Live updates: Trial starts for Virginia man accused of killing wife, man in elaborate fetish sex plot

What to Know

• Brendan Banfield, 40, is accused of killing his wife, 37-year-old Christine Banfield, and a stranger, 39-year-old Joseph Ryan, in 2023 at his family’s home in Herndon, Virginia.
• Prosecutors say the killings were part of an elaborate plan Brendan concocted so he and his family’s au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, could be together. The pair had been having an affair for months, and Brendan wanted his wife “out of the picture,” according to prosecutors.
• Peres Magalhães pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter for her role in the double-killing and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.
• She said Banfield created a fake profile for Christine on a BDSM fetish website to lure Ryan to the house. Ryan thought he was going to the home for a consensual encounter with Christine, prosecutors said.
• In addition to aggravated murder and firearms charges, Brendan faces child abuse and neglect because his 4-year-old daughter was at home when the alleged murders happened.
• Banfield has denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty to all charges.
• Watch a livestream of the trial in the video player above and follow here for live updates.