The 911 Call That Started It All

"I shot him. He stabbed her. She's got a very big hole in her neck."

Those are Brendan Banfield's words on the 911 call from February 24, 2023. Today, for the first time, a jury heard them.

The prosecution played three 911 calls this morning as they began building their case against the 40-year-old former IRS special agent. The first call, at 7:47 AM, lasted seconds before disconnecting. Prosecutors say the family's au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, made that call too early and hung up when Banfield signaled her. The defense says it was a panicked mistake.

The second call was a callback from dispatch that went to voicemail.

The third call is the one that matters.

At 8:02 AM, Banfield got on the line with 911. His wife Christine was dying in the bedroom. Joseph Ryan, a stranger from Springfield, was already dead on the floor. Within those first frantic minutes, Banfield told the dispatcher everything that would later become the foundation of his defense: he came home, found an intruder attacking his wife, and shot him.

But prosecutors say the call proves something else entirely. They say Banfield's calm amid the chaos, his methodical identification of himself, his careful description of what happened, all point to a man following a script he'd written himself.

The Stakes

Brendan Banfield faces four counts of aggravated murder. If convicted, he faces mandatory life in prison without parole. The prosecution's theory: Banfield created a fake profile on a fetish website using his wife's name and photos, lured Joseph Ryan to the house under the pretense of a consensual sexual encounter, then killed both Ryan and Christine to be with the 23-year-old au pair he'd been having an affair with.

The defense's theory: Christine Banfield was controlling her own accounts. The police investigation was compromised. The lead detective and digital forensics expert who questioned the prosecution's theory were both transferred. And Juliana Peres Magalhães, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter and will testify against Banfield in exchange for time served, will say anything to save herself.

This case has everything. An affair. A fetish website. A catfishing scheme. Two dead bodies. A four-year-old girl who was in the house when it happened. And two completely irreconcilable versions of what happened that morning.

▶️ WATCH NOW Jury Hears Brendan Banfield's 911 Call: "I Shot Him. He Stabbed Her."

We're covering this trial from gavel to gavel. Live broadcasts every day. No Breaks editions. Justice Breakdowns with deep analysis every night. The burden of proof is on the state. We're here to watch whether they meet it.

Let's watch the system together.