Brendan Banfield Trial: First week ends with testimonies from au pair, detective, new evidence

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. - The trial of Brendan Banfield, a Virginia man accused of killing his wife and another man inside his Fairfax County home back in 2023, wrapped up its first week on Thursday.

Fairfax County prosecutors introduced new evidence on day four of the murder trial. The jury also heard from the investigators, first on the scene of the gruesome murders. 

Earlier in the week, the jury also heard from the au pair the suspect is accused of engaging in an affair with.

What they're saying:

On Thursday, a Virginia forensic scientist testified that Brendan Banfield's DNA was not on the knife believed to have been used to kill his wife, Christine.  

But a prosecution witness established the fact that Brendan Banfield bought a gun less than a month before the murders.

A photo displayed during trial shows that Banfield also took au pair Juliana Magalhaes to a gun range twice in the weeks before the murders. 

Prosecutors also alleged that Brendan Banfield paid more than $30,000 to install triple-pane windows in the house to muffle any loud noises, such as gunshots, that would come from inside the home.

They also played video of Brendan Banfield at a McDonald's not far from his Reston home on the morning of the murders, going along with the au pair's story that he was in the vicinity, waiting for Juliana's call to come back to the house as the fall guy – Joseph Ryan – had arrived. 

Detective testifies:

Among the witnesses taking the stand was Fairfax County crime scene detective Terry Leach, describing the evidence photographed that morning in the Banfield bedroom. 

Here’s just some of his testimony under the prosecution. 

Leach: "That's gonna be a photo from the bathroom back into the main area of the bedroom and that is Joe Ryan's body."

Prosecutor: "Was there blood anywhere else on Mr. Ryan's body that you observed?" 

Leach: "There was blood on his face, hands. There was someone on his clothes, some on his chest, arms."

Prosecutor: "What was in this pile of fabrics that we see here?" 

Leach: "It has two blankets, a sheet and a towel."

Prosecutor: "Can you approximate here, where Christine Banfield's body was found?"

Leach: "It would be the stain that you see on the right-hand side." 

Prosecutor: "That is the vicinity of her head. Did you find a knife?"

Leach: "Yes ma'am."

Prosecutor: "And where was the knife found?

Leach: "The knife was found underneath the blankets between the edge of the blankets and the bed."

Prosecutor: "Is that the knife and the photograph that accompanied it to the lab?"

Leach: "Yes ma'am." 

Prosecutor: "Did you observe any weapons at the scene on the than the knife?"

Leach: "It was Mr. Brandon Banfield's duty weapon." 

Dig deeper:

A police crime scene photographer went on to show before and after images of the au pair's bedroom, and how she had moved into the master bedroom with Brendan Banfield after the murders. 

A photo showed the pair together in a frame on a nightstand next to the bed.

The prosecution has been going through its witness list, establishing the fact that Brendan Banfield bought a gun less than a month before the murders.

At the end of the day, the prosecution said they only had a couple more witnesses to call, despite a long list of potential witnesses to testify.

What's next:

The case will not be heard in court on Friday, and the trial will not continue on Monday due to Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. 

The prosecution's case resumes Tuesday at 10 a.m.