Banfield murder trial LIVE UPDATES: Homicide detective says supervisors pushed catfish theory

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. - The Brendan Banfield murder trial resumes Thursday in Fairfax County.

Find live updates below. Watch the trial live in the player above, on FOX LOCAL, FOX 5 DC's YouTube page and on TikTok. 

12:22 p.m. - Internal divisions in police department

Defense attorney John Carroll is pressing Matthew Nilssen, a former detective with the Fairfax County Police Department, about the dismissal of a forensic analyst in the department.

Carroll said the detective on the case was transferred because "his deduction that Christine Banfield was communicating with Joe Ryan was not only unsubstantiated, it was wrong."

He said it's improper to attribute a device or username to a person.

11:00 a.m. - Homicide detective says leadership pushed catfishing theory

Homicide Detective Leah Smith is on the stand and says she pushed back against the catfishing theory by department leadership as coming before the evidence.

Smith says she was told "there are two theories and you need to get behind the right one."

She says it became clear the catfishing theory was the one department supervisors wanted detectives to pursue.

But Smith also says Banfield's arrest wasn't based on Juliana Magalhães' testimony, but on evidence.

9:50 a.m. - Back in session, 30 minutes early

The trial started half-an-hour early today at 9:30 a.m. and will end later, at 5:30. It also could continue on Friday as the judge attempts to finish the trial before a major snowstorm expected this weekend.

What we know:

On Wednesday, the defense called its own blood‑spatter expert, who pushed back on the prosecution’s claim that Banfield and the family’s au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, staged the crime scene, calling it nearly impossible.

Jurors also heard police body‑camera audio in which Banfield can be heard crying after being told his wife had died.

READ MORE: Defense tackling Brendan Banfield catfishing claims

Banfield is accused of conspiring with Magalhães to kill his wife, Christine, and a stranger they allegedly tried to frame for the crime. 

If convicted, he faces a possible life sentence.

READ MORE: Deadly Desire? Brendan Banfield on Trial

Defense testimony begins in Brendan Banfield murder trial

Day six of the Brendan Banfield murder trial wrapped up on Wednesday with the defense trying to prove the former IRS special agent did not stab his wife Christine Banfield to death in their Reston home nearly three years ago. FOX 5's Bob Barnard is outside the Fairfax County courthouse with today's highlights.