2026-06-05 13:07:18 EDT / 哥伦比亚广播公司/美联社
一名与雇主家巴西籍保姆有染的弗吉尼亚州男子周五被判终身监禁且不得假释，罪名是谋杀其妻子及一名被诱骗至其家中当作替罪羊的男子。
前美国国税局执法人员布伦丹·班菲尔德声称，2023年2月24日清晨，他撞见约瑟夫·瑞安袭击妻子，随后开枪射杀了瑞安。但检方指出，布伦丹·班菲尔德与保姆朱利安娜·佩雷斯·马加良斯策划了这起阴谋，目的是除掉身为儿科重症监护护士的妻子克里斯汀·班菲尔德。
彭尼·阿斯卡拉特法官称班菲尔德的行为邪恶且经过精心算计。
“你竟然无视自己本该深爱的妻子的生命，这几乎令人无法想象，”她在宣布判决时说道。根据弗吉尼亚州法律，严重谋杀罪的判决是强制性的。
阿斯卡拉特表示，这起阴谋涉及“将一名完全无辜的男子诱入你的致命陷阱；谋杀后毫无悔意地继续生活；从未——一次都没有——考虑过自己的行为对班菲尔德夫妇4岁女儿造成的影响”。布伦丹·班菲尔德“从她手中夺走了一切”。
除谋杀罪外，陪审团于2月认定班菲尔德两项罪名成立：一是危害儿童罪，因为案发时夫妇俩的女儿就在家中；二是枪支犯罪。阿斯卡拉特就此额外判处班菲尔德5年监禁，另因枪支罪名追加3年刑期。
在 sentencing 庭审现场，班菲尔德仍坚称自己无罪，称自己不可能实施谋杀。他重申，警方内部对他和马加良斯冒用克里斯汀·班菲尔德身份在一个恋物癖网站上诱骗瑞安上门的说法存在分歧。
班菲尔德称自己深爱妻子，尽管有婚外情，但从未想过要离开她。
阿斯卡拉特不为所动，指出班菲尔德毫无悔意是她毫不犹豫判处其终身监禁的原因之一。
在班菲尔德的庭审中，马加良斯作证称，他曾告诉她自己想娶她并和她生孩子，但首先需要“除掉”妻子。他不想离婚，因为“她的财产会比他多”，而且他想要获得女儿的抚养权。马加良斯2021年开始为班菲尔德家工作时年仅21岁。
马加良斯告诉陪审团，她和布伦丹·班菲尔德冒用克里斯汀·班菲尔德的身份在一个恋物癖网站上活动。他们利用该网站诱骗瑞安前往弗吉尼亚州赫恩登的家中，进行一场涉及刀具的性约会，并伪造现场，使其看起来像是遭遇暴力入侵者开枪袭击。
马加良斯作证称，案发当天，她带着班菲尔德夫妇的孩子在屋外的车里等候。瑞安抵达后，她给在附近麦当劳等候的布伦丹·班菲尔德打了电话。二人带着孩子来到地下室，随后前往卧室，与瑞安碰面。布伦丹·班菲尔德开枪射杀了瑞安，随后用瑞安带来的刀刺向克里斯汀·班菲尔德。当马加良斯看到瑞安仍在动时，她又开了第二枪，彻底将其击毙。
一些媒体将这起案件称为“保姆婚外情案”。马加良斯在同意指证布伦丹·班菲尔德后承认了过失杀人罪。在班菲尔德庭审结束后，马加良斯被判处10年监禁。
在马加良斯的 sentencing 听证会上，阿斯卡拉特表示：“你的行为是蓄意的、自私自利的，表现出对人类生命的极度漠视。”据哥伦比亚广播公司下属电视台WUSA报道，她还说道：“所以我们开门见山——你只配被监禁，用余生反思你对这个家庭的受害者所做的一切。愿这件事沉重地压在你的灵魂上。”
Virginia man sentenced to life in prison for double murder scheme in affair with au pair
2026-06-05 13:07:18 EDT / CBS/AP
A Virginia man who was having an affair with the family’s Brazilian au pair was sentenced Friday to life in prison without parole for the murder of his wife and a man who was lured to the couple’s home as a fall guy.
Brendan Banfield, a former IRS law enforcement officer, claimed he shot Joseph Ryan after he came across Ryan attacking his wife on the morning of Feb. 24, 2023. But prosecutors said Brendan Banfield and au pair Juliana Peres Magalhães set Ryan up in a scheme to get rid of Christine Banfield, a pediatric intensive care nurse.
Judge Penney Azcarate called Banfield’s actions evil and calculated.
“The disregard of the life of your wife, someone you supposedly loved, is almost unfathomable,” she said in handing down the sentence, which is mandatory in Virginia for an aggravated murder conviction.
The scheme involved “luring a completely innocent man into your deadly trap; continuing on after the murders without a care; and not once — not once — thinking of the impact” on the Banfields’ 4-year-old daughter. Brendan Banfield “took everything from her,” Azcarate said.
In addition to murder, jurors in February convicted Banfield of child endangerment because the couple’s daughter was home during the killings. Azcarate sentenced Banfield to an additional five years on that charge and three more years on a firearms charge.
Speaking at his sentencing, Banfield continued to proclaim his innocence, saying it would have been impossible for him to have committed the murders. He reiterated there was dissent within the police department over the theory Banfield and Magalhães had impersonated Christine Banfield on a website for sexual fetishes in order to lure Ryan to the home.
Banfield said he loved his wife and, although he had affairs, he never intended to leave her.
Azcarate was unmoved, citing his lack of remorse as one of the reasons she felt no hesitation in ordering him to remain behind bars for life.
During Banfield’s trial, Magalhães testified he had told her he wanted to marry her and have children with her, but he needed to “get rid of” his wife first. He didn’t want a divorce because “she would have more money than he would” and because he wanted custody of the couple’s daughter, said Magalhães, who was 21 when she started working for the Banfields in 2021.
Magalhães told jurors she and Brendan Banfield had impersonated Christine Banfield on a website for sexual fetishes. They used the site to lure Ryan to the house in Herndon, Virginia, for a sexual encounter involving a knife and staged the scene to look as if they had shot a violent intruder.
Magalhães testified that on the day of the killings, she waited in a car outside the house with the Banfields’ child. When Ryan arrived, she called Brendan Banfield, who was waiting at a nearby McDonald’s. The pair took the child to the basement and then went to the bedroom, where they encountered Ryan. Brendan Banfield shot Ryan and then stabbed Christine Banfield with the knife Ryan had brought. When Magalhães saw Ryan moving, she fired a second shot that killed him.
Some media have dubbed the case the “au pair affair.” Magalhães pleaded guilty to manslaughter after agreeing to testify against Brendan Banfield. Magalhães was sentenced to 10 years in prison after Banfield’s trial.
At Magalhães’ sentencing hearing, Azcarate said, “Your actions were deliberate, self-serving, and demonstrated a profound disregard for human life,” according to CBS affiliate WUSA. “So let’s get straight — you do not deserve anything other than incarceration and a life of reflection on what you have done to the victim in this family. May it weigh heavily on your soul.”
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