Final Sentencing and Judicial Remarks

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From cute sninkarinas to the perfect flip bops to stunning heels, theseese shoes are all style, no drama. It's a Girl's Girls summer and DSW has just the shoes Shop the Sierra Miller collollection right now at your DsW store or dsw d. com One would hope that someday you will become tortured by what you have done to Christine, Joe, Christine's daughter and their families, but nothing I have seen suggests that you will The level of cruelty, calculation and inhumanity in this case reflects something far deeper than anger or impulse. It reflects evil which is why I carry no burden. and find no hesitation in sentencing you to life That was Fairfax County Circuit judge Penny Escarate, announcing the sentence for former IRS special agent Brendon Banfield, Life in prison without the possibility of parole. Now Banfield was found guilty of murdering his wife, Christine and another man, Joseph Ryan, inside the Banfield's Northern Virginia home in twenty twenty three The case had been dubbed the auair affair because of Brendan's relationship with the bandfield's Brazilian liibving nanny, Juliana Perez Magales. Juliana pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter for also shooting Joseph Ryan and cooperated with the government testifying against Brandon In February, Magales was sentenced to ten years behind bars. and on Friday, june fifth, the victim's family members spoke up to honor their loved ones and seek justice someomehow I found myself reliving something I had never experienced as if I had been there I envisioned Christine's fear, felt her terror, and wished I was there to take her place. I no longer had a sister I was no longer a sister The absence of Joe is not abstract. It is constant, visible and devastating Welcome to Case byy Case. I'm forty eight Hours correspondent, An Marie Green. and I'm joined by producer Michelle Sagona, who has followed every twist and turn of this story. Today, we're going to discuss its dramatic conclusion, including Brandon Banfield's decision to speak in court. Hello, Michelle. Hey, Earie, it's great to see you know it's been more than three years for these victims' families. And During sentencings, I always think about difficult this is for them but also how strong they have to be to be able to be that voice for their loved ones I want you to sort of walk us through some of the key moments from the sentencing, but can you also remind folks of just how we got here? during his January trial, Commonwealth argued Brendan and Juliana plotted to kill Christine Banfield by luring Joseph Ryan to the house The goal in all of this was to make it look like Joe was the one who stabbed Christine to death Brendon and Juliana created online accounts impersonating Christine, including on a fetished site, and ultimately convinced Joe Ryan to come to the Banfield house with a knife under the pretense of a rough sexual encounter. Brendon entered the bedroom to save his wife and shot Joe. and self defense key to the Commonwealth's case was the Manflds au Pair, Juliana Did he tell you what he wanted to do Yes. What did he say? He mentioned his plan to get rid of her So she said he mentioned his plan to get rid of her And this was really a case of he said she said. Juliana came to the United States from Brazil as an all pair in twenty twenty one and started a relationship with Brendon in twenty twenty two. And she testified that Brendan wanted out of his marriage, but felt a divorce was not an option. He wanted full custody of his daughter, and Juliana said money was also a concern in all of this. And remember, Juliana and Brendan lived together in the house In the bedroom, An Marie that he used to share with Christine after the Kelles. That is until Jiuliana was arrested months later followed by Brendon's arrest. Right. So let us go back over sort of the details of this murder plan because it's sort of convoluted. It is convoluted. There's so many details and so many twists and turns. It's hard to wrap your brain around a lot of it According to the prosecution and Juliana, Joe was told to come to the house. This was on february twenty fourth, twenty twenty three, and it was in the early morning and Christine was still in the bedroom Brendon then left the house under the pretense of going to work but He was really out of McDonald's Now Juliana had also departed with the Bandfield's young daughter for a supposed trip to the zoo door was left unlocked when they left the house, ready for Joe's arrival. Now, Juliana said she parked near the house and tipped Brendon off as to when Joe went inside the house Now Brendan, Juliana, and Valerie, all three of them turned to the house and they went around back and they entered through the basement Valerie and Juliana stayed downstairs. Now this was as Brendon headed upstairs to the bedroom, but then, Juliana followed Brendon. Juliana testified that when she got to the room teeen was still alive Yelling at Brendon, that Joe had a knife And that's when Juliana said, Brendon, shot Joe So you know Christine obviously is unaware of any of this.. He thinks that a man has entered her bedroom, a knife wielding man has entered her bedroom. Joe thinks that he is coming for some sort of consensual rendezvous. So they are both sort of confused about what's happening. att this point Christine has not been stabbed yet. She was yelling because there's a strange man in her room and he's got a knife And according to Juliana Christine was terrified. and told her to call nine hundred eleven. Now She did make the call but then claimed that Brendan did some sort of signal for her to hang up. So she hung up right away. That was the first nine hundred eleven call. She stepped away and then