Virginia man gets life without parole in 2023 double-murder plot
What's new: The scheme centered on luring Joseph Ryan to the Banfield home to pin Christine Banfield's killing on him.
A Virginia judge sentenced Brendan Banfield to life in prison without parole after his conviction in the 2023 killings of his wife, Christine Banfield, and Joseph Ryan in Fairfax County. A jury found Banfield guilty in February of two counts of aggravated murder, and Judge Penney Azcarate rejected his bid to overturn the verdict before sentencing. Prosecutors said Banfield posed as his wife on a fetish website to draw Ryan to the family home in Herndon for what Ryan believed was a consensual role-play encounter, then used the setup to frame him for Christine Banfield's killing. Fox News reported Banfield was also convicted on firearm and child endangerment counts. Juliana Peres Magalhães, the family's former au pair, previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter.