VERDICT in Au Pair Affair Murder Trial: Brendan Banfield GUILTY On All Counts

Summary

Podcast Summary: Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes Present

Episode: VERDICT in Au Pair Affair Murder Trial: Brendan Banfield GUILTY On All Counts
Hosts: Amy Robach & TJ Holmes
Date: February 2, 2026
Produced by: iHeartPodcasts

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Episode Overview

In this breaking news episode, Amy Robach and TJ Holmes react in real-time to the dramatic verdict in the sensational “Au Pair Affair” murder trial. Brendan Banfield, a former IRS agent, was found guilty on all counts, including two counts of aggravated murder, after an elaborate and shocking crime that had gripped viewers for years. The hosts recount the path to the verdict, reflect on the evidence, analyze courtroom dynamics, discuss the motivations behind the crime, and speculate on the aftermath for everyone involved.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Verdict: Guilty on All Counts

• Jury Decision & Reactions

  • The jury reached a unanimous guilty verdict on two counts of aggravated murder, using a firearm in the commission of a felony, and child endangerment.

    “Guilty on all counts. Unanimous decision. Jury took, what, just shy of nine hours to determine Brendan Banfield's fate.” (Amy, 02:57)

  • Jury deliberated approximately nine hours over two days, creating tension about possible discord or a hung jury.

    “The more they went, the longer it went with deliberations, I guess, the more we might have thought that maybe there is some discord in that room. But it was unanimous.” (TJ, 03:19)

  • Both hosts express surprise at the speed and decisiveness of the verdict.

    “This was not what I expected across the board.” (Amy, 03:12)

• Banfield’s Reaction

  • Banfield appeared “defeated,” “pretty shocked and stunned,” and showed little visible emotion upon hearing the verdict.

    “He looked defeated, I think... his face fell just ever so. And it almost had a soft, stunned, sad look on it. But it wasn't dramatic. No, it wasn't emotional, but it was still present.” (Amy, 04:00; 06:45) “If you would have seen that guy in a freeze frame, not having any idea who he was, you would go, what's wrong with that guy? ...This was a real emotional moment.” (TJ, 07:20)

• Courtroom Dynamics

  • The day of the verdict involved notable suspense: jurors requested an additional 15 minutes, then 5 more, before delivering the verdict.

    “Can you just give us 15 more minutes and we'll let you know? So that means that there definitely were...at least a holdout.” (Amy, 05:29)

  • The verdict was delivered in open court, followed by a polling of all jurors.

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Testimonies & Legal Strategy

• Critical Testimony: Juliana Marcola (the au pair)

  • The prosecution’s case relied heavily on the testimony of Marcola, the 21-year-old au pair and Brendan's lover, who was also present during the murders.

  • Debate over Marcola’s credibility was a persistent theme, given her plea deal in exchange for testimony.

    “Juliana Marcola’s testimony… she conveniently couldn't remember anything that made her look bad…even if she seemed frustrating…still, the story she told, I can understand why the defense didn't want her voice to be the only one the jurors heard.” (Amy, 09:26) “She basically paid with what, a year, two years in prison for murder for admitting to murdering someone and then testifying against who she claimed was the mastermind...That's hard to then take that person's testimony credibly because, you know, they are so incentivized to say whatever they need to say to secure their freedom.” (Amy, 18:17)

  • TJ underscores the intensity and impact of her testimony:

    “Do remember how much detail she gave about what happened in that bedroom?” (TJ, 10:13) “She gave...she stuck to the narrative that he was literally on top of her and killed her. Right. That's why he had to testify. Yes, you've gotta some kind of way counter that statement.” (Amy & TJ, 10:30)

• Banfield’s Defense

  • Banfield took the stand to attempt to counter Marcola’s account, but both hosts agree he failed to explain the implausibility of his version of events.

    “There was no viable option, because in order for us to believe Brendan Banfield’s story, we had to believe that Joe Ryan...came there to kill his wife. And nothing suggested that, nothing pointed to that.” (Amy, 07:58) “Even if he hadn't taken the stand, I don't think that would have made a difference.” (Amy, 09:26)

  • The defense’s closing arguments were “strong,” but the lack of a credible alternative scenario meant the jury could not accept Banfield's story.

