HUBBY-FROM-HELL: IRS REP KILLS WIFE, "HOT NANNY" LOVE TRIANGLE, COPS
Quick Read
Summary
Takeaways
- ❖IRS agent Brendan Banfield and au pair Juliana Perez Magalles are accused of murdering Banfield's wife, Christine, and Joseph Ryan.
- ❖Joseph Ryan was lured to the home through a fake profile on the fetish website 'FetLife,' created on Christine's computer while she was home.
- ❖The alleged plot involved Banfield shooting Ryan, claiming Ryan was attacking Christine, then Banfield stabbing Christine to death.
- ❖Christine Banfield suffered multiple deep stab wounds to the neck, including one that caused a defect at the base of her skull.
- ❖The 911 call from the scene was analyzed for suspicious tones and rehearsed statements from the alleged killers.
- ❖Juliana Perez Magalles moved her personal items and 'loved up' photos with Brendan into the master bedroom where Christine was killed, immediately after the murders.
- ❖Premeditation evidence includes target practice, purchasing a new gun, and buying new phones before the murders.
- ❖Juliana initially received commissary money and defense funding from Brendan's mother but lost it after 'flipping' and cooperating with prosecutors.
Insights
1The Elaborate Fetish Website Lure and Staged Attack
Brendan Banfield and Juliana Perez Magalles allegedly created a fake profile on FetLife, a fetish website, using Christine's computer. They communicated with Joseph Ryan, inviting him to the home for consensual bondage and discipline, instructing him to bring ropes and a knife. The timing of these communications, specifically when Christine was home, was a deliberate attempt to establish an alibi, suggesting Christine herself was involved. The plan was to stage Ryan as an attacker, allowing Banfield to 'heroically' shoot him, then Banfield would stab his wife Christine.
Police allege the nanny and husband lured Ryan via FetLife (). They used Christine's computer to set up the account (). Communications indicated Ryan was to bring ropes and a knife, and that Christine might show 'resistance' as part of the consensual act (). The website activity occurred only when Christine was home, to create an alibi (). Brendan Banfield waited nearby to 'catch' Ryan in the act ().
2Chilling 911 Call Reveals Alleged Premeditation and Lack of Remorse
Analysis of the 911 calls reveals suspicious behavior from Banfield and Magalles. The husband's voice was described as 'robotic' and 'stilted,' lacking the expected emotion for discovering his wife brutally stabbed and a stranger shot. He referred to his wife in the plural ('they're upstairs') and claimed not to know the shot individual. The nanny also expressed impatience, asking 'What's taking so long?' which was interpreted as an attempt to appear genuinely distressed. Experts suggest the call sounded rehearsed, indicating premeditation rather than a spontaneous crime of passion.
The husband's voice on the 911 call was 'not very upset,' 'robotic' (, , ). Nancy Grace notes he referred to his wife as 'they' (). He claimed not to know the individual he shot (). Dr. Delator stated the call sounded 'stilted,' 'rehearsed,' and like a 'teleplay,' indicating premeditation (, ). The nanny's 'What's taking so long?' was seen as an attempt to feign fear ().
3Post-Murder Actions Underscore Lack of Remorse and Premeditation
Immediately following the murders, Juliana Perez Magalles moved her personal belongings, including lingerie and 'loved up' photos of her and Brendan, into the master bedroom where Christine was killed. She then slept in the same bed. This swift occupation of the marital space, combined with her later complaints about being 'tired of jail' and showing 'zero remorse' during her testimony, strongly suggests a complete disregard for the victims and a focus on her desired outcome with Brendan.
Gigi McKelie reported that the nanny moved 'loved up photos' of her and the husband, along with her lingerie, into the master bedroom where the murders occurred (, ). She slept in the same bed where Christine was killed (). Juliana complained about being 'tired of this' and 'miserable' in jail, showing 'zero remorse' for the victims (, ).
4Extreme Violence and Specificity of Injuries
Joseph Ryan was shot in the head and chest, with Juliana firing the fatal shot when he was still making noises. Christine Banfield suffered multiple, rapidly fatal stab wounds to her neck, some as deep as 2.5 inches. One wound was so forceful it caused a 'defect' or 'notch' at the base of her skull, indicating the knife struck bone. This level of force suggests extreme intent and violence, leading to massive hemorrhaging and a horrific death by 'gagging on her blood' as described by the medical examiner.
Joseph Ryan was shot in the head and chest, with Juliana firing the fatal shot (). Christine had mostly stab injuries to her neck, some 2.5 inches deep, causing a defect at the base of her skull (, ). Dr. Kendall Crowns explained that neck stab wounds are 'very vascular, very hemorrhagic,' and can involve the windpipe, causing the victim to 'gagging on your blood as you're bleeding out' (). The defect at the skull base indicates 'a lot of force' was used (, ).
Notable Moments
The husband's calm, almost detached tone during the 911 call reporting his wife's stabbing and a man shot.
This moment immediately raised suspicions among the hosts and experts, suggesting a lack of genuine distress inconsistent with discovering such a horrific scene, pointing towards a rehearsed narrative.
The revelation that the nanny moved her personal belongings, including 'loved up' photos with the husband and her lingerie, into the master bedroom right after the murders.
This demonstrates an extreme lack of remorse and a brazen disregard for the deceased wife, indicating a clear intent to immediately replace her and solidify her relationship with the husband.
The detailed description of Christine Banfield's neck wounds, including one that caused a defect in her skull.
This medical detail highlights the immense force and violence used in the stabbing, contradicting any notion of a struggle or accidental injury and reinforcing the deliberate nature of the murder.
Quotes
"He didn't sound very upset. He's just like, 'Oh yeah, she's got a big hole in her neck.'"
"It sounds very stilted. Yeah, it it sounds stilted. It sounds rehearsed. It sounds like this was always meant to be kind of a a teleplay that they were always meant to say when as soon as they got on the computer, uh, as soon as they got on the phone."
"This is one of the most preposterous stories of a cooperating witness I have ever heard in 40 years of doing this. It's intricate. It's bizarre. And it sounds like the concoction of a lady, meaning the Opair, who's been sitting in jail for a year, living a delusional life, and suddenly she wants to cooperate with the prosecutors, and she conveys this utterly, bizarrely intricate story. Not a credible witness."
"When you do that, you're hitting all the ma vascule and musculature in this area. It's the croted, the jugular vein. You're going to get massive hemorrhaging from that kind of spurting out all over the place. So, stab wounds to the neck usually are very vascular, very hemorrhagic, and depending on how they're angled, if they come more to midline, they can also involve your trachea or your windpipe where the air comes through. And then you you're basically now breathing through that new hole in your windpipe and the blood is flooding in there. So you're gagging on your blood as you're bleeding out. It's pretty bad to be stabbed in the neck."
"I'm unhappy. Nothing makes me happy. Mommy, I'm miserable. I just want to get out of here and come back home and be with you guys. I'm tired of this place."
Q&A
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