returned to see Brendan stabbing Christine Juliana said that she also saw Joe moving and warned Brendan and then shot Joe Now, she said Brendan had given her a gun earlier that day And then she called nine hundred and eleven for real O one, where's our emergency. any any help there is a My friend she just was a se the like now she's learning a lot. I don't know what to do anymore Law enforcement arrived soon after, but Brendan was not arrested. That didn't actually come until a year and a half later. In fact, Juliana was the first one arrested and jailed. And she stood by Brendan. but then ultimately cooperated with the Commonwealth and pleaded guilty to manslaughter And then Brendan was arrested and indicted And correct me if I'm wrong Michelle, but she was getting help from Brendan's mom like they were putting money on her books and that sort of thing while she was in jail. And she was standing by him for a bit. She did stand by him for a while H family was helping her out, especially in the beginning. This was until she decided be the Commonwealth star witness DSW, we ask the important questions What shoes are you going to wear Whether you're prepping for wedding season, festival season, or just planning the ultimate vacay, the right shoes can make or break an RSVP. So own the moment. You've got big plans and we've got just the shoes at the perfect price, of course. Get ready to getet ready with Designer Shoe Warehouse. He to your DSW store or dsw dot com today And let us surprise you Panpiano. If you've used Babel, you would. Babel's conversation based technique teaches you useful words and phrases to get you speaking quickly about the things you actually talk about in the real world. With lessons hand crafted by over two hundred language experts and voiced by real native speakers, Babel is like having a private tutor in your pocket. Start speaking with Babel today. Get up to fifty five percent off your Babel subscription right now Babble d. com slash listen spepell B a bB E L. com slash listen. Rules and restrictions may apply So Brendon in his defense, they continue to deny this whole cat fishing scheme. This was always self defense after an intruder entered the home and then attacked Christine. Even when he spoke at sentencing, Emmie, Brendon said that there was no indication that he or Juliana had access to Christine's devices to create fake accounts. He said there was no evidence that he even stabbed Christine. There is no dispute that Joe Ryan brought the knife to my home My DNA and fingerprints are not on the knife. Joe Ryan's DNA is on the knife right at the junction of the handle and the blade The DNA is right where you would expect it to be for someone who is forcefully using the knife And then during the trial, the defense had pointed out that Juliana had changed her stories, suggesting that she only worked with the government after Brendon was arrested and she sort of lost hope the jury didn't buy it during the trial and the judge didn't buy it at sentencing. And just a reminder that in addition to two counts of aggravated murder, Brendan Banfield was also found guilty of one count of use of a firearm and one count of child endangerment Right And Michelle, we should talk a little bit about the child endangment charge. In an earlier forty eight hours podcast episode, we talked a little bit about this. It's because that while the killings were taking place, the Banfield's daughter was in the house downstairs in the basement. She was. It's Disturbing that this happened with a four year old child inside of that Virginia home where her mother being set up ultimately murdered Yeah, you can only imagine what what she heard. So we had the guilty verdict and then the sentencing now. I should note that the day before the sentencing, Banfield's defense attorney tried to get the murder verdict thrown out, but the judge dismissed his motion As for the sentencing itself, it was an opportunity for family members now to really tell the judge more about their loved ones, more about what they have lost That testimony at trial was very much about the evidence, troubles in the marriage, but not a lot of detail about who Christine and Joe were as people. So let's start by hearing from Christine's older sister, Danielle Hawker The memories we shared growing up helped shape my sense of love family and who I am They felt simple and whole Filled with laughter, safety, and love Since losing her, those same memories have changed. They are no longer just joyful, but layered with grief. Each one, a reminder of both how much I had and how much was taken? It was especially emotional when Danielle would reflect on their time as children and all of these memories that they shared together as little kids all the way up until adults Christine's obsession with the Backstreet boys Wing Full House on TV, having a crush on Brad Pitt and Legends of the Fall. We also learned more about Christine's life as a nurse and how she wanted to help others. Yeah. I mean, even Bretndon talks about that. We'll get to that later, but I mean, she was so dedicated particularly through the pandemic when it was very grueling work She also obviously had some very strong words for her brother in law, Brendon, particularly in regards to his allegations that his wife, Christine, had also been unfaithful. His lies did not just attempt to destroy her reputation. They forced me to relive my grief with anger and helplessness I cannot fully describe He was the one that had countless affairs. several attempts at finding the right mistress that would eventually help carry out the plan with him because the absurd line of questioning about a plan didn't just develop when he started his favic, Juliana I believe she meant no more to him than anyone else in his life. She was just