Months After Man and Woman Were Killed in Upscale Va. Home, Au Pair Who Called 911 Is Charged with Murder

A confusing murder mystery has gripped a Northern Virginia town after a man and woman were killed inside a home in February — and the family’s au pair was charged in connection with one of the slayings.

Just after 8 a.m. on Feb. 24, police in Fairfax County were called to a five-bedroom home in Herndon in response to a 911 call from a woman who stated that “a friend of hers was hurt,” First Lt. Erin Weeks of the Fairfax County Police Department said at a press conference Wednesday.

“A male got on the phone and stated that an unknown man had entered his home and he then shot him,” Weeks said.

Responding officers “found a horrific scene,” Weeks said. They found Christine Banfield, 37, a young mom and a pediatric nurse, in an upstairs bedroom suffering from multiple stab wounds to the upper body, she said.

Police later learned the person who placed the 911 call was Banfield's au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhaes, 23, and that the man on the call was Banfield’s husband, Weeks said.

A man named Joseph Ryan, 39, of Springfield was found nearby suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to the upper body, Weeks said.

Banfield was transported to a hospital where she was pronounced dead. Ryan was declared dead at the scene.

Police said they saw no signs of a break-in and said they don’t know why Ryan was in the house that morning.

“The connection we have been able to locate through the investigation is he [Ryan] was known to the victim, Christine Banfield,” Weeks said at the press conference.

It is unclear where the Banfields' 4-year-old daughter was during the stabbing and shooting.

According to police, the au pair said she and Banfield’s husband were out that morning and when she returned to the home, she saw a car she didn’t recognize, NBC Washington reports.

The au pair said she called Christine Banfield, NBC Washington reports. When Christine didn’t answer the phone, the au pair said she called Banfield’s husband, who came home.

The au pair said that when she went up into the bedroom, she saw Ryan with a knife and Christine Banfield suffering from stab wounds, police said, NBC Washington reports.

According to a police statement obtained by PEOPLE, Christine Banfield's husband then got on the phone and said he had shot a man and stabbed a woman. But at the time, police didn’t make any arrests.

Now, following a seven-month investigation, police announced that they arrested Magalhaes in connection to Ryan’s shooting death. Forensic evidence and multiple interviews led detectives to determine that the au pair allegedly shot Ryan, police said in a statement.

Peres Magalhaes, who is from Brazil, has been charged with second-degree murder and is being held at the Adult Detention Center on no bond. 

Christine Banfield's husband has not been charged. Weeks said police are investigating the motive.

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Detectives continue to conduct interviews and review digital and forensic evidence to determine the circumstances that led to Banfield’s stabbing.

Police are asking anyone with information regarding these incidents to call the Fairfax County Police Department's Major Crimes Bureau at 703-246-7800, option 2.

Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Crime Solvers by phone – 1-866-411-TIPS (866-411-8477), and by web by clicking HERE.