Alleged killer husband Brendan Banfield had moved his au pair’s lingerie into his murdered wife’s closet, and replaced photographs of the couple with pictures of him and the nanny within months of his spouse’s death, authorities in Virginia said Thursday.
Banfield, a former IRS agent, is on trial for the murder of the mother of his child, Christine, and a second victim, Joseph Ryan, as part of a twisted rape plot to 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 her so he could be with his Brazilian au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhaes.
Christine Banfield and Brendan Banfield in an undated photo.Christine Banfield/Instagram
Sgt. Kenner Fortner, with the Fairfax County Police Department, described how Magalhaes’ clothing, including several items of red lingerie, had been moved from her bedroom to the master bedroom between February 2023, when he visited on the day of the murders, and October 2023, when he had come to arrest the au pair.
Brazilian au pair Juliana Peres Magalhaes testifies in court on Jan. 14, 2026.AP
He also noted that photographs of Banfield and his murdered wife had been replaced with pictures of him and Magalhaes in the eight months between the two police visits to the home in a leafy Washington, DC, suburb.
Photographs of Magalhaes’ lingerie in Christine Banfield’s closet, as well as her former bedroom with a Brazilian flag on the wall above her bed, were shown to the jury at the trial.
Brendan Banfield is accused of killing his wife and Joseph Ryan.Fairfax County Police
Banfield, 40, is accused of killing his wife and Ryan, a stranger whom he and Magalhaes allegedly hired on a BDSM fetish website to rape Christine, so they could stage the double murder as a deadly home invasion.
The pair allegedly lured Ryan while posing as Christine online, setting up what Ryan believed was a consensual 𝒔𝒆𝒙𝒖𝒂𝒍 encounter.
Brazilian au pair Juliana Peres Magalhaes in an undated photo.Julianna Peres/Instagram
A backpack belonging to Ryan containing lubricant, electrical 𝓉𝒶𝓅𝑒, chains, and an apricot — which police believed was intended to be used as a makeshift ball gag — was discovered in the bloodstained bedroom.
When Ryan arrived and began raping the sleeping Christine, Magalhaes reportedly phoned Banfield, who returned to the house and allegedly shot Ryan before fatally stabbing his wife in the neck.
Brendan Banfield in court on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026.AP
The jury was also shown pictures of the blood-covered bedroom carpet where Christine’s body was found, as well as photos of the knife allegedly used to murder her, found next to the bed under a blanket.
Blood spatters on the bedroom wall and on a laundry basket were also photographed by police and shown by the prosecution.
A framed photo of Banfield with his Brazilian au pair.AP
Two handguns, a Glock 19M and a Glock 23X, discovered on the property, were pictured and shown to the judge.
Magalhaes previously told the jury that she and Banfield had become intimate in October 2022, six months before the alleged murder.
Joseph Nathan Ryan was killed.Deirdre Fisher via WUSA9
The jury was shown pictures of a fitted bedsheet recovered from Magalhaes’ bedroom stained in bodily fluids.
Banfield, who faces life in prison if found guilty, remained emotionless as the gruesome evidence was displayed, occasionally taking notes.