Brendan Banfield files to appeal murder conviction in au pair affair case
Brendan Banfield sits in court during his sentencing hearing on Friday, June 5, 2026, in the high‑profile au pair affair case.
FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. - Brendan Banfield is appealing his murder conviction in the high-profile Fairfax County au pair affair case, weeks after he was sentenced to life in prison.
What we know:
The appeal appeared in the Fairfax County Circuit Court record, according to the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.
The judge issued the final order in the case on June 23. Appeals must be filed within 30 days after that final order, according to the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.
Banfield was sentenced in June to life in prison without parole after he was convicted in the killings of his wife and another man at the family’s Herndon home.
The backstory:
Banfield, a former IRS law enforcement officer, was convicted in connection with the Feb. 24, 2023, killings of Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan.
Prosecutors said Banfield was having an affair with the family’s au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, and that the two lured Ryan to the home as part of a plot to kill Christine Banfield.
During trial, prosecutors said Ryan was brought to the home through a fetish website account that Banfield and Magalhães used while posing as Christine Banfield.
Banfield claimed he shot Ryan after finding him attacking his wife. Prosecutors said the scene was staged.
Brendan Banfield murder trial: Closing arguments expected Friday in au pair affair case
Conviction and sentencing
A jury convicted Banfield of murder and child endangerment.
At sentencing, Banfield maintained his innocence and criticized the case against him.
The judge sentenced him to life in prison without parole.
Magalhães pleaded guilty to manslaughter after agreeing to testify against Banfield. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
What's next:
Banfield’s conviction and life sentence remain in place while the appeals process begins.
Additional details about the grounds for the appeal were not immediately available.
The Source: This article was written using information from Fairfax County court records, the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office and previous reporting.