    “You have to counter that at this point, this has been one of the wildest...crimes that you’re ever going to hear.” (TJ, 11:17)

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The Crime: “As Evil As It Gets”

• Overview of the Plot

  • Banfield, a seemingly ordinary IRS agent, had an affair with the much younger Marcola, created a fake identity online, lured a stranger (Joe Ryan) to his house for a sexually charged scenario, and orchestrated a double murder to frame the victim.

    “A man...married 19 years...has an au pair...has an affair with her for six to eight weeks and hatches a scheme in which he creates a fake profile on FetLife.com in order to lure a stranger...for a fantasy rape, fetish, sexual encounter with his wife...so he could then kill that man, kill his wife, and then take credit as the hero...” (TJ, 11:17)

  • Amy sums up the depravity:

    “That is as evil as it gets...to think that he trusted a 21 year old, a 22 year old with this elaborate plan. It flies in the face of logic.” (Amy, 12:08)

  • The hosts discuss their own astonishment at the audacity and timing, noting that Banfield timed the murders for his birthday, and when his wife’s parents were about to visit.

    “To do it on your birthday, to do it when you know your wife's parents are coming into town... It seemed impossible. And yet a jury said, he's guilty.” (Amy, 13:35)

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Reflections & The Wider Impact

• Banfield’s Profile

  • Hosts emphasize how “normal” Banfield appeared—a government employee with a stable life—adding to the shock and horror of the case.

    “This is a guy who looks like your next door neighbor...someone who you would trust.” (Amy, 12:08)

• Public & Media Attention

  • The trial’s lurid details and the presence of cameras kept the case in the public eye. Robach predicts a Netflix adaptation is already in the works.

    “Oh, they're probably in the works right now because, look, we already know that Netflix has reached out to Juliana Marcolais because they wanted to do something…offering her up to $25,000 for her participation...” (Amy, 17:36)

  • TJ jokes Marcola will soon be “cashing those checks at the bank of Brazil” as she returns home.

    “She will probably be cashing those checks at the bank of Brazil because she is out of here. They gave her the okay. She cut her deal. She's gone. It's done. It's over.” (TJ, 18:00)

• Lingering Questions

  • The hosts express interest in hearing from the jurors about what evidence, doubts, or issues they grappled with.

    “I would be fascinated to hear what they were hung up on, to hear what they had difficulty with and hear how close they might have come to this not being the same type of verdict.” (TJ, 19:02)

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Legal Aftermath & Victims’ Families

• Sentencing

  • Sentencing is scheduled for May 8th, with the judge retiring shortly thereafter. Banfield faces mandatory life imprisonment without parole.

    “It's May 8th…one of the reasons was the prosecution said they want to have a little bit of time because they said they will have victim impact statements...with two aggravated murder charges…he will never, ever get out of jail, I think.” (Amy, 19:25) “Isn't this mandatory life? I believe aggravated murder…I believe without possibility of parole.” (TJ, 19:56)

• Victims’ Families

  • Both hosts express empathy for the families, especially with respect to how the families had to endure having their loved ones smeared in court as part of Banfield’s defense strategy.

    “Can you imagine?...your child is murdered and now the person who police say murdered your child is claiming your son is actually the sexual deviant, that your son is actually the evil murderer. So not only did he take his life but he took his reputation...” (Amy, 20:19)

  • They anticipate powerful victim statements at sentencing, especially from Joe Ryan’s mother and Christine’s parents.

    “It's just a surreal situation. So it's likely we will hear from several family members, and that will certainly be quite the day on May 8.” (Amy, 21:20)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Amy Robach on the Defendant’s Demeanor:

  “He looked defeated...his face fell just ever so. And it almost had a soft, stunned, sad look on it. But it wasn't dramatic. No, it wasn't emotional, but it was still present.” (06:45)

• TJ Holmes on the Verdict:

  “You have to counter that at this point, this has been one of the wildest, well, not necessarily just trials, I think just schemes or crimes that you're ever going to hear.” (11:17)

• Amy Robach on the Crime’s Motive:

  “That is evil, that is twisted, that is killing an innocent person to murder your wife so that you can ride off into the sunset with a 21 year old. That is as evil as it gets.” (12:08)

• On the Plea Deal for Juliana Marcola:

  “She basically paid with what, a year, two years in prison for murder...It's hard to then take that person's testimony credibly because, you know, they are so incentivized to say whatever they need to say to secure their freedom.” (18:17)