another person to control and exploit What he presented as affection was manipulation What may have appeared as love was nothing more than strategy. If there had been any genuine intent to build a life with Juliana, he could have chosen a lawful and honest path He could have divorced and moved on. But divorce would have required relinquishing control and control was always the priority His actions were not driven by love but a desire for power deception and a complete disregard for the lives he destroyed And Daniele also brought up her young niece in all of this and how one day she would have to hear about how her father about her mother Danielle really assured the court that her and her family would make sure that this child would hear stories about her mom and hear them with light and joy and love.. And then we also heard about Joe Ryan because sort of, you know, during the trial, we only really know him as the man from Fet Life Fetish apppp right? who falls victim to this murder plot for Brendon. He is nothing but a pawn. It could have been Joe Ryan. It could have been anyone else who kind of showed up. And so hearing from his mother and his aunt, it really humanized him. Did his mother, Diger Fisher, she wasn't able to be in the courtroom, but she did speak via video conference And she was emotional She really was when talking about how hard it was to see her son in the public eye, initially being accused of killing Christine She said she has a lot of medical issues right now, which are linked to the trauma of her son's murder Brandon Banfield, his defense team Even some of the press carelessly characterize Joe as the intruder Yeah The fetish guy into rough sex The rapist and the murderer or simply the other forgettable guy notot even showing Joe's face during the murder trial Joe was chosen because Brendan Banfield thought he would make a good dupe to be framed for the planned murder of his wife As with so many other things Brendon was wrong. In some ways, my son was flawed, regular, Joe But he also had some amazing qualities She described Joe as carrying someomeone who looked after his grandparents She said he was the person who would fight for the underdog He had a lot of love for gardening He loved animals, and she also described him as a feminist I mean, Michelle, here's the thing, right? Whatever he was sort of involved in. this is supposed to be consenting adults. There's nothing wrong with this sort of behavior. and it's also just one aspect of a person's life. You know, clearly it was much more than that. I just I wish that these positive things about Christine and Joe would be the first firstirst things that come up on the first page of a, you know, of the search engine as opposed to to all of this negativity Yeah, absolutely Mill. I can't wait you to check my new collection of shoes and accessories at Designer Shoeware If you love shoes as much as I do, then trust me, I got you. From cute sneakerinas to the perfect flip flops to stunning heels. These shoes are all style, no drama It's a girls Girl summer, and DSW has just the shoes Shop to the Sierra Miller collollection right now at your GsW store or dsw. com Garters has your family covered for every summer first, for steps, for swim lesson, or for sleepover Our clothes help kids and parents shine, thanks to comfy design and easy dressing details. Visit cararters dot com to shop the latest styles or find a Carter store near you. Pp If you've used Babel, you would. Babel's conversation based technique teaches you useful words and phrases to get you speaking quickly about the things you actually talk about in the real world With lessons hand crafted by over two hundred language experts and voiced by real native speakers, Babel is like having a private tutor in your pocket. Start speaking with Babel today. Get up to fifty five percent off your Babel subscription right now at babel dot com slash listen and spepellbaabbl dot com slash listen. Rules and restrictions may apply And then Brendan Banfield spoke I wasn't sure what he was going to say. I wondered whether or not he would apologize or take sort of any ownership at all. Certainly, he testified during the trial, but this was a moment for him to speak beyond that. I'm curious, you know, your reaction to what he had to say. I would like to say I was surprised or shocked that he didn't take responsibility. But I think what we heard at the trial And what we heard at the sentencing really go hand in hand. He had trouble getting out some of his sentences He was reading very fast. At one point, he even stopped and paused for a long period. He continued to blame law enforcement who he believes put the cat fishing story ahead of the evidence in his case And I was struck at how he described Christine as a wife and a mother. and we want to play you a little bit of that Christine was A wonderful and loving person just as you heard from many of the people here. She was a loving and compassionate nurse During COVID, she volunteered to take care of takeake care of many of the people that were sick and struggling She signed up for extra shifts. She signed up for vaccination clinics She cared for her daughter. She went she enrolled her in dance lessons. She was there for recitals I loved her very much Despite what you may think of my affairs, our marriage worked for us. It wasn't something that I looked to end. There was no It was told to other women that I was never going to leave Christine was that was always how it was said So interesting what he said about his marriage He said he didn't want to diminish Christine's life, but insisted he wasn't responsible for her death He didn't display any type of remorse during the sentencing hearing A lot of defensiveness And again, Brendan Banfield took zero responsibility So