Au pair Juliana Peres Magalhaes has been charged in Virginia with double homicide that led to the boss’s death

News

from Catherine Donlevy

A 23-year-old housewife was arrested Friday in connection with a double homicide at her boss’s luxury suburban home in Virginia.

Juliana Perez Magalaes was charged with second-degree murder after investigators were able to link her to the death of Joseph Ryan in February, the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Department said.

However, the nanny has not been charged with the murder of Christine Banfield, who died after being brutally stabbed in her Hattontown bedroom.

Perez Magalhaes was the one who called police shortly before 7:50 a.m. and immediately hung up before calling again three minutes later to report that her “friend was injured,” police said at the time.

That’s when Banfield’s husband grabbed the phone and told dispatchers he had shot an unknown man who had stabbed his wife after entering their home.

Police noted there were no signs of forced entry when they responded.

Officers found Banfield inside the house alive but with multiple stab wounds to his upper body.

Nearby, Ryan was dead from a gunshot wound to the upper body.

Banfield was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

A 4-year-old girl was in the home at the time of the gruesome encounter, but was removed from the home safely.

“The real victim in all of this is this poor girl,” Fairfax Police Chief Kevin Davis said at the time.

After more than seven months of investigation, police determined that Banfield’s husband was not responsible for pulling the trigger.

“Through forensic evidence and multiple interviews, detectives determined that the homemaker, Juliana Perez Magalaes, 23, of Reston shot and killed Joseph Ryan,” deputies said in a statement.

“Detectives continue to conduct interviews and review digital and forensic evidence to determine the circumstances leading up to the fatal stabbing of Christine Banfield.”

After the shooting, Davis told reporters that Ryan was no stranger to the Banfield family.

Banfield’s husband and Perez Magalhaes, who lived in the home with the family, were “present and involved” with police who arrived on the scene.

It’s unclear whether Banfield’s husband has been charged for initially lying to police.

Perez Magalaes is in the Fairfax County Jail without bond.

Online court records show she has not yet entered a plea to the charge of second-degree murder.