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Important Timestamps

• 02:31 — Show shifts to breaking coverage of the verdict.
• 02:57 — Announcement: Banfield found guilty on all counts.
• 04:00–07:20 — Detailed discussion of Banfield’s demeanor, jury deliberations, courtroom mood.
• 09:00–10:40 — Analysis of testimony (Marcola and Banfield), strength of prosecution case, and defense challenges.
• 11:17–13:35 — Recap of the crime, the implausibility of Banfield's plan, and hosts' disbelief at the elaborate plot.
• 17:36 — Discussion about Netflix reaching out for adaptation, Marcola’s future.
• 18:00–19:02 — Reflections on plea deals and jury process.
• 19:20–21:20 — Sentencing details, discussion about victim impact statements, and the pain of the families.

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Conclusion

Amy Robach and TJ Holmes deliver an engrossing, nuanced breakdown of the verdict and its profound implications. Their discussion covers not only the legal proceedings but also the human, emotional, and societal costs of such a crime—from the victims’ families to the manipulation of legal narratives. They emphasize the sheer audacity and tragedy of Brendan Banfield’s actions, lingering questions around the trial and testimonies, and the certainty that this sensational case will continue to resonate—on screen and off—for a long time to come.

Transcript

[Amy Robach]

This is an iHeart podcast.

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Guaranteed Human black history lives in our stories, our culture and the conversations we still having today.

[Amy Robach]

I didn't know this.

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[Hope Woodard]

What is something you've had to unlearn about love?

[Amy Robach]

That it's earned, That I was unworthy of love, that it needs to be forever for it to count.

[Hope Woodard]

February is the month of love. Whether you're in a relationship, casually dating or proudly single, it's a great time to reflect on on yourself and what you want. I'm Hope Woodard, host of the Voiceover podcast and each week we're looking at love from every angle. Listen to Boy Sober. That's B o y s o B e r on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Narrator (Morehouse College Protest Story)]

1969, Malcolm and Martin are gone. America is in crisis and at Morehouse College the students make their move.

[Hans Charles]

These students, including a young Samuel L. Jackson, locked up. The members of the board of trustees, including Martin Luther King Sr. It's the true story of protest and rebellion in black American history that you'll never forget. I'm Hans Charles, our menelik Lumumba. Listen to the a Building on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Ryder Strong]

This is Ryder Strong and I have a new podcast called the red weather. In 1995, my neighbor Anna Trainor disappeared from a commune. It was nature and tre praying and drugs.

[Amy Robach]

So no, I am not your guru.

[Ryder Strong]

And back then I lied to everybody.

[Amy Robach]

They have had this case for 30 years.

[Ryder Strong]

I'm going back to my hometown to uncover the truth. Listen to the Red weather on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[TJ Holmes]

Hey there folks. It is a busy Monday, February 2nd and we have a verdict in the so called au pair affair murder trial. And it does seem that the jury believed the au pair. And with that, welcome to this once again Rome's another breaking news edition of Amy and tj. We've been watching this for weeks now. This trial folks have been keeping their eyes on it for years. Really we got the verdict.

[Amy Robach]

Guilty on all counts. Unanimous decision. Jury took, what, just shy of nine hours to determine Brendan Banfield's fate. But it was.

[TJ Holmes]

I.

[Amy Robach]

We've weighed in what we thought might happen. This was not what I expected across the board.

[TJ Holmes]

Guilty on all counts. And the more they went, the longer it went with deliberations, I guess, the more we might have thought that maybe there is some discord in that room. But it was unanimous. Two counts of aggravated murder, guilty on those. Another count of using a firearm in commission of a felony, guilty. And a count of child endangerment, guilty on all counts. We have been watching this. A short time ago, Robes. There was a lot that was made because cameras were in the courtroom about how he appeared even when he testified, how he appeared on, almost robotic, very stoic, not emotional, even talking about his dead wife at times saw something different from him today.

[Amy Robach]

Yeah, he looked defeated, I think, before he really believed that he had a shot. And my guess is because the jury didn't come back with a quick verdict, they deliberated about three and a half hours on Friday, So they did not come up with a verdict. So you're thinking he's probably over the weekend thinking that's a good sign. You know, they didn't all of a sudden immediately say guilty. Unanimous. Right. So he's thinking, I got a shot, I got a shot. Then he comes back into court on Monday, today, and we're at the end of the day, 4:30, and that's when we find out the jury has reached a unanimous verdict. So he's had nine hours plus the weekend to think, maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe I'll get out of prison.

