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  "path": "/news/banfield-murder-case-au-pair-faces-sentencing-friday",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-13T11:51:16.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.fox5dc.com",
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    "Brendan Banfield ruled guilty in au pair murder trial",
    "Deadly Desire? Brendan Banfield on Trial",
    "Brendan Banfield convicted: What’s next for au pair Juliana Magalhães?"
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  "textContent": "A Brazilian au pair who admitted plotting with her employer‑turned‑lover to kill his wife and another man says she came forward because she wanted to do good, not because she hoped cooperation would free her from a Virginia jail and send her home.\n\nA judge will decide her punishment on Friday.\n\nJuliana Peres Magalhães is set to be sentenced in Fairfax County for the February 2023 killing of Joseph Ryan. She testified that she shot Ryan while Brendan Banfield fatally stabbed his wife, Christine, in the couple’s bedroom.\n\nREAD MORE: Brendan Banfield ruled guilty in au pair murder trial\n\nMagalhães pleaded guilty to a reduced manslaughter charge in Ryan’s death after agreeing to cooperate with prosecutors in their case against Banfield, who was convicted this month of aggravated murder in both killings.\n\nProsecutors say Magalhães and Banfield were having an affair in the months before the attacks and continued their relationship afterward.\n\nDuring Banfield’s trial, Magalhães testified that she and the IRS agent created an account in Christine Banfield’s name on a fetish platform. Ryan connected with the account and agreed to meet for a sexual encounter involving a knife.\n\nREAD MORE: Deadly Desire? Brendan Banfield on Trial\n\nMagalhães said she and Banfield took the couple’s 4‑year‑old child to the basement before entering the bedroom, where she said Banfield shot Ryan and stabbed his wife in the neck. When she saw Ryan move, she testified, she fired the second shot that killed him.\n\nShe wasn’t arrested until eight months later and stayed silent for more than a year, only deciding to talk as her own trial approached.\n\nBanfield’s attorney attacked her credibility during his trial, arguing she was simply telling prosecutors what they wanted to hear.\n\nUnder her plea deal, both sides agreed she should be released from jail at sentencing, though Chief Judge Penney Azcarate could reject the arrangement. In Virginia, manslaughter carries a maximum 10‑year sentence.\n\nREAD MORE: Brendan Banfield convicted: What’s next for au pair Juliana Magalhães?",
  "title": "Banfield murder case: Au pair faces sentencing Friday"
}