He Knew She Would Bleed Out

Christine Banfield had a blood disorder her entire life. She bruised easily. When she bled, it was hard to stop. As a child, she had to wear helmets and knee pads just to ride a bike. When she gave birth to her daughter Valerie, she needed special medication because of the risks.

Her husband Brendan was there for all of it. He was in the delivery room. He saw the precautions. He understood what her condition meant.

Today, Christine's father Gary Benson took the stand and told the jury exactly that. And then the prosecution rested its case.

That's premeditation. That's calculation. That's a man who, according to the state's theory, used his intimate knowledge of his wife's medical vulnerability to ensure she wouldn't survive.

The Motion to Strike

As soon as the jury left the room, defense attorney John Carroll moved to strike all charges. And his argument was blistering.

The prosecution, he pointed out, has not called a single homicide detective. Not one. There were at least twelve detectives on this case. None of them testified. No command staff. Nobody from the investigation itself except Detective Leech, who was only there to introduce photographs and evidence logs.

Carroll went after the prosecution's star witness, Juliana Peres Magalhaes, the au pair who cut a deal to testify against Banfield. Her story, Carroll argued, has changed multiple times. During cross-examination, she got so frustrated with questions that she told him, "If you keep asking questions like that, I'm just going to tell you I don't know."

That's the person the entire case rests on.

The catfishing theory that prosecutors have pushed for over a year? Carroll says there's no credible evidence to support it. The aggravated murder charges that require proving who was killed first? No crime scene reconstruction. No timing evidence. Nothing establishing the sequence of events.

The Judge's Ruling

Judge Harris denied the motion. All charges go to the jury.

She found sufficient evidence based on co-defendant testimony, crime scene evidence, blood evidence, and DNA. The child endangerment charges survive too. Valerie was brought into that house, into that crime scene. That's enough for a jury to consider.

But here's what I want you to understand: "sufficient evidence to go to the jury" is a low bar. It doesn't mean the prosecution proved their case. It means they presented enough that a reasonable jury could convict. Whether they actually will is a different question entirely.

▶️ WATCH NOW Victim's Father: Husband Knew Her Blood Wouldn't Stop Due To Medical Condition

What Comes Next

The defense case begins tomorrow. Carroll mentioned three to five witnesses and over seventy exhibits, including letters and jail mail. The digital forensics controversy is coming. The transferred detective whose analysis contradicted the prosecution's theory. The evidence that Christine may have been controlling her own FetLife account.

The prosecution has presented their story. Now it's Banfield's turn to present his.

Brendan Banfield is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. That's not a technicality. That's the entire point. The prosecution has rested, but resting isn't the same as proving. The jury will decide if they met their burden.

And we'll be watching every moment of it.