A death wish and a catfish: How an IRS agent lured his wife and an unsuspecting man to their murders
By Tim Stelloh
Published on April 3, 2026.
IRS special agent, Brendan Banfield, was convicted of aggravated murder after he lured his wife and an unsuspecting man to their murders three years ago in a Northern Virginia home. The victims, Christine Banfield and 39-year-old Joseph Ryan, were found with multiple stab wounds to their bodies. Prosecutors allege that the murders were part of a catfishing scheme that involved an affair motivated by an affair and used a fetish website to lure the man to his death. The family's Brazilian au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhaes, cooperated with authorities and pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Despite her confession, authorities have questioned the au pair's account in the months following the killings.
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