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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Olivia Diaz

Husband testifies he did not plot wife's killing in double murder trial connected to au pair affair

Virginia Wife Killing - (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

A man testified on Wednesday that he loved his wife and did not want to end his marriage, despite having an affair with his family's au pair in what would become a sprawling double homicide case centered around the two of them.

Wearing a gray suit and a plaid tie, Brendan Banfield testified in a Fairfax, Virginia, court under oath about what happened the day he began cheating on his late wife, Christine Banfield, with Juliana Peres Magalhães in what he said was a casual affair. He described Magalhães scooting her chair closer to his while eating dinner one night, while his wife was out of town. He testified that she followed him into his room at bedtime, and he didn't stop her.

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