The mother of an au pair accused of shooting a man dead after he stabbed her boss to death has claimed her daughter is innocent.
Juliana Peres Magalhaes, 23, was arrested last week in connection with the death of 39-year-old Joseph Ryan.
Ryan is believed to have stabbed 37-year-old Christine Banfield, who was found in an upstairs bedroom at her $1million Virginia home.
‘She told me the case had been closed, and the police had concluded it was Ryan who killed Christine, because they were ex-partners,’ the au pair’s mother, Marina Peres Souza, told Folha.
‘And then we found out about two days before the arrest that they were investigating. They ambushed her on Thursday before work.’
Juliana Peres Magalhaes (pictured), 23, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder in connection to the death of 39-year-old Joseph Ryan
Ryan is believed to have stabbed 37-year-old Christine Banfield (pictured) to death at her home
Magalhaes’s mother claims that Ryan (pictured) and Banfield were ‘ex-partners’ and her daughter acted in self-defense after getting into an argument with Ryan
Souza claimed Magalhaes was arriving for work when she saw a man entering the house and, feeling scared, called Banfield’s husband.
The pair entered the home, only to discover that Christine Banfield had been stabbed.
It was then that Magalhaes, Brendan Banfield, and Ryan got into an argument, Souza said, and Magalhaes shot Ryan to ‘defend herself and her family.’
Folha was unable to confirm with Fairfax police if they had considered the possibility that Magalhaes had shot Ryan in self-defense.
Souza said her daughter wanted to return to her native Brazil and recently applied for visa renewal.
‘They are saying horrible things about my daughter, that she only did this to stay in the country, but it’s not true,’ she said.
‘She wouldn’t hurt a fly. I hope this story gets resolved.’ Police believe that Magalhaes shot Ryan. She has not been charged in Banfield’s death.
Banfield was discovered in an upstairs bedroom at her $1million Virginia home (pictured). She was taken to a hospital, where she died from her injuries
Banfield’s husband, Brendan, initially told police that he was the one who shot Ryan after discovering that Ryan had stabbed his wife
Fairfax police roped off the quiet cul-de-sac (pictured) where Banfield lived with her husband
Officers later discovered the couple’s four-year-old daughter, who had been inside the home when her mother was knifed
On the day of the killings in February, police received a call from Magalhaes’s cellphone around 7.50am.
She immediately hung up. Ten minutes later, she called back to say that her ‘friend’ was hurt.
Brendan Banfield then came onto the line and told a dispatcher he had shot Ryan, who he said had broken into his home and stabbed his wife.
Police arrived at 8.13am to find Ryan dead and Banfield wounded. The 37-year-old mother was rushed to a local hospital, but she later died from her injuries.
Police have not confirmed if Ryan did stab Banfield, but they reportedly said there was no sign of forced entry to the house, a 5-bedroom colonial at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac.
The property last sold in 2019 for $799,000 and is now valued at just over $1million. Police also found Banfield’s four-year-old daughter, who was physically unharmed.
Fairfax Police Chief Kevin Davis said in February that the little girl was ‘the truest victim of all this.’
He added: ‘I think the person or persons responsible for this are already known to us.
‘We just have to sort out who was responsible for what, we have to sort out the exact nature of Mr. Ryan’s presence inside the house.’
Of Ryan, he said: ‘We don’t think he is necessarily a stranger but we’re still working to determine more facts before we describe him.’
It is unclear why Banfield’s husband initially said that he shot Ryan.
Magalhaes is being held at the Fairfax County jail. Records show she had not yet entered a plea to the second-degree murder charge.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk