<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>An au pair who schemed with her employer-turned-lover to kill his wife and another man received a 10-year prison sentence in the </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/usa" rel="" target="" title="US"><span>US</span></a><span> on Friday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Prosecutors had recommended Juliana Peres Magalhães walk free after she pleaded guilty to a downgraded manslaughter charge in the February 2023 killing of Joseph Ryan.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Instead of being tried for second-degree murder, she became their star witness, testifying that she had fatally shot Ryan as Virginia man Brendan Banfield was fatally stabbing his wife, Christine, in the couple’s bedroom.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/chilling-images-from-nancy-guthries-porch-could-hold-valuable-clues-about-the-masked-suspect/4951f593-e7c7-47f1-82b3-91a5f6c4bef9"><strong><span>Chilling images from Nancy Guthrie's porch could hold valuable clues</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/turkey-parliament-brawl-video/c41267f0-bfbf-48ce-9d78-7eec08d1a202"><strong><span>Punches thrown by politicians in chaotic brawl in parliament</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Brendan Banfield </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/virginia-man-in-au-pair-affair-case-convicted-of-murdering-wife-and-another-man-in-elaborate-ruse/2d5e0e3b-d2ec-4ccc-9887-a68d5f100360" rel="" target="" title="was convicted by a jury this month of aggravated murder"><span>was convicted by a jury this month of aggravated murder</span></a><span> in the deaths of his wife and Ryan.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“I know my remorse cannot bring you peace,” Magalhães told the victims' families on Friday, wiping away tears and muffling sobs.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/brazilian-au-pair-gets-10year-sentence-for-killing-joseph-ryan-in-murder-plot-against-lovers-wife/6ec4b153-2924-4b86-ad7b-6a27caec69d6" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“I hope you can someday understand that I really did not believe his plan would actually happen.”</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Instead of sentencing her to time served, Judge Penney Azcarate delivered the maximum possible sentence to the woman from </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/brazil" rel="" target="" title="Brazil"><span>Brazil</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Let’s get it straight: You do not deserve anything other than incarceration and a life of reflection on what you have done to the victim and his family. May it weigh heavily on your soul,” the judge said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>At Banfield's trial, Magalhães testified that she and the IRS agent created an account in the name of his wife, a paediatric intensive care nurse, on a social media platform for people interested in sexual fetishes.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Ryan connected with the account and agreed to meet for a sexual encounter involving a knife.</span><br/><br/><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/trump-pardons-5-former-nfl-players-for-crimes-ranging-from-perjury-to-drug-trafficking/5ba7cc8e-30eb-4ef7-a1d8-f4b7f3bd034c"><strong><span>Donald Trump pardons five former NFL players</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/north-korea-kim-jong-un-expected-to-name-daughter-ju-ae-his-heir/5de3bb90-78a6-4740-9b65-eeee08b0a79a"><strong><span>Kim Jong Un's teen daughter poised to become heir, spy agency says</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Magalhães, then 22, said she and Brendan Banfield took the couple’s four-year-old child to the basement, and then found Ryan surprising Christine Banfield with a knife in the couple's bedroom.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She said Brendan Banfield shot Ryan and then began stabbing his wife in the neck.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>When she saw Ryan moving, Magalhães said, she fired the second shot that killed him.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The au pair wasn’t arrested until eight months later, and hasn't left jail since.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Prosecutors raised concerns that if she were to be allowed bail, she would flee to Brazil or be deported by immigration officials before they could finish their case.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She didn’t talk with investigators for more than a year, until she changed her mind as her trial date approached.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“I lost myself in a relationship, and left my morals and values behind,” Magalhães told the judge.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“You were texting and speaking to Joseph Ryan, encouraging him to bring a knife and ultimately, through the phone conversation, getting his consent, knowing all along you were bringing him to his death,” the judge responded.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Ryan's mother, Deirdre Fisher, told the court that her son, born days before Christmas, was her “greatest gift.”</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-february-14-what-happened-on-this-day-youtube/7bc2a368-9452-43ea-afe4-7c4390c64e02"><strong><span>The creepy motivation behind the world's second most popular website</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/instagram-ceo-adam-mosseri-social-media-addiction-california-usa-lawsuit/8b9e5ffc-c2c9-4384-9d88-6079f1352b73" rel="" target="" title="Instagram CEO says he does not believe people can be 'clinically addicted' to the platform"><strong><span>Instagram CEO says he does not believe people can be 'clinically addicted' to the platform</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Three years after his killing, she can’t bear taking down their Christmas tree.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>An urn with Ryan’s ashes sits in front of the decoration.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“I say good morning to him each day when I turn on the tree’s lights,” she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“But of course that’s not Joe sitting there. He can’t say ‘I love you’ back.”</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Sangeeta Ryan described her nephew as “inquisitive, curious, smart, charming and so dang talkative.”</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She said he loved martial arts and role-playing with his friends.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She also noted that he had moved in with his octogenarian grandmother to care for her.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“His sudden murder devastated his grandma, she could no longer live in the family home without Joe,” his aunt said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The woman quietly moved away, hoping to avoid her memories and the reporters knocking at the door.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Christine Banfield's relatives attended Friday's hearing.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A judge has said Banfield will be sentenced in May.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></em></strong><span> </span><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><strong><em><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank" title=""><strong><em><span>Apple</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Google Play</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/8x987w" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>ticking this box here</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Sign up to</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></em></strong></a></li></ul></div></div>