Brendan Banfield sentence is life without parole in Au Pair Affair case
Brendan Banfield was sentenced to life without parole after CBS News said he kept denying guilt in court.
By Frankie Delgado · News Reporter
2 min read
The Brendan Banfield sentence is life in prison without the possibility of parole, CBS News reported, after a court found he orchestrated a plot to kill his wife, Christine Banfield.
CBS News said Banfield was sentenced on Friday, June 5, in the case featured by “48 Hours” as “The Au Pair Affair.” The network reported that Banfield was accused of putting together an elaborate murder scheme while he was having an affair with the family’s au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães.
According to CBS News, the plot involved bringing Joseph Ryan, described by the network as an unsuspecting man, to the Banfield home and trying to make it look as if he was responsible for the crime.
Why was Brendan Banfield sentenced to life?
CBS News reported that Banfield received life without parole for orchestrating the murder plot against Christine Banfield. Life without parole means a person is sentenced to spend the rest of their life in prison with no parole release.
The network’s “48 Hours” team focused its June 12 “Case by Case” episode on the sentencing and the courtroom aftermath. CBS News said correspondent Anne-Marie Green and producer Michelle Sigona discussed emotional victim impact statements connected to the case.
Victim impact statements are statements delivered to the court by victims or their families about how a crime has affected them. CBS News described the statements in Banfield’s sentencing as among the most passionate moments in court.
Banfield maintained his innocence during the court proceeding, according to CBS News. The network said its episode includes Banfield speaking in court as he continued to deny responsibility.
The case drew attention because of the combination of family betrayal, an alleged affair, and what CBS News described as an attempt to blame another man for the killing. The network identified Christine Banfield as Brendan Banfield’s wife and Juliana Peres Magalhães as the family’s au pair.
CBS News did not include additional sentencing details in its episode description beyond the life-without-parole punishment, the allegation that Banfield planned the crime, the role of Joseph Ryan in the reported setup, and Banfield’s continued claim of innocence in court.
This story draws on original reporting from CBS News.