order, Dr. Gorniak. As you said, Nancy, there are a lot of variables when it comes to the stabbing, you know, injuries and whether the perpetrator is going to get injuries on their hands. It's going to be where they're stabbed, the person is being stabbed, the type of instrument that they're using. So I hear

you when you talk about the force or the tension that comes with stabbing somebody. But remember, in the neck, you're not going to run into resistance until you hit actually the cervical spine, so the vertebrae in the neck, compared to stabbing somebody in the chest. So therefore, it is like once you get through the skin, depending on how sharp the instrument is, it is like, once you get through the skin, depending on how sharp the instrument is, it is going to slide through the body like butter. So there may or may not be injuries on somebody's hand. Plus those vessels in the neck sit so close to the skin, you don't have to penetrate the neck that deep. So yes, we're going to look at the victim's hand, but our experience, because we usually don't have the suspect who did the stabbing on our table also. So this is a very unique case.

So they might be able to determine whether or not she was stabbed by the unknown assailant in her house. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Sierra Fox joining us, Fox 5. Is this true? And I want to show you a photo. Is it true that police find the babysitter, the au pairs, clothes hanging in the dead mom's closet and a picture of the au pair and the husband on the bedside table? Is this real? It's real. It's true. And it's absolutely chilling. Police released a photo of the au pair and the husband together

on the bedside table right next to the bed. And that's the same exact room where these murders happened. So very scary. I'm looking at the photo right now. What is in the background? Where are they? Are they going on dates and they've taken, looks like he's taking a selfie. I mean, you can see her arm. Okay. You know what? That that's too much for me to even take. Whoa, my goodness. Wait, the cleavage is back. There she is. What, when, what I'm showing a photo right now, Sierra of them at a restaurant happily posing together. Here it looks like they're getting somebody else probably the waiter to take that picture. Well when did this happen? No idea when that specific photo appeared but they have been in an affair while the pair was living inside the

home. At this time it's not clear if Christine knew about it or not. Oh my stars this woman working to support the family and coming home and these two have been at it like two bunnies all day long. So not only do we have confirmation now of what we suspected, these two were having a sex affair right under the dead wife's nose, but it's deeper than that. Affairs happen day do i like it no does it happen yes does that make the husband a murderer no it doesn't but wait a minute listen investigators say however they believe it was all a ruse that someone else created the profile on the adult fetish website pretending to be christine ban. In fact, investigators believe Ryan's murder was

part of an elaborate plan to kill Christine Banfield so her husband Brendan and their Brazilian live-in au pair could be together. So this is a very elaborate plot, Ron Bateman. It seems as if Joseph Ryan, who was on the website, we think the adult fetish website, was lured to the home by someone pretending to be the mom, Christine Banfield, using the profile name Anastasia9. And he responds to what he believes is a request for an encounter for rough sex. Okay, do you really believe that this au pair put that whole plot together on her own and the husband knew nothing? Ron Bateman? Okay. So that's where this investigation is really going to reveal a lot of things. When they start looking into IP addresses where this was

created, it might've been at his work or at a friend's house or at a hotel room that they rented. That's really going to reveal a lot of things. And, you know, it's pretty common. Number one rule in how to commit a crime handbook is don't do it with someone else. And that's exactly what this guy did. You know, he had this au pair. He had this plan.

The plan sucked and it backfired on him big time. Is that a technical legal term? Yes, it is. The plan sucked and it backfired on a big time. Is that a technical legal term? Yes, it is. The plan sucked. Now, this gives DIY a whole new meaning. These two plotting together. And in the last days, another bombshell hubby busted. Listen.

Early last year, the double homicide of Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan shook our entire community. Today, I'm pleased to announce that due to the hard work of police and prosecutors, the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office has secured an indictment against Brandon Banfield for the murder of his wife, Christine, and the murder of Mr. Ryan. Fairfax County police officers took Brandon Banfield into custody, and he's been brought to the same adult detention center where Juliana Perez-Mogulis has been since last year when she was arrested for the murder of Mr. Ryan. The great investigative work of the Fairfax County Police Department led us to new information which was instrumental in securing today's indictment that charges Brendan Banfield with aggravated murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Was it worth it? Of course, he's innocent until proven guilty under our Constitution.

Was it worth it just to have sex with the babysitter under your wife's nose? Because now the baby girl, mom is dad and dad's behind bars awaiting trial. Is it true to Sierra Fox joining us, Fox 5, on the case from the very beginning that in court, the husband, the Fed, the IRS agent refused to even state he was married to Christine at the time she was killed? One of my Fox 5 colleagues was in the courtroom and they did say that he just continued to plead the fifth, exercising his constitutional right to remain silent, to not potentially incriminate himself. So he did not say anything during that hearing. Take a listen to our forensic crime online. Juliana Perez-Mogulis, the Banfield family au pair, is charged with the death of Joseph Ryan,

but not charged in the death of Christine Banfield. Police Chief Kevin Davis says the investigation is ongoing and he expects to hold more than just one person accountable for the crimes. Now, Brendan Banfield is charged with four counts of aggravated murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. He's being held without bond. So the nanny, the babysitter, Juliana Perez-Magaliz, is charged in the death of Joseph Ryan. But two people were murdered. What about the mom, Sierra Fox? Who's charged in that? Well, Brendan Banfield is facing several charges, including four counts of aggravated murder and use of a firearm and commission of a felony.

And right when we heard this from the Commonwealth's attorney, we were confused. Why four counts? Well, the reason is very technical and lawyer-y. Nancy, as a former prosecutor, you probably understand best. But essentially, the aggravated murder statute in Virginia has multiple options to prove that. And so when they look at that and plan to present what they have, prosecutors just wanted to be able to cover all their bases

so the jury had options. I see. Charging in the alternative, like charging with murder one and then charging with felony murder as an alternative murder charge. I see what you mean. If you know or think you know anything about this case, no matter how slight, LA Law Enforcement is building a case now.

Please call 703-246-7800. Repeat, 703-246-7800. Two people are dead, and I want to know why. Good night, friend.