Husband indicted in Virginia double homicide nearly a year after au pair’s arrest

Associated Press/Report for America

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — A Virginia grand jury has indicted Brendan Banfield on four counts of aggravated murder in the 2023 killings of his wife, Christine Banfield, and Joseph Ryan. The news came in the form of a bench warrant filed in Fairfax Circuit Court. Banfield’s arrest comes nearly a year after Juliana Peres Magalhães, an au pair caring for the Banfields’ daughter, was charged with second-degree murder in Ryan’s killing. Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis and Commonwealth Attorney Steve Descano say officials conducted a sprawling, months-long investigation in the killings.