Brazilian Juliana Peres Magalhães was sentenced this Friday (13) to 10 years in prison in the USA for participating in a murder plan that resulted in the deaths of two people in Virginia. According to the American press, the 25-year-old Brazilian woman pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the case that occurred in February 2023.
According to the indictment, Juliana participated in the murder plan for Joseph Ryan and Christine Banfield. The crime occurred when the Brazilian woman was au pair – exchange student who lives with his family to take care of the children – at the Banfield family home in Fairfax County. She was reportedly the lover of her then employer, Brendan Banfield, Christine’s husband at the time.
According to prosecutors, Joseph Ryan and Christine Banfield were killed inside the Banfield family home in Fairfax County as part of a plan previously organized by Brendan Banfield and Juliana. According to prosecutors, the objective was to kill Christine and pretend that Ryan was responsible for the crime. To carry out the plan, the prosecution claims that Brendan and Juliana created a fake profile in Christine’s name on a sexual fetish website to lure Ryan to the family’s residence under the pretext of a date. When he arrived at the scene, he was taken inside the house and shot. At trial, Juliana admitted that she fired the second shot, which killed Ryan. Christine was also murdered on the same occasion, being stabbed by her husband, Brendan.
In the version initially presented to the police, Brendan and Juliana said they had arrived home and found Ryan attacking Christine with a knife. According to this report, Brendan would have reacted by shooting at the alleged intruder, and Juliana would also have fired to contain the situation. Subsequent investigations, however, showed that this narrative was false and that the meeting had been previously planned by the Brazilian woman and Brendan.
The prosecution had asked the court that Juliana only serve the period she had already spent in prison, as she had reached a deal with the prosecution, pleading guilty to manslaughter and agreeing to collaborate in the case against Brendan Banfield. Juliana had been in pre-trial detention since 2023, when she was formally accused in the case.
“I know that my remorse cannot bring you peace. I lost myself in a relationship and left my values and principles behind,” said Juliana. “I have caused pain that cannot be measured. I ask for forgiveness from the Benson family and the family of Joseph Ryan,” he added. “There is nothing I can do to compensate you for the loss. There are many regrets, this is the biggest one”, he concluded.
The judge in the case, Penney Azcarate, however, rejected the prosecution’s request and imposed the maximum penalty for the crime of manslaughter in Virginia against Juliana: 10 years in prison.
“Your actions were deliberate, selfish and demonstrated a profound disregard for human life. So let’s be clear: you deserve nothing more than prison and a lifetime of reflection on what you did to the victim and this family,” the judge told Juliana when issuing the sentence.
In turn, Brendan Banfield was found guilty this month of two counts of aggravated murder for the deaths of Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan. Banfield’s sentence is scheduled to be read on May 8. Christine left behind a young son from her marriage to Brendan. He was 4 years old at the time of the crime.
