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Body camera reveals babysitter’s version of events in Reston double murder
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Body camera reveals babysitter’s version of events in Reston double murder

7News obtained body camera video babysitter Juliana Perez Magalhaes He and his boss, Brendan Banfield, lured a man to their home in February 2023 as part of a plot to kill Brendan’s wife, he told police that day, prosecutors said.

Both Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan of Springfield, who arrived at the house that day, were killed.

Prosecutors believe Brendan and Magalhaes used a fetish website to get Ryan to come to the home for an event where he believed he would have sexual intercourse with Christine.

READ|Fairfax au pair pleads guilty to manslaughter in Reston double murder case

Brendan and Magalhaes then allegedly shot Ryan and stabbed Brendan’s wife to death. But the story Magalhaes told Fairfax County Police on the day of the crimes (Feb. 24, 2023) differed from what prosecutors said. In the body camera video, she told an officer that she and Brendan intervened when they saw Ryan stabbing Christine.

β€œAnd he said, I’ll kill him, I’ll kill him. And he started stabbing him. I think Brendan shot him and he asked me for help, so I shot him,” Magalhaes told the officer.

Magalhaes pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the case Tuesday in Fairfax County Circuit Court.

As Magalhaes is now cooperating with the state’s attorney’s office, he has agreed to recommend that Brendan Banfield be released without further prison time after his trial. This trial is currently scheduled to begin on February 3.