The Murders of Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan: The Au Pair's Testimony + Trial Update

The Murders of Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan: The Au Pair's Testimony + Trial Update

Author: Moms and Mysteries Podcast January 22, 2026 Duration: 54:16
What happens when a suburban love affair turns deadly? When the prosecution's star witness is also negotiating a Netflix deal from her jail cell?On February 24, 2023, Christine Banfield, a beloved pediatric ICU nurse, was found dead in her Fairfax County, Virginia home. Also dead: Joseph Ryan, a man Christine had allegedly been communicating with online about violent fantasies. But prosecutors say Christine never sent those messages. They say her husband Brendan Banfield and their au pair Juliana Peres Magalhães were having an affair, and instead of getting a divorce, they hatched a plan to kill Christine and stage it as a home invasion gone wrong. In this episode, we break down the first four days of Brendan Banfield's murder trial, including Juliana's explosive testimony as the prosecution's star witness. We cover the fake online persona created to lure Joseph Ryan, the forensic evidence pointing to a staged crime scene, jailhouse love letters, and why Juliana is negotiating a Netflix deal while testifying. Make sure to check-out One Strange Thing Podcast. If you love the weird and mysterious, THIS is the show! Thank you to this week's sponsors! Get organized, refreshed, and back on track this new year for WAY less. Head to Wayfair.com right now to shop all things home. Join the more than 3 million families who have been served by K12, and empower your student to reach their full potential now. You can make the switch at anytime. Go to K12.com/MOMS today to learn more. New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday! Follow us on Instagram: @momsandmysteries Join our Patreon: patreon.com/momsandmysteries Visit our website: momsandmysteries.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Between school drop-offs and grocery runs, Mandy and Melissa found a shared obsession with the unanswered questions lurking in the shadows. Moms and Mysteries: A True Crime Podcast is the result: a conversation that feels like sitting at a kitchen table with two friends who are deeply curious about the human condition. Their perspective is uniquely grounded, examining each story not just for its shock value, but for the societal threads and personal tragedies that weave it together. You’ll hear them discuss everything from the strangely specific weirdness of a Florida crime to a globally known cold case, always with a blend of empathy and a dash of necessary, dark humor. This isn't a clinical report; it's a twice-weekly deep dive fueled by a lifelong fascination with mysteries, both big and small. The tone is warm, the research is thorough, and the conversation is the kind you get hooked on. New episodes of this true crime podcast arrive every Tuesday and Thursday, ready to be your companion during a commute or while folding laundry. They’ve been asking "how did this happen?" since they were kids, and now they’re pulling up a chair for you to join that ongoing, compelling discussion.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

Moms and Mysteries: A True Crime Podcast
Podcast Episodes
Mindi Kassotis: The Navy JAG Murder Mystery [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:56
In 2008, Navy JAG officer Mindi Kassotis was brutally murdered and dismembered in her Virginia home. The investigation revealed a tangled web of relationships, military secrets, and a suspect who seemed to have the perfe…
The TikTok Murder Pipeline: When Fame Kills and the Case of D4VD [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:56
Social media has created a new kind of danger: the viral murder case. From TikTok influencers documenting crimes to victims whose last moments were livestreamed, the intersection of technology and violence has created a…
Thabo Bester: The Facebook Rapist Escape [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:32
Thabo Bester, known as South Africa's "Facebook Rapist," was serving a life sentence when he allegedly died in a prison fire in 2022. But months later, he was discovered alive and living under a new identity—with the hel…
[Florida Files] Dan Markel Part 2: The Adelson Web [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:58
The murder of Florida State University law professor Dan Markel in 2014 seemed like a random act of violence—until investigators uncovered a murder-for-hire plot allegedly orchestrated by his ex-wife's wealthy family. In…
[Florida Files] Dan Markel Part 1: A Professor's Death [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:36
On July 18, 2014, Florida State University law professor Dan Markel was shot in the head in his own driveway in Tallahassee. What initially appeared to be a random act of violence soon revealed itself to be something far…
[Heist] The Art of the Steal: Passion Crimes [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:29
What happens when a thief isn't after cash, but the priceless cultural history locked away in our most secure institutions? This week, we dive into the world of intellectual crimes—a string of baffling thefts motivated b…
[Unsolved] The Real Laura Palmer: Hazel Drew's Murder [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:04
In 1908, the body of 20-year-old Hazel Drew was found floating in a pond in upstate New York. Her mysterious death captivated the nation and remained unsolved for over a century. Decades later, "Twin Peaks" creator David…
False Confessions: When Innocent People Talk [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:46
Why would an innocent person confess to a crime they didn't commit? The answer is more complex—and more common—than you might think. Through five shocking cases, we explore the psychological tactics used during interroga…
[Serial Killer] Daniel Printz: The Handyman Serial Killer [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:18
Daniel Printz was a trusted handyman in his Florida community—until investigators discovered he was systematically targeting and murdering elderly clients. This case exposes the vulnerability of senior citizens to predat…
The Body Snatcher: Michael Mastromarino- Revisit [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:23
Michael Mastromarino was a successful dentist who fell from grace and found a new, horrifying career: stealing body parts from corpses and selling them to unsuspecting medical companies. His illegal tissue-harvesting ope…