Au Pair accused in love triangle murder returns to court for plea hearing

FAIRFAX, Va. — A new hearing is on the docket for Juliana Peres Magalhaes for Tuesday morning. The former Au Pair is charged with second degree murder, and set to go on trial on Nov. 12, for her alleged role in the killings of Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan on Feb. 24, 2023.

However, Monday afternoon a plea hearing popped up on the Fairfax County docket for Tuesday morning. 

Peres Magalhaes has been behind bars since of October 2023.

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A spokesperson for Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney Steve Descano told WUSA9 Monday night that they could not comment on the hearing.

In a statement to WUSA9 Monday night, Fairfax County Police wrote:

"We are aware that a plea agreement has been reached between Juliana Magalheas and the Commonwealth's Attorneys Office. We are also aware that Juliana is scheduled for a court date tomorrow morning and remain confident in the integrity of the judicial process."

Since day one, prosecutors had only alleged that Peres Magalhaes was responsible for Ryan's death. 

In September, Brendan Banfield was arrested and charged with multiple counts of murder.

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Brendan Banfield is facing four counts of aggravated murder and one count of using a firearm during the commission of a felony. Only two people were killed that day in 2023.

"The reason we did that is, it's very lawyerly and technically, but essentially it boils down to in the aggravated murder statute there are a number of different options to prove that. When we took a look at what we intend to present at trial, we believe our presentation of evidence can possibly hit both of those different subsection elements," said Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano.

Prosecutors alleged Peres Magalhaes and Brendan Banfield were having an affair months prior to the deadly shooting. Records in court showed photos of the same room after the killings with new framed photos of the two.

Prosecutors have accused the two of luring Joseph Ryan to the home through a post on a website for sexual fetishes.

No details regarding the plea hearing were released Monday night. Any sort of plea agreement would still have to be accepted by a judge.

Peres Magalhaes is expected in court Tuesday morning. WUSA9 will be in the courtroom and will provide updates.