An au pair accused of a double murder in Northern Virginia was in close contact with her alleged lover and her mother after her arrest — and police believed her mother might have passed messages to the au pair, documents reveal .

Juliana Peres Magalhaes and Brendan Banfield, the father of the family she worked for, are accused of working together to kill Banfield’s wife, Christine Banfield, and an unknown man, Joseph Ryan, inside the man’s home. couple married in Herndon in February 2023.

In a search warrant affidavit obtained by News4, investigators detailed recorded conversations between Peres Magalhaes and Banfield’s mother, Teresa Banfield.

Detectives wrote that Peres Magalhaes communicated with Brendan and Teresa Banfield almost daily after his imprisonment, either by phone or by sending text messages and emails with a prison tablet. The prison keeps a close eye on the two.

Detectives report that the recordings reveal that both Banfields warned Peres Magalhaes not to talk about the alleged crimes since the phone calls were recorded.

In a phone call, Teresa Banfield told Peres Magalhaes that she had texted one of the defense attorneys, who offered to make a delivery during a prison visit, according to the warrant search.

The document says Teresa Banfield then read the text aloud to Juliana. “Hi Tess. I’m going to visit Juliana this morning. I should be there around 9 o’clock. If, you know, if I have anything, I’ll give it to him,” the affidavit states.

Detectives wrote that during the call, Teresa Banfield said she complained to attorneys that certain “things” weren’t happening to Peres Magalhaes and told them, “This is the only way we can communicate with her about what’s going on.”

Peres Magalhaes’ lawyer denied helping his client obtain any type of correspondence with Brendan Banfield or his mother.

Juliana Peres Magalhaes’ lawyers wanted some of her statements to Fairfax County police thrown out by reporting by News4’s Juliana Valencia.

A double killing

It was about 7:30 a.m. on Feb. 24, 2023, when Peres Magalhaes left the Banfields’ Stable Brook Way home with their 4-year-old daughter, according to detectives. The 23-year-old told police she came home because she forgot to take packed lunches. Upon arrival, Peres Magalhaes, a Brazilian national who also lived in the house, saw a car that she did not recognize.

She called Christine, but when the mother didn’t answer, Peres Magalhaes called Brendan, who quickly returned home, authorities said.

A few minutes later, the couple and the child entered the house. Brendan then went up to the bedroom where he found Christine and Ryan.

Detectives say the two men claimed Ryan attacked Christine, prompting Brendan — a law enforcement agent with the Internal Revenue Service — to fire his gun at Ryan.

Ryan had no obvious connection to the family or home other than the incident on that cold winter day. But as detectives began investigating how he supposedly found Christine, their case and witness statements began to diverge.

A fetish site used as a lure?

A search of a computer in the Bandfield home led detectives to a sex fetish website, prosecutors said. The site catered to sexual fantasies involving kinks, BDSM and much more.

Prosecutors said Brendan Banfield and the au pair concocted a plan to use the sexual fetish website to lure Ryan home.

Detectives found a profile for Christine and communications between her profile and Ryan. But authorities said something was wrong.

They said the way Christine spoke to Ryan in their messages was very different from the way her friends and family described her.

Police believe someone else was communicating with Ryan while posing as Christine – arranging a meeting at the family home for that day.

Nearly eight months after the murders, Fairfax County authorities arrested Peres Magalhaes and charged him with second-degree murder for Ryan’s death.

Brendan Banfield was charged with the murders of his wife and Ryan in September, nearly a year after Peres Magalhaes’ arrest.

Photos previously presented by the prosecution show Brendan Banfield with Peres Magalhaes in New York and at a concert hall. The two men had been involved in an affair for months before the murders, prosecutors said.

Other photos show Peres Magalhaes at a Virginia shooting range, and the lawyers also presented Banfield and Peres Magalhaes’ visitor logs to the shooting range.

While claiming the couple planned to flee the country, the prosecution showed photos of a new Brazilian passport for the au pair. Lawyers said Banfield drove Peres Magalhaes to the Brazilian consulate to apply for a new passport.