Husband charged with killing wife and another man back in Virginia court Thursday

Virginia husband accused in double homicide back in court

A Virginia man accused of killing his wife and another man at their Herndon home is expected in court Thursday.

HERNDON, Va. - A Virginia man accused of killing his wife and another man at their Herndon home is expected in court Thursday.

Husband faces charges

What we know:

Brendan Banfield was indicted by a grand jury on aggravated murder charges in the February 2023 deaths of Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan.

Police say Banfield claimed Ryan broke into the home and attacked his wife, and that he shot Ryan in self-defense.

READ MORE: Bond denied for Virginia man charged in double homicide that left wife, another man, dead

Au pair pleaded guilty to manslaughter 

Investigators allege the killings were part of a broader scheme involving the family’s au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, with whom Banfield had reportedly started a romantic relationship in August 2022.

Banfield’s trial is scheduled for October. Magalhães pleaded guilty to manslaughter last year and is set to be sentenced in December.

READ MORE: Au pair faces up to 10 years in prison for downgraded charge in Herndon double homicide

Husband indicted in Virginia double homicide nearly a year after au pair’s arrest