My neighbor won the lottery.
Nothing crazy just enough money to change his life.
The next morning, he still left for work at 6 a.m.
Everyone thought he was humble.
Three weeks later, we found out the real reason.
A judge in Fairfax, Virginia, today sentenced a former Internal Revenue Service criminal investigator life in prison without parole for murdering his wife and a man lured to the home through a sex fetish website.
Brendan Banfield was having an affair with au pair Juliana Pere Magalhãess when they plotted to kill Banfield’s wife, Christine Banfield.
They posed as her on an online sex fetish website and persuaded a man later identified as Joseph Ryan to go to the couple’s home and sexually assault her. Banfield was home when Ryan attacked his wife on Feb. 24, 2023, and he told investigators he killed Ryan in self defense. Investigators, however, determined Banfield killed both, and jurors agreed when they convicted him of all charges on Feb. 2.
Magalhães pleaded guilty to manslaughter and testified against Banfield. Judge Penney Azcarate in Fairfax County Circuit Court sentenced her to 10 years in prison on Feb. 13.
The judge told Magalhães, “May it weigh heavily on your soul," and she had a similar message for Banfield today (Friday, June 5).
Azcarate told Banfield the “vast majority” of people she’s sentenced in her 18 years on the bench “were not inherently bad people, but they made terrible decisions and suffered the consequences.”
She’s seen something different twice before: “Two individuals that carried no remorse, calculated and planned their violent crimes and left many victims and devastation in their path.”
“As I listen to the evidence in this case, and listen to your testimony, it is apparent that I am once again looking at that same kind of evil,” 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 for using a firearm in the commission of a felony.
Banfield is from Long Island, New York, and met his wife when he was 18 and they were students at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut
If you recognize Azcarate, it's probably because she presided over the 2022 trial in the defamation lawsuit brought by actor Johnny Depp against his ex-wife Amber Heard.
🚨 Father stabs his ex-wife and their two young daughters to death before killing himself in Doral.
Ryan Charles Whiten, 42, murdered 46-year-old Melanie Hyer and their daughters Savannah, 11, and Sienna, 8, inside her home in the Doral Isles gated community.
All four were found with stab wounds during a welfare check Tuesday night. Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office confirmed Whiten committed the heinous acts then took his own life.
The couple had separated years ago and were locked in a bitter custody battle after their divorce was finalized in March. Whiten had previously voiced fears about losing custody of the girls.
Two little girls who should have had their whole lives ahead of them are gone. A mother who was a pillar in her community is gone.
Nobody expected Grandma to make it past the first obstacle... then she hit the buzzer. 😂🏆❤️
The grandkids' reaction says it all. Some of the best family memories are the ones you never see coming.