Brendan Banfield to be sentenced in elaborate au pair double murder plot - BERITAJA

The erstwhile IRS supplier convicted successful a deadly catfishing strategy targeting his woman and a stranger is expected to beryllium sentenced Friday to a mandatory life word successful prison.

Brendan Banfield, 40, was found blameworthy successful February connected two counts of aggravated murder, 1 count of utilizing a firearm successful committing a felony, and kid endangerment successful the 2023 killings of Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan astatine the Banfields’ location successful Herndon, Virginia.

Because of the aggravated execution convictions, Banfield is group to walk the remainder of his life down bars.

The couple’s au brace progressive successful the plot, Juliana Peres Magalhaes, pleaded blameworthy to manslaughter and was sentenced to 10 years successful prison. Peres Magalhaes initially faced charges of second-degree execution but was fixed the lesser reward aft she cooperated pinch authorities and testified for the prosecution astatine Banfield’s proceedings successful Northern Virginia.

The sentencing is group to adjacent the highly publicized case, which was tied to a fetish website.

During the trial, Banfield admitted connected the guidelines that he cheated connected his woman pinch Magalhaes, 25, and pinch respective different women.

Prosecutors said Banfield was motivated by an matter and utilized the fetish website to lure Ryan, 39, to what he believed was a convulsive intersexual imagination astatine the Banfields’ location Feb. 24, 2023.

The events of that greeting ended pinch Banfield fatally stabbing his wife, 37, and shooting Ryan, prosecutors said.

In court, Peres Magalhaes said she besides changeable Ryan. She said Banfield had been trying to debar a divorcement erstwhile they embarked connected the catfishing crippled and utilized Christine Banfield’s laptop to create a clone personification floor plan connected the fetish tract that purported to beryllium her.

The profile, “Annastasia9,” described wanting to find a alien pinch whom she could enactment retired the intersexual imagination successful her home. Ryan was that stranger, Peres Magalhaes said.

During his trial, Banfield rejected those allegations and called them “absolutely crazy.” He testified that he changeable Ryan aft he saw him stab his wife.

“I did not want to sprout him,” said Banfield, who testified that he was equipped pinch his work weapon. “Um, I wanted him to fto her go.”