Former Brazilian au pair testifies her ex-lover plotted to kill his wife, though lacks some details

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — A former Brazilian au pair testified on Wednesday that she turned against her former lover in a sprawling double homicide scheme involving his wife because she “wanted the truth to come out.”

For more than a year, Juliana Peres Magalhães did not speak with officials about the 2023 killings of Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan, or about Brendan Banfield’s alleged involvement. But attorneys say that days before her own criminal trial, the former au pair changed her mind and began to talk.

Now, Brendan Banfield is facing a trial in the aggravated murder of his wife and Ryan, and Magalhães’ testimony has become a key component of prosecutors’ case. Banfield, who has pleaded not guilty, could face life in prison if convicted.

The way officials tell it, Banfield and Magalhães lured Ryan to their house. The two then shot him, staging the scene to look as if Ryan had been a predator stabbing Christine Banfield.

“I just couldn’t keep it to myself, the feeling of shame and guilt and sadness,” she said in court of the ruse. The former au pair was initially charged with second-degree murder in Ryan's killing, but has since pleaded guilty to a downgraded manslaughter charge.

In court, the former au pair testified that she and Banfield had created an account in Christine Banfield’s name on a social media platform for people interested in sexual fetishes. There, Ryan connected with the account, and the users made plans to meet for a sexual encounter involving a knife.

In testimony, she described Banfield’s plan to kill his wife and spend the rest of his days with Magalhães, with whom he had an affair. She testified to the months he had spent plotting their scheme, and the steps he took to manufacture their alibis.

John Carroll, Banfield’s attorney, spent much of Wednesday scrutinizing her initial testimony and her motives behind pleading guilty.

He pressed her on who created the email address connected to the social media account and where she and Brendan Banfield were on the day it had been procured. She testified that she did not remember who made the account or what room in the Banfield home they had been in.

The defense attorney repeatedly pressed her on specific messages sent on the social media account in Christine Banfield’s name. Magalhães, seemingly annoyed, repeatedly testified that she had been unsure who had sent what. At one point, she testified to Carroll: “I am not going to do this.”

Carroll also asked Magalhães to read portions from letters she had written from jail to Brendan Banfield and others. They expressed depression and frustration with her situation. “No strength. No courage. No hope,” she wrote at one point.

Magalhães testified that her health in jail and isolation from loved ones also pushed her to turn on Banfield.

Wearing a gray suit and a striped tie, Banfield would occasionally glance up as Magalhães gave her testimony. The former au pair did not appear to look back noticeably.

Magalhães will be sentenced at the conclusion of Banfield’s trial. Depending on her cooperation with authorities, attorneys have said she could be sentenced to the time she has already served.

Banfield, whose then-4-year-old 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 face those charges during the trial.

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

Juliana Peres Magalhães testifies during the double murder trial for Brendan Banfield in Fairfax County Circuit Court, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Fairfax, Va. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner, 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)

Juliana Peres Magalhães is escorted into the courtroom before continuing her testimony, during the double murder trial for Brendan Banfield in Fairfax County Circuit Court, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Fairfax, Va. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner, Pool)

Brendan Banfield looks on during his double murder trial in Fairfax County Circuit Court, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Fairfax, Va. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner, Pool)

Juliana Peres Magalhães testifies during the double murder trial for Brendan Banfield in Fairfax County Circuit Court, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Fairfax, Va. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner, Pool)

NEW YORK (AP) — Losses for several banks and Big Tech stocks pulled indexes lower on Wednesday, even though the majority of stocks on Wall Street rose.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.5% for its second straight loss after setting its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 42 points, or 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite lost 1%.

Wells Fargo helped pull the market lower after falling 4.6%. The San Francisco-based bank reported weaker profit and revenue for the latest quarter than expected, with analysts citing lower trading fees and other miscellaneous items.

Bank of America fell 3.8% despite reporting a stronger profit than analysts expected, with some consternation about the size of its upcoming expenses. Citigroup, which is in the midst of a turnaround under Chair and CEO Jane Fraser, fell 3.3% following its own profit report.

Companies across industries are under pressure to report strong growth in profits to justify how high their stock prices have run recently. Analysts are looking for businesses across the S&P 500 to report earnings per share for the final three months of 2025 that are roughly 8% higher than a year earlier, according to FactSet.

Biogen sank 5% after the biotechnology company said it expects to take a hit to its profit for the fourth quarter of 2025 due to research and development expenses and other costs that it acquired.

The heaviest weights on the market were tech stocks, which gave back a bit of their huge gains from recent years created by the frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology. Such stellar performances caused some critics to say their stock prices had become too expensive.

Nvidia fell 1.4%, and Broadcom sank 4.2%.

Still, more stocks rose on Wall Street than fell, and the strongest forces keeping the S&P 500 from steeper losses were Exxon Mobil and other oil companies.

Exxon Mobil rose 2.9%, and Chevron climbed 2.1% as the price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. oil rose 1.4% to settle at $62.02.

Stocks of smaller companies also did better than the rest of the market, with the Russell 2000 index rising 0.7%.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 37.14 points to 6,926.60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 42.36 to 49,149.63, and the Nasdaq composite fell 238.12 to 23,471.75.

Oil prices have rallied recently after protests swept Iran, which is a member of the OPEC group that helps set crude prices. The protests could lead to disruptions in production and squeeze supplies of crude.

Brent crude, the international standard, rose 1.6% and briefly brought its gain for the year so far to nearly 10%, before prices for both it and U.S. oil fell back later in the afternoon.

In the bond market, Treasury yields sank as investors sought investments seen as safer. Several reports on the U.S. economy also came in mixed.

One said that shoppers spent more at U.S. retailers in November than economists expected. That could be an encouraging signal about the main engine of the U.S. economy.

A separate report said prices rose modestly at the U.S. wholesale level in November. It followed data on Tuesday that said inflation at the U.S. consumer level was close last month to economists’ expectations, though it remained above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.

Taken altogether, the reports did little to change Wall Street’s expectation that the Federal Reserve will cut its main interest rate at least twice this year to shore up the job market, likely beginning around June, according to CME Group.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.14% from 4.18% late Tuesday.

In stock markets abroad, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rallied 1.5% to another record as expectations grew that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi may call general elections soon.

Indexes were mixed elsewhere. Stocks rose 0.6% in Hong Kong but fell 0.3% in Shanghai after a report showed China’s trade surplus surged 20% in 2025 to a record despite President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed.

Specialist Michael Pistillo works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A dealer watches computer monitors near the screens showing the foreign exchange rates at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

The screens show the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won are seen at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A dealer walks past near the screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A dealer stands near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)