Attorneys give dueling narratives to open 'au pair affair' double murder trial in Virginia

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — A Virginia man who was having an affair with his family's Brazilian au pair used an elaborate scheme to lure an unsuspecting man to the house as part of a plan to kill his wife, prosecutors said in opening statements on Tuesday.

Brendan Banfield is charged with aggravated murder in the 2023 killings of Christine Banfield and the second man, Joseph Ryan, at the Banfields’ home in northern Virginia. He has pleaded not guilty and could face life in prison if convicted.

Juliana Peres Magalhães testified on Tuesday that she began working as an au pair in the home in October 2021, when she would have been 21 years old. She and Brendan Banfield began a sexual relationship about 10 months later. Banfield told her he wanted to marry her and have children with her, but he needed to “get rid of” his wife first, she testified. He didn't want to divorce his wife because “she would have more money than he would” and because he wanted custody of the couple's 4-year-old daughter.

Banfield came up with a plan to create a fake profile for his wife on a sexual fetish site, Magalhães said. Magalhães and Brendan would both post to the site from Christine Banfield's laptop, and they were careful to post only when Christine Banfield was home, Magalhães said.

“He knew that we needed to have some alibis,” she testified.

In opening statements, Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Jenna Sands told jurors that Banfield and Magalhães spent a month arranging an elaborate scenario with Ryan in which Ryan would act out an arranged rape fantasy. They agreed that Ryan would come on the morning of Feb. 24, 2023, while Christine Banfield was sleeping, and bring restraints and a knife, Sands said.

In preparation, both Magalhães and Brendan Banfield traded in their phones in an effort to hide evidence. He also changed the windows in the home to improve the soundproofing and checked neighbors’ homes to see who had doorbell cameras, Magalhães said.

On the morning of the killings, Magalhães left the home with the child and waited in her car for Ryan to arrive. Brendan Banfield had left earlier and was waiting at a nearby McDonald's for her to call. When she did, he returned home. The pair took the child to the basement and went upstairs to find Ryan on top of Christine Banfield, who was on the floor.

“When I got to the bedroom, he yelled, ‘Police officer,’” Magalhães said of Brendan Banfield. “Christine yelled back at Brendan, saying, 'Brendan! He has a knife!' That's when Brendan first shot Joe.”

Christine Banfield told Magalhães to call 911. She did, but then hung up after Brendan Banfield motioned to her, she said. She went to the bathroom for towels, and when she returned, she saw Brendan Banfield stabbing his wife, she said. She was alternately pacing and squatting down, covering her eyes, but at some point she saw Ryan moving and shot him with a gun that Brendan Banfield had given her that morning, she testified. After that, she called 911 again when Brendan Banfield gave the OK, she said.

Magalhães was also charged with murder but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter in 2024 after cooperating with investigators. She will be sentenced at the conclusion of Banfield’s trial.

Banfield's attorney, John Carroll, said in opening statements that Magalhães had maintained her innocence for a year but eventually changed her story in exchange for a sweetheart deal.

“The whole reason she was arrested was to flip her against my client,” Carroll said.

The prosecution's theory relies on the idea that Banfield and Magalhães were “catfishing” Ryan by pretending to be Christine Banfield. However, the lead homicide detective and the forensic detective both disagreed with that theory, Carroll said. Both were later transferred. Carroll said there was “turmoil” inside the police department over that case that some media have dubbed the “au pair affair.”

“You’re going to see a presentation of a horrible, tragic, awful event,” Carroll said. He said there is no dispute that Banfield and Magalhães were having an affair; however, “there’s an awful lot more to look for.”

Banfield, whose daughter was at the house on the morning of the killings, is also charged with child abuse and felony child cruelty in connection with the case. He will also face those charges during the aggravated murder trial.

Associated Press writer Travis Loller in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed.

