A Brazilian au pair charged in connection with the deaths of her ex-lover’s wife and another man has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in one of the murders.

The plea agreement between Fairfax County, Virginia, prosecutors and Juliana Peres Magalhaes24-year-old, was the latest development in the strange double homicide case.

Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said Peres Magalhaes’ plea agreement Tuesday, Oct. 29, in the murder of Joseph Ryan, 39, marked a “significant step forward in this case, and “It is an important step forward in our search.” of justice for the victims and their families.”

Peres Magalhaes’ former lover, Brendan Banfield, was indicted in September by a Fairfax County grand jury on four counts of aggravated murder and one count of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony in connection with the death of Ryan and Banfield, 37 years old. -old wife, Christine Banfield.

Christine Banfield was found mortally wounded after being stabbed in her Herndon, Virginia home on February 23, 2023. She later died in the hospital. Ryan was found dead nearby, with gunshot wounds to the head and chest.

Prosecutors allege that Peres Magalhaes and Brendan, a former IRS criminal division agent, began an affair in August 2022, after she moved into the Herndon, Virginia, home that Brendan shared with Christine. a pediatric intensive care nurse, and her then 4-year-old daughter.

According to comments made by Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Eric Clingan in Fairfax County Circuit Court at the Oct. 29 plea hearing, Brendan shortly thereafter “expressed his desire to get rid of his wife.”

The month before the murders, Brendan allegedly created a profile on the bondage website Fetlife.com and began communicating with Ryan, a mixed martial arts enthusiast who liked live-action role-playing games.

Brendan then allegedly directed Peres Magalhaes to call Ryan, posing as Christine, using an encrypted messaging app called Telegram, to confirm details “that both parties were willing participants.”

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Clingan said Brendan “lured” Ryan to the house on the morning of February 24, 2023, alleging that “Ryan likely believed he would meet Christine Banfield for a consensual sexual encounter that would involve the use of restraints on her and cutting her.” of his clothes with a knife he brought and other violent sexual role plays.”

Brendan allegedly gave Peres Magalhaes a gun he purchased a month earlier and told him to call Christine’s phone when Ryan entered the house and then to call Brendan “telling him there was a strange man in the house and that she was scared.” Clingan said.

The call to Christine’s phone went straight to voicemail because Brendan allegedly turned off his phone and put it in a kitchen drawer before leaving the house that morning.

Brendan received the call from Peres Magalhaes while he was at a nearby McDonald’s “hoping he could get back quickly,” Clingan said.

Prosecutors allege that Brendan then drove to his home, where he shot Ryan in the head and stabbed his wife.

Peres Magalhaes “saw Joseph Ryan move and shot him,” according to Clingan.

The duo then “reported the crime as if Joseph Ryan was an intruder who stabbed Christine Banfield,” Clingan said.

After serving warrants at Banfield’s home in October 2023, investigators found photos of Brendan and Peres Magalhaes “in amorous poses” arranged throughout the bedroom along with the au pair’s lingerie. That same month, Peres Magalhaes was charged with second-degree murder and use of a firearm in commission of a felony in Ryan’s death. She was not charged in connection with Christine’s death.

After two years in custody and just days before she was set to go on trial, on October 25, the former au pair gave a “detailed account” of the murders that “corroborated the evidence uncovered” by Fairfax County police. Clingan said.

He faces up to 10 years in prison. However, The New York Times reported that prosecutors agreed to recommend that Peres Magalhaes be released from custody with credit for time served after Brendan’s trial, as long as he continues to cooperate with authorities.

A sentencing date has been set for March 21, 2025. Brendan is scheduled to go to trial on February 3, 2025.