Glamorous au pair accused of twisted murder plot after scandalous affair with her boss speaks out from jail - as chilling details from night of horrific crime at $1M mansion are revealed
An au pair accused of murdering a BDSM fetishist as part of an elaborate scheme to get her boss' wife out of the way so they could be together has spoken out from jail.
Juliana Peres Magalhaes, 24, is charged with the murder of Joseph Ryan, 39, who was found shot dead inside the $1million home of the family she worked for in Herndon, Virginia.
Magalhaes claimed to have shot Ryan dead after finding him midway through an attack on her employer's wife Christine Banfield, 37, who was found fatally stabbed in February last year. Nobody has been charged over her death.
Magalhaes has maintained her innocence and told her mother she hopes to be reunited with her in her native Brazil soon.
'We will be together soon, with God's grace, mommy,' she wrote in Portuguese to her mother in June, The Washington Post reports. 'I am unhappy, and nothing makes me happy. I just want to get out of here and go back home to be with you guys.'
Juliana Peres Magalhaes, 24, who is accused of killing a BDSM fetishist as part of a plot with her IRS agent boss to get rid of his wife so they could be together, has spoken out from jail
She also complained about her current incarceration at Fairfax County Jail.
'I am tired of this place, this situation,' Magalhaes added.
Her mom, Marina Peres Souza also remains convinced of her daughter's innocence.
'I pray for the prosecutors and the judge to understand who is guilty in this case, because it is not Juliana,' she said in Portuguese.
Magalhaes and Banfield's husband claimed they entered the home to find Ryan attacking Christine.
Banfield, a law enforcement officer for the Internal Revenue Service, told police he grabbed his service gun and shot and injured Ryan.
He told police he then ordered Peres Magalhaes to grab another gun and shoot him again, which she did and allegedly killed him.
But in a preliminary prosecutors said the evidence points to a different story, suggesting Ryan was gunned down as part of a confusing scheme to get rid of Christine, so Banfield and Magalhaes could be together romantically.
Mother-of-one Christine Banfield, 37, was also found fatally stabbed at the scene in her home after being attacked in her bedroom in February 2023. She is seen with husband Brandon
Joseph Ryan, 39, was found shot dead inside the $1million home. Prosecutors sugges
Now shocking new details have emerged about that day, including that the Banfield's four-year-old daughter was in the basement as the killings unfolded.
Magalhaes told police she had left the family home to take the child to the zoo but returned after realizing she had left their lunches.
She said she left the child in the basement after she and Banfield heard what sounded like an intruder before she followed upstairs him where they tumbled upon Christine being attacked.
Investigators first became suspicious about Magalhaes' story after she and Banfield failed to disclose their alleged romance when speaking to detectives.
But police said they uncovered evidence of a secret lovers' getaway and pointed out that just eight months after the killings Magalhaes had moved into the main bedroom.
They submitted a picture showing a framed photo of Magalhaes and Banfield on her nightstand and her clothes were in Christine's closet.
According to prosecutors, the au pair and her boss Brendan Banfield were having an affair, which detectives discovered when they returned to the home after the killings and found picture frames filled with photos of the now-couple in the bedroom where Christine died
At a preliminary hearing, Banfield, who has not been charged, took to the stand but plead the fifth amendment and declined to answer questions about his relationship with the au pair and whether he shot Ryan.
Prosecutors allege that someone created a fake account for Christine on a BDSM site and made plans to have 'rough sex' with Ryan before they were both killed.
The mom reportedly did not sound like herself in her alleged conversations with Ryan, leading police to believe someone else was pretending to be Christine and set up a meeting at the home on the day of the killings.
In court it emerged that the fetish website account Ryan had been messaging on was maintained on Christine's computer under the username Annastasia9.
However, there was not one iota of evidence that she was into knife play, binding, BDSM,' said prosecutor Eric Clingan.
Ryan and the account user discussed rough sex and bloodplay, an act where someone deliberately cuts another.
During the chats, Annastasia9 wrote that she cheats on her husband 'whenever she wants to'.
Prosecutors say someone created a fake account for Christine on a BDSM site and made plans to have 'rough sex' with Ryan before they were both killed at the upscale home
Detectives also said Magalhaes moved into the master bedroom just months after the killings
Prosecutors also pointed out a 10 minute delay between the first 911 call being placed and Magalhaes' final call.
'That is not what a person in that situation would do unless they were trying to cover something up,' Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Kelsey Gill said.
One the first call at 7.47am, dispatchers heard a guttural moan and then silence.
There were a further two attempts within a few seconds before Magalhaes called again begging for help.
She was interrupted by Banfield who then told the operator he had just shot an intruder who was stabbing his wife.
