Overview
- Defense questioning focused on alleged internal friction within Fairfax County police, highlighting a supervisor’s removal of a digital‑forensics investigator for performance issues and a transfer of a lead detective for inexperience.
- That supervisor had concluded the fetish account originated with Christine Banfield before his removal, a point the defense cited to challenge the state’s theory that Brendan Banfield and the au pair created it.
- Digital‑forensics testimony offered limited clarity, with Det. Brendan Miller saying he could not prove who used the computer during key FetLife activity as the judge sustained multiple prosecution objections to defense questions.
- The defense bloodstain expert disputed the state’s staging theory and said she could not classify how Christine Banfield’s blood appeared on Joe Ryan’s forearm, though she did not rule out deliberate placement.
- Jurors previously heard the prosecution’s expert say patterns looked like blood dropped onto Ryan, aligning with plea witness Juliana Peres Magalhães’s account, as the court extends hours and may continue Friday to finish before a forecast winter storm.