Au Pair Thought She'd Walk Free. Judge Gave Her 10 Years

A Brazilian au pair who admitted her role in a convoluted double-murder in Virginia might have walked free on Friday under a deal struck with prosecutors. Instead, a judge rejected the lenient offer and sentenced Juliana Peres Magalhaes to 10 years in prison, the maximum allowed, reports WTOP. "Let's get this straight, you do not deserve anything other than incarceration and a life of reflection on what you have done to the victim and this family," said Fairfax County Chief Circuit Court Judge Penney Azcarate. "May it weigh heavily on your soul."

Magalhaes admitted helping Brendan Banfield—her employer-turned-lover—set up the killing of his wife, Christine Banfield, and a stranger, Joseph Ryan, in 2023, per the AP. Prosecutors said the pair created a fake profile for Christine Banfield on a fetish site, then used it to lure Ryan to the house with the expectation of sex. Magalhaes testified that Banfield fatally stabbed his wife, then shot Ryan after he entered the home. The idea was to frame Ryan as an intruder for Christine Banfield's murder. Magalhaes said she also shot Ryan when she saw him still moving on the ground.

Magalhaes had initially faced a second-degree murder charge but pleaded guilty to manslaughter last fall in exchange for her cooperation and testimony. Prosecutors and Magalhaes' lawyer agreed to recommend a sentence of time served for her cooperation, but Azcarate declined to follow the deal. Magalhaes' attorney expects his client will ultimately serve a little more than four years because of credit for time served and good behavior, per NBC News. Brendan Banfield, convicted of aggravated murder, faces a mandatory sentence of life without parole when he is sentenced May 8, reports the Washington Post.