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By OLIVIA DIAZ, Associated Press/Report for America
FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — An au pair who schemed with her employer-turned-lover to kill his wife and another man received a 10-year prison sentence on Friday.
Prosecutors had recommended Juliana Peres Magalhães walk free after she pleaded guilty to a downgraded manslaughter charge in the February 2023 killing of Joseph Ryan. Instead of being tried for second-degree murder, she became their star witness, testifying that she had fatally shot Ryan as Brendan Banfield was fatally stabbing his wife, Christine, in the couple’s bedroom.
Brendan Banfield was convicted by a jury this month of aggravated murder in the deaths of his wife and Ryan.
“I know my remorse cannot bring you peace,” Magalhães told the victims’ families on Friday, wiping away tears and muffling sobs. “I hope you can someday understand that I really did not believe his plan would actually happen.”
Instead of sentencing her to time served, Judge Penney Azcarate delivered the maximum possible sentence to the woman from Brazil.
“Let’s get it straight: You do not deserve anything other than incarceration and a life of reflection on what you have done to the victim and his family. May it weigh heavily on your soul,” the judge said.
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