Heather Curtis – WMAL News | October 19, 2023
An au pair has been charged with second-degree murder for allegedly shooting a man to death in her employer’s Herndon home in February. Fairfax County Police said Thursday 23-year-old Juliana Peres Magalahaes of Reston is being held without bond at the Adult Detention Center in connection with the killing of 39-year-old Joseph Ryan of Springfield in a home on Stable Brook Way on Feb. 24.
Peres Magalhaes’s employer, 37-year-old Christine Banfield, was found stabbed to death in the home the same morning, but Peres Magalhaes doesn’t face charges in connection with the killing.
On the day of the killings, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said Peres Magalhaes and Christine’s husband, Brendan Magalhaes called 911.
“The husband tells the 911 call taker that he just shot a man inside of his home, and the husband tells the 911 call taker that the man that he had just shot had stabbed his wife,” Davis said in February.
After a 7-month investigation, police say Peres Megalhaes pulled the trigger.
Christine and Brendan’s 4-year-old daughter was home when her mother and Ryan were killed, but she wasn’t hurt.
In February, Davis said there was no evidence of a home invasion, but they weren’t sure what Ryan was doing there.
The investigation into Christine’s death continues.
Tune in live for more on the stories that matter to you: WMAL.com | WMAL app | “Alexa, play W-M-A-L”
Copyright 2023 by WMAL.com. All rights reserved. Follow WMAL on social media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Rumble, Gettr and Parler