This image taken from video, Juliana Peres Magalhães testifies during the trial of Brendan Banfield, charged with aggravated murder in the 2023 killings of Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan, on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026 in Fairfax, Va. (Court TV via AP, Pool)

This image taken from video, Juliana Peres Magalhães testifies during the trial of Brendan Banfield, charged with aggravated murder in the 2023 killings of Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan, on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026 in Fairfax, Va. (Court TV via AP, Pool)

This image taken from video, Brendan Banfield, charged with aggravated murder in the 2023 killings of Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan, appears in court during opening statements on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026 in Fairfax, Va. (Court TV via AP, Pool).

FILE - This image provided by the Fairfax County Police Department and taken on Oct. 13, 2023, was submitted as evidence in the murder case against Brendan Banfield shows a framed photo of Banfield and Juliana Peres Magalhães on his bedside table in Herndon, Va. (Fairfax County Police Department via AP, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas said late Thursday he was withdrawing from his reelection race, after having admitted an affair with a former staff member who later died by suicide, but he vowed to finish out his term in Congress.

He had faced calls from GOP leadership to end his reelection bid, and from others in Congress to resign.

“After deep reflection and with the support of my loving family, I have decided not to seek re-election,” Gonzales said in a statement posted late Thursday to X.

The move is the latest in a quickly changing situation that stunned Capitol Hill and resulted in a House Ethics Committee investigation into his conduct. Gonzales' decision to bow out of the race appears to clear the field. On Tuesday, he had been forced into a May runoff against Brandon Herrera, a gun manufacturer and YouTube gun-rights influencer who narrowly lost to him in the 2024 primary.

House Speaker Mike Johnson and the GOP leadership earlier Thursday had called on Gonzales to withdraw from reelection after Gonzales, a day earlier, acknowledged a relationship that has upturned the political world in his home state and in Washington.

“We have encouraged him to address these very serious allegations directly with his constituents and his colleagues,” said Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Whip Tom Emmer, and GOP Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain in a statement.

“In the meantime, Leadership has asked Congressman Gonzales to withdraw from his race for reelection.”

Johnson, R-La., has been under enormous pressure from his own GOP lawmakers to take action, and several Republicans have already called for Gonzales to step aside. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., has introduced two resolutions to punish Gonzales. The first seeks to remove him from his assignments on the House Appropriations and Homeland Security committees, while the second seeks to censure him.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, meanwhile, said he would support expelling Gonzales from the House, a rare step that requires a two-thirds vote from the chamber.

GOP leaders notably did not call for Gonzales to resign from office as they struggle to maintain their slim majority in the House, which they hold by only a handful of seats.

Their move came after Gonzales, appearing on the “Joe Pags Show,” was asked whether he had a relationship with the aide, Regina Ann Santos-Aviles.

Santos-Aviles, 35, died after setting herself on fire in the backyard of her home in Uvalde, Texas. The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office later ruled her death a suicide.

“I made a mistake and I had a lapse in judgment, and there was a lack of faith, and I take full responsibility for those actions,” Gonzales said.

The congressman, now in his third term, had said he would not step down in response to the allegations, telling reporters recently that there will be opportunities for all the details and facts to come out.

Gonzales, a father of six, first won his seat in 2020 after retiring from a 20-year career in the Navy that included time in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In the interview broadcast Wednesday, Gonzales said he had not spoken to Santos-Aviles since June 2024. She died in September 2025.

“I had absolutely nothing to do with her tragic passing, and in fact, I was shocked just as much as everyone else,” Gonzales said.

Gonzales went on to say he had reconciled with his wife, Angel, and has asked God to forgive him. He also said he looked forward to the Ethics Committee investigation.

Johnson and GOP leadership urged that committee to “act expeditiously.”

Under House ethics rules, lawmakers may not engage in a sexual relationship with any employee of the House under their supervision.

Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, speaks during a news conference about school safety enhancements at North East Independent School District in front of the new Wilshire Safety Training Center Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (Blaine Young/The San Antonio Express-News via AP)