
Juliana Peres Magalhaes Virginia au pair accused of shooting man while babysitting girl at $1million Reston home. Stabbed to death was the woman’s employer, Christine Banfield, who may or may not have been murdered at the hands of shooting victim, Joseph Ryan as the husband sought to take cover for the au pair in mystery double homicide.
A 23-year-old au pair has been charged with second degree murder in connection to a double homicide inside her boss’s upscale suburban Virginia home, while babysitting their 4 year old daughter earlier this year.
Juliana Peres Magalhaes was arrested on Friday after investigators linked the woman to the February shooting death of Joseph Ryan the Fairfax County Police Department stated.
Both Ryan, 39, – who didn’t live at the address – and a woman, Christine Banfield, 37, were attacked and killed on February 24 at Banfield’s $1 million five bedroom home in the Herndon area.
Who knew whom and how and who killed whom and why?
Fairfax County police say when detectives arrived to investigate, they walked into ‘an appalling scene.’
Banfield was found in an upstairs bedroom with stab wounds to her upper body. Ryan was found nearby with multiple gunshot wounds to the upper body.
Police only charged the au pair with Ryan’s shooting death, with police yet to officially say who they believed murdered Christine Banfield, and whether forthcoming charges would be made.
On the day of the slayings, Peres Magalhaes called police just before 7:50 a.m. and promptly hung up before calling again thirteen minutes later to report that her ‘friend was hurt,’ police said at the time, FOX5 reported.
Banfield’s husband, identified as Brendan Robert Banfield, then grabbed the phone and told dispatchers he had shot an unknown man who stabbed his wife after entering their home.
Police noted that there were no signs of forced entry when they responded, NBC Washington reported.
Officers found Banfield inside the home alive, but suffering multiple stab wounds to her upper body.
Nearby, Ryan was dead from multiple gunshot wounds to the upper body.
Banfield was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Double homicide murder motives still being investigated
To date it remained unclear what relationship Joseph Ryan had with Christine Banfield and why the woman’s husband had sought to initially cover for the au-pair.
During initial interviews with detectives, the au pair claimed coming across Ryan with a knife, with her employer Christine Banfield suffering from stab wounds.
Police have not confirmed if Ryan was the person who stabbed Banfield to death or why he was inside the home during the incident but they did note that there were no signs of forced entry.
Christine Banfield’s husband to date has not been charged as police continue to investigate the motive.
The Banfield’s 4 year old daughter who was present during the slayings suffered no injuries and was taken from the home in safe condition.
‘The truest victim of all of this is that poor girl,’ Fairfax Police Chief Kevin Davis said at the time.

More charges forthcoming and against whom?
After more than seven months of investigation, police ruled Banfield’s husband wasn’t responsible for pulling the trigger.
‘Through forensic evidence and multiple interviews, detectives determined the au pair, 23-year-old Juliana Peres Magalhaes, of Reston shot Joseph Ryan,’ deputies said in a statement.
‘Detectives continue to conduct interviews and review digital and forensic evidence to determine the circumstances that led up to the fatal stabbing of Christine Banfield.’
Speaking in February, Davis said: ‘I think the person or persons responsible for this are already known to us.
‘We just have to sort out who was responsible for what, we have to sort out the exact nature of Mr. Ryan’s presence inside the house.’
Adding: ‘We don’t think he is necessarily a stranger but we’re still working to determine more facts before we describe him.’
After the shooting, Davis told reporters that Ryan was not a stranger to the Banfield family.
Banfield’s husband and Peres Magalhaes — who lived inside the home with the family — were both ‘present and involved’ with police who arrived on the scene.
It is not clear whether Banfield’s husband was charged for initially lying to police.
Peres Magalhaes is at the Fairfax County jail without bond.
Online court records show she had not yet entered a plea to the second-degree murder charge.
It remained unclear if additional charges and against whom, were forthcoming.