Overview
- Judge Penney Azcarate denied a defense motion to throw out the case, allowing murder and child endangerment counts to proceed after testimony that the couple’s 4-year-old was brought into the home before the killings.
- Bloodstain analyst Iris Dalley Graff testified that droplets on Joseph Ryan’s arm were consistent with blood falling from above and that flows suggested Ryan was moved, while DNA showed Christine Banfield’s blood on the defendant’s jeans and shoe.
- The defense challenged the blood evidence as consistent with efforts to render aid and underscored that Brendan Banfield’s DNA was not detected on the knife linked to Christine’s stabbing.
- As the defense case opened Wednesday, a Fairfax County officer’s bodycam video was played showing a doctor informing Banfield that his wife had died, part of testimony from first responders.
- Earlier prosecution evidence included surveillance of Banfield at a nearby McDonald’s, phone logs aligning with the alleged timeline, and social media posts and testimony from au pair Juliana Peres Magalhães, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter and is cooperating.