[TJ Holmes]

And there was a chance. Here we are on this Monday. Yes, he was guilty on all counts, I guess. Not necessarily a lot of drama ultimately, Robes, but there was some pretty high drama before we found out about the verdict, because the bailiff, they say, goes in and checks on the jury at a certain time, checks on them at 4 to say, hey, you all want to keep going and go late into the evening or you want to wrap it up? So we were expecting Robes, they some kind of an answer to that they're going to go home. Because if they did, then we knew we could kind of check out, if you will. So we kept an eye on it. But the guy goes at 4 and checks on them, and he doesn't necessarily give them a straight answer.

[Amy Robach]

Right. They're like, can you just give us 15 more minutes and we'll let you know? So that means that there definitely were There was at least a holdout. There could have been a few holdouts, people who weren't sure about. We don't know which charge, any of the charges, but clearly they weren't all on the same page necessarily. They said, Give us 15 minutes. They knew they were close. I have never been on a jury, so I have no idea. And I imagine they're all different, probably depending on the different types of people and personalities you have in the deliberation rooms. But I can't imagine the pressure they're putting on one person or maybe a couple of people to try and get everybody on the same page.

[TJ Holmes]

You know, it's possible as well. I didn't think about this until you were saying it. Possible they had the verdict and they were just getting their paperwork in order.

[Amy Robach]

Yeah, you never know.

[TJ Holmes]

Four o', clock, they need 15 minutes and then they go back. The bailiff does go back at 4:15 to check on them again. And then they say, we need five minutes. Now, this point, we're thinking, okay, they are not going home. And I guess robes. We all. And we were watching Court tv. Their coverage has been great, so thank you all for the live coverage. But they. At this point, the writing started to be on the wall, it seemed, at least.

[Amy Robach]

Yes. And so we were on the edge of our seats waiting for what the jury was going to decide. And all eyes were on Brendan Banfield as he was waiting. That's just an unthinkable situation to be in. But you and I both said when the verdicts were ready. He didn't have any immediate emotional reaction, but his face fell just ever so. And it almost had a. A soft, stunned, sad look on it. But it wasn't dramatic. No, it wasn't emotional, but it was still present.

[TJ Holmes]

Yeah. In a way that was easily discernible. It doesn't. If you would have seen that guy in a freeze frame, not having any idea who he was, you would go, what's wrong with that guy? You. It was. It was there. This was a real emotional moment. And he didn't, I don't think. Right. I'm just going through the process of what we just saw in court. He came in, the jury comes in, they pretty immediately read the verdicts. They did ask for the jury to be polled. Right. So they all had to say out loud, yes, yes, yes. They send them back to the jury room and then some housekeeping. But did he ever speak? The judge never spoke to him, right?

[Amy Robach]

No, the judge never spoke to him. In fact, when he did or. Sorry, when the judge, when she did address the defense, asking questions, and he looked, I remember, directly at his defense attorney. He did not open his mouth. He didn't even attempt to speak. And there was very little interaction, if any at all, between his lawyer and Brendan Banfield and his lawyer. He looked. He looked pretty. Pretty shocked and stunned as well. I do think they thought they had a shot at it. I mean, that lawyer, he was up there in closing arguments for an hour and a half, and he made some really good points. The big issue, the one that the jury clearly couldn't overcome, I would imagine, is the one that a lot of us had just. There was no viable option, because in order for us to believe Brendan Banfield story, we had to believe that Joe Ryan and came there to kill his wife. And nothing suggested that, nothing pointed to that. And that was a very tough hurdle to get over.

[TJ Holmes]

You know, doubt. It's reasonable, not beyond all doubt. They say that all the time. And I'm sure every single person you're supposed to should have doubts, but do they rise to the level? And it's tough. And you were the one that pointed that out was a thing for you. Why? Even if he's there with a guy who walked in that said police, and you're. The first thing you're going to do is kill the person, and so you could just clearly be shot.

