Nanny Charged with Murder Months After Man Is Shot to Death in Her Bosses' Home, But Not for the Other Body Found There
The nanny of a Fairfax County, Virginia, family has been charged in one of the deaths that took place in February at the family’s upscale Herndon home.
Juliana Peres Magalhaes, 23, a Brazilian national and the family’s au pair, faces a second-degree murder charge in connection with the shooting death of Joseph Nathan Ryan, 39, according to NBC News.
Christine Banfield, 37, was found stabbed to death that day, but police have not lodged any charges in connection with her death, NBC reported.
Peres Magalhaes is locked up, without bond, in the Fairfax County jail, according to a Fairfax County Police Department news release.
Police initially reported that Banfield’s husband, who has not been publicly identified, told 911 dispatchers he shot a man who was stabbing his wife.
Police who responded were met by a “horrific scene,” First Lt. Erin Weeks said, according to WTOP-FM in Washington.
“They found Christine Banfield in an upstairs bedroom. She had been stabbed multiple times in the upper body and Joseph Ryan, who had been shot multiple times in the upper body,” Weeks said.
“We have recovered all weapons, and we’ve identified all persons involved in this case,” Weeks said.
“We are keeping options open,” Weeks said, after saying Banfield’s husband was still in the area.
“We will continue to investigate … Our big thing is continuing to interview people, continuing to review all digital and forensic evidence and learn how Christine Banfield was fatally stabbed,” she said.
“Through forensic evidence and multiple interviews, detectives determined the au pair, 23-year-old Juliana Peres Magalhaes, of Reston shot Joseph … https://t.co/NQLYw3xaBi @RaymondOrta
— Raymond Orta Forensics (@ROForensics) October 21, 2023
The initial 911 calls were made by Peres Magalhaes and Banfield’s husband, Fairfax County police wrote in the news release.
After initially hanging up, Peres Magalhaes phoned 911 three minutes after her first call to say that her “friend was hurt,” police said after the February crime, according to the New York Post.
Banfield’s husband then took over to tell police he shot the man.
A 4-year-old girl was in the home at the time but was not injured.
“The truest victim of all of this is that poor girl,” Fairfax Police Chief Kevin Davis said at the time of the killings, the New York Post reported.
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