Overview

• Prosecutors released Oct. 2024 interview footage in which Juliana Peres Magalhães says Brendan Banfield posed as his wife on FetLife to recruit Joseph Ryan, 39, for a purported rape fantasy.
• Magalhães tells prosecutors the plot was planned over months, including installing sound‑dampening windows at the home and testing whether screams could be heard outside.
• Authorities say Ryan arrived at the Herndon house on Feb. 24, 2023, expecting a consensual scenario before Christine Banfield was stabbed and Ryan was shot in a scene prosecutors describe as staged.
• Magalhães pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 2024 and is cooperating with prosecutors, with her sentencing expected after Banfield’s trial.
• Banfield has been indicted and denies the allegations, with his attorney disputing that he created the FetLife account; his trial is scheduled for October 2025.