Current:Home > ContactBlood-spatter analysis helped investigation into husband charged with killing wife and another man -NextFrontier Finance
Blood-spatter analysis helped investigation into husband charged with killing wife and another man
View
Date:2025-04-12 21:28:05
FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — Expert bloodstain-pattern and forensic analysis helped investigators pursue charges against a Virginia husband accused of killing his wife and another man at the married couple’s Fairfax County home, prosecutors said Friday.
Earlier this month, a grand jury indicted Brendan Banfield on charges of aggravated murder in the February 2023 killings of Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan. At the time of his arrest, which occurred more than a year after the incident, Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said new information found in officials’ investigation was “instrumental in securing today’s indictment,” but he declined to elaborate further.
During a Friday bond hearing, Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Eric Clingan said police received in August “two definitive reports from expert forensic investigators” who spent more than a year reviewing evidence. Clingan said the reports were foundational in supporting prosecutors’ theory that Ryan and Christine Banfield’s bodies were moved and repositioned after they were fatally wounded. Clingan also said Ryan’s arms were moved and smeared with the wife’s blood.
John F. Carroll, Brendan Banfield’s attorney, argued in court that Clingan’s narrative of what happened was not evidence of the husband killing his wife. “It just doesn’t add up, judge,” Carroll said.
At the end of the hearing, Fairfax Circuit Chief Judge Penney S. Azcarate denied Banfield bail, requiring the defendant to remain in the county jail until his trial, which is scheduled for February.
The blood-spatter evidence is one piece of officials’ sprawling investigation into Banfield and Juliana Peres Magalhães, the family’s au pair who was also charged with second-degree murder in Ryan’s killing. Magalhães was arrested last October and will face a trial this November.
Authorities have said the killings were part of a larger scheme between Magalhães and Brendan Banfield, whom officials alleged had begun a romantic relationship in August 2022.
In the six months before the killings, Magalhães and Banfield went on a trip to New York City together, and took romantic pictures together, Clingan said. The prosecutor also said other women had informed detectives that Banfield participated in multiple extramarital affairs during his marriage.
“Multiple, credible women confirmed this fact including one, in particular, who told them that during the course of her affair with this defendant a few years ago he would constantly promise to leave his wife,” Clingan said. “Eventually he told her, ‘It would be so much easier for us if she was not around.’ ”
On the day of the killings, authorities have said Magalhães called 911 at least two times within minutes. But authorities said she ended the calls before speaking with first responders.
More than 10 minutes later, authorities have said in court, Magalhães called 911 a final time and reported the emergency. Brendan Banfield then spoke into the phone and said he had shot a man because that man stabbed his wife.
Authorities soon arrived at the Banfields’ home in Herndon, Virginia, and found that Ryan had been fatally shot and Christine Banfield was suffering from stab wounds. She was taken to the hospital, where she died.
Clingan said following the killings, Magalhães told authorities that she and Brendan Banfield left the house early that morning, leaving Christine Banfield home alone. Magalhães said she and Brendan Banfield returned later that morning after the au pair saw Ryan, who she alleged was trespassing, enter the home.
When Magalhães and Brendan Banfield went inside, the two found Ryan holding a knife to Christine Banfield’s throat, Magalhães said to detectives. She alleged Ryan stabbed Christine Banfield and that Brendan Banfield then shot Ryan. Magalhães also told authorities that she shot Ryan once with a second firearm.
During court hearings for Magalhães, prosecutors questioned her account of events, arguing that Ryan was not known to be violent. In court Friday, Clingan said Ryan came to the house after matching with an online profile portrayed as Christine Banfield on a website for people interested in sexual fetishes.
Authorities allege Ryan came to the house after messaging the profile’s user on Telegram and scheduling a sexual rendezvous. Ryan told a friend Christine’s marriage was not entirely monogamous, adding that Brendan Banfield was aware “of the extramarital activity of his wife,” Clingan said.
In the 11 months between Magalhães’ arrest and the indictment of Banfield, authorities said they monitored their phone conversations at the Fairfax County jail.
A few weeks ago, Clingan said Magalhães and Banfield had a brief phone call, in which she said: “I hope you are not just staying with me because you are afraid I’m going to turn against you.”
veryGood! (8941)
Related
- USA women's basketball live updates at Olympics: Start time vs Nigeria, how to watch
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Assorted Danish
- Taylor Swift Reunites With Pregnant Brittany Mahomes in Sweet Moment at Chiefs Game
- Opinion: Punchless Yankees lose to Royals — specter of early playoff exit rears its head
- Meet 11-year-old skateboarder Zheng Haohao, the youngest Olympian competing in Paris
- Where is 'College GameDay' for Week 7? Location, what to know for ESPN show
- How would Davante Adams fit with the Jets? Dynamic duo possible with Garrett Wilson
- Kerry Carpenter stuns Guardians with dramatic HR in 9th to lift Tigers to win in Game 2
- 3 years after the NFL added a 17th game, the push for an 18th gets stronger
- Small business disaster loan program said to be in danger of running out of funds by end of month
Ranking
- RFK Jr. grilled again about moving to California while listing New York address on ballot petition
- Panera Bread reaches first settlement in Charged Lemonade, wrongful death lawsuits
- The biggest reveals in Lisa Marie Presley’s memoir, from Elvis to Michael Jackson
- How many points did Zach Edey score tonight? Grizzlies-Mavericks preseason box score
- Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
- Using AI to buy your home? These companies think it's time you should.
- Opinion: Why Alabama fans won't forget Kalen DeBoer lost to Vanderbilt, but they can forgive
- Hyundai has begun producing electric SUVs at its $7.6 billion plant in Georgia
Recommendation
DoorDash steps up driver ID checks after traffic safety complaints
Opinion: Punchless Yankees lose to Royals — specter of early playoff exit rears its head
Padres and Dodgers continue to exchange barbs and accusations ahead of NLDS Game 3
Get an $18 Deal on Eyelash Serum Used by Luann de Lesseps, Lala Kent, Paige DeSorbo & More Celebrities
Olympic women's basketball bracket: Schedule, results, Team USA's path to gold
2 ex-officers convicted in fatal beating of Tyre Nichols get home detention while 1 stays in jail
Lisa Marie Presley Shares Michael Jackson Was “Still a Virgin” at 35 in Posthumous Memoir
The Latest: Harris continues media blitz with 3 more national interviews