A Virginia man on trial for double-homicide will testify in his own defense, his lawyer says.
Prosecutors say Brendan Banfield concocted an elaborate scheme to kill his spouse, Christine Banfield, and one other man, Joseph Ryan, in their household house in February 2023. He faces life in jail if convicted on aggravated homicide fees he faces.
Banfield has maintained his innocence, and his lawyer has accused prosecutors and investigators of manipulating proof to swimsuit their concept in opposition to Banfield.
Prosecutors placed on a case over 4 days of testimony, telling the jury Banfield plotted with his household’s au pair to pose as his spouse on a fetish web site and lure Ryan to their house beneath the guise of getting a consensual violent sexual encounter. Banfield was having an extramarital affair with the au pair on the time, prosecutors say.
The plan, in accordance to prosecutors, was to body Ryan for Christine Banfield’s loss of life and make Ryan’s killing seem to be an act of self-defense.
Should Banfield take the stand, the jury will hear his model of occasions. Such a transfer comes with threat, because it topics the defendant to cross-examination.
When the incident first unfolded February 24, 2023, the au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, and Banfield referred to as 911 to report the incident from the scene.
They instructed investigators Peres Magalhães noticed Ryan enter the home early that morning and referred to as Brendan Banfield, who rushed house to examine. Banfield, who was an armed IRS investigator on the time, mentioned he shot Ryan as soon as in the top when he noticed Ryan stabbing his spouse in their bed room. Peres Magalhães used Banfield’s private firearm to shoot Ryan a second time.
During a listening to Friday morning concerning the directions that might be given to the jury earlier than it deliberates, Banfield’s legal professional instructed the decide his consumer intends to take the stand. Banfield’s testimony would seemingly lead the decide to permit the panel to contemplate much less extreme murder fees in opposition to Banfield, Judge Penney Azcarate acknowledged in the course of the listening to.
Banfield didn’t take the stand Friday however may when the trial continues subsequent week. Judge Azcarate warned that Monday’s court docket session might be canceled due to the anticipated snowstorm.
Peres Magalhães was arrested for Ryan’s homicide in October 2023, and a yr later agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in opposition to Banfield in trade for a suggestion that she be sentenced to time served. She testified at trial that the crime scene was really staged by Banfield, who concocted the scheme to “get rid” of his spouse.
Peres Magalhães on the stand acknowledged that she needs to get out of jail but in addition mentioned the guilt and shame of hiding the truth weighed on her.
Banfield’s defense legal professional has accused prosecutors of providing Peres Magalhães a manner out of jail in trade for a false story to pin the murders on Banfield.
Banfield was not arrested and charged with homicide for his spouse and Ryan’s deaths till September 2024.
Defense legal professional John Carroll has referred to as a number of legislation enforcement witnesses to the stand to query the police investigation of the case. Multiple investigators who testified in the defense case have been transferred to different items or left the police division altogether.
Carroll has accused Fairfax County police of ignoring digital information recovered from Christine Banfield’s gadgets that he says disproves the speculation that Banfield “catfished” Ryan posing as his spouse.
An preliminary digital forensics evaluation carried out by investigators discovered that Christine Banfield had management over her gadgets earlier than her loss of life, and people findings have been upheld in a peer assessment of the report.
Det. Brendan Miller, who penned the report, testified for the defense Wednesday that he was requested to assessment his findings after Peres Magalhães modified her story to “ensure (he) could explain what (he) had put in that executive summary” although the uncooked proof remained the identical.
Miller additionally mentioned he was transferred to a special unit inside the Fairfax County Police Department over his work on the Banfield case.
On cross-examination, the detective acknowledged no proof contradicts the testimony from Peres Magalhães and mentioned it’s usually unattainable to place somebody behind a tool with certainty.
One of Miller’s former supervisors testified Thursday that he pushed for Miller’s switch to a special division in half as a result of the findings in the report have been inaccurate.
Peres Magalhães testified Christine Banfield was house when the au pair and the defendant used Christine’s laptop computer to secretly entry a fetish web site to discover a man whom they may ultimately body for his spouse’s homicide.
Another digital forensics professional who peer-reviewed Miller’s report testified about his own findings Friday.
Harry Lidsky, who beforehand labored for the Office of the Inspector General inside the Department of Justice, instructed the jury that based mostly on his evaluation, digital information from gadgets belonging to Christine Banfield, Brendan Banfield and Peres Magalhães doesn’t assist prosecutors’ catfishing concept.
Lidsky reviewed information on the stand that he says reveals Peres Magalhães and Brendan Banfield weren’t all the time house when Christine Banfield’s gadgets have been utilizing the Fetish web site account or messaging Ryan on Telegram. Lidsky additionally testified that on a number of events Christine’s gadgets have been utilizing her private Gmail account and different unrelated purposes whereas the Fetlife.com or Telegram accounts have been energetic.
During opening statements, prosecutor Jenna Sands promised the jury they wouldn’t have to rely solely on testimony from Peres Magalhães as a result of blood proof would show Banfield killed his spouse.
When law enforcement officials arrived on the scene they discovered Banfield knelt over his spouse’s physique with his fingers on her neck. He mentioned he was making use of stress to her wounds to gradual the bleeding, in accordance to body-worn digital camera footage performed in court docket.
During his defense case, jurors watched body-worn digital camera footage from an officer who escorted Banfield to the hospital after the shootings. They heard Banfield audibly weep when he discovered his spouse had died. As footage of Banfield washing blood off his fingers was performed, the officer testified he wasn’t directed to look at Banfield’s fingers or protect the proof on the time.
The prosecution and the defense referred to as dueling bloodstain sample analysts with differing conclusions concerning the crime scene.
The defense highlighted the absence of Brendan Banfield’s DNA on the knife used to fatally stab Christine. Analysis solely recovered DNA from Christine and Joseph Ryan, who prosecutors say introduced the knife there at Brendan Banfield’s path posing as his spouse.
The defense professional LeeAnn Singley mentioned Ryan had wounds on his hand that might be per having stabbed somebody repeatedly. The prosecution’s professional Iris Dalley Graff acknowledged bruising on Ryan’s thumb however mentioned she couldn’t conclusively say how Ryan sustained the harm.
Dalley Graff testified that finger-shaped switch bloodstains bearing Christine’s DNA have been recovered on Ryan’s denims. She additionally mentioned blood drips on Ryan’s forearm appeared to fall from his wrist to elbow. These findings might be per testimony from Peres Magalhães that Banfield manipulated the crime scene after stabbing his spouse.
Prosecutors have alleged Banfield moved Joseph Ryan’s physique earlier than police arrived and, in accordance to Peres Magalhães, she noticed Banfield take handfuls of his spouse’s blood and drip it on Ryan in an effort to body him.
This story has been up to date with further info.