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Virginia au-pair murder trial: defendant testifies he confronted intruder amid fatal home shooting

In a Virginia courtroom, Brendan Banfield testified that when he burst into an upstairs bedroom and found his naked wife with a stranger, he yelled for police, ordered the intruder to drop his knife, and fired after a struggle. Prosecutors say Banfield and Brazilian au pair Juliana Peres Magalhaes conspired to kill his wife Christine Banfield and the intruder during a February 2023 double homicide; Banfield denies conspiring and has admitted an affair with Magalhaes. Magalhaes has pleaded guilty to a reduced manslaughter charge, and authorities say the plot involved luring the intruder with a FetLife-based scheme. Banfield is charged with four counts of aggravated murder and using a firearm in the killings, which could carry life in prison if convicted. The trial continues.