Overview
- Jurors found Banfield guilty of two counts of aggravated murder, a firearms offense and child endangerment after nearly nine hours of deliberations across two days.
- Prosecutors said Banfield and au pair Juliana Peres Magalhães impersonated his wife on a fetish website to lure Joseph Ryan to the home, then staged the scene to frame him.
- Magalhães pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 2024 and testified for the prosecution under a deal that envisions a sentence of time served.
- The defense argued Banfield shot Ryan in self-defense after finding him attacking his wife, challenged blood and digital forensics, and noted Banfield’s DNA was not on the knife.
- Police found Christine Banfield fatally stabbed and Joseph Ryan fatally shot on Feb. 24, 2023, and the couple’s 4-year-old daughter was in the house; Magalhães is set to be sentenced Feb. 13.