[Amy Robach]

That does not make any sense. So that, for me, was something he couldn't explain away, and that was what I was looking for. I'm sure that's what jurors were looking for when he took the stand. Now, looking back, I really don't think he. Even if he hadn't taken the stand, I don't think that would have made a difference. Because Juliana, the au pair, Juliana Marcola's her testimony. Even if you didn't like her and even if she seemed frustrating that he. She conveniently couldn't remember anything that made her look bad. Still, the. The story she told, I can understand why the defense didn't want her voice to be the only one the jurors heard. I understand why he wanted to give his version of events to counter her version of events.

[TJ Holmes]

Do remember how much detail she gave about what happened in that bedroom?

[Amy Robach]

Yeah, I mean, she. She gave. I mean, she. Obviously, English is her second language, so it doesn't. It didn't feel as clear as maybe the way Brendan had to explain it, but she stuck to the narrative that.

[TJ Holmes]

Yes, but that he was literally on top of her and killed her. Right. That's why he had to testify. Yes, you, you've gotta some kind of way counter that statement.

[Amy Robach]

Someone is testifying who once said she loved you and would do anything for you and would die for you, and is now sitting up there testifying that you brutally savagely stabbed your wife to death in front of her.

[TJ Holmes]

Get up there.

[Amy Robach]

So I. Given that having that be the only narrative the jurors heard from the only other person who was in the room, it makes sense that he needed to be. Because someone put it this way, there were only two people who know what. Sorry. There were four people who know what happened in that room. Two of them are dead and one of them is testifying. So what do you do? If you're the defendant, you have to defend yourself.

[TJ Holmes]

You have to counter that at this point, this has been one of the wildest, well, not necessarily just trials, I think just schemes or crimes that you're ever going to hear. That a man who has been married for 19 years was it, has a child in the house, has an au pair 21 years old, has an affair with her for six to eight weeks and hatches a scheme in which he creates a fake profile on FetLife.com in order to lure a stranger over to the house for a fantasy rape, fetish, sexual encounter with his wife so he could then kill that man, kill his wife, and then take credit as the hero who killed the man who came in and killed his wife. That's the story.

[Amy Robach]

And so yes, the jury convicted him of doing all of those things. And if you think about it, this is a guy who looks like your next door neighbor who was an IRS agent who had a government issued gun, a government issued car. He was somebody who was supposed to uphold the law and someone who you would trust. And by looking at him, seeing what his life was up until that moment, you would have no reason to think he was capable of something that maniacal. But that is evil, that is twisted, that is killing an innocent person to murder your wife so that you can ride off into the sunset with a 21 year old. That is as easy evil as it gets. And to think that he trusted a 21 year old, a 22 year old with this elaborate plan. It flies in the face of logic.

[TJ Holmes]

You know, it was so ridiculous that I had a hard time. I was like, well, nobody's going to do that after six weeks with some random 21 year old from Brazil. I look, men, we're guilty of doing some really, really stupid stuff in the name of lust. But that was just over six weeks And I hatch an elaborate plan to kill my wife and a stranger. Not just one murder, two. That. That the story was so silly that it made me doubt.

[Amy Robach]

Yes. And then to do it on your birthday, to do it when you know your wife's parents are coming into town and think they're gonna see their daughter and their granddaughter, and you've got a birthday plan to take off with your daughter somewhere. It just. I thought, there's no way somebody would do that and time it like that and do it in that way. It seemed impossible. And yet a jury said, he's guilty.

[TJ Holmes]

They said, he's guilty. He was in court. What would you say? Five minutes tops. That this took for this to happen? And they carried him out. We do know, though, when he will be in court again. Also, we do know where the au pair is headed. Stay here.

[Narrator (Morehouse College Protest Story)]

1969. Malcolm and Martin are gone. America is in crisis. And at Morehouse College, the students make their move.

[Hans Charles]

These students, including a young Samuel L. Jackson, locked up the members of the board of trustees, including Martin Luther King Sr. It's the true story of protest and rebellion in black American history that you'll never forget. Forget. I'm Hans Charles.

[Narrator (Morehouse College Protest Story)]

Our menelik Lumumba.

[Hans Charles]

Listen to the a building on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Hope Woodard]

What is one thing about love you've had to unlearn?

[Amy Robach]

That it's earned, that it needs to be forever for it to count.

[Hope Woodard]

February is the month of love. Whether you're in a relationship, casually dating, or proudly single, it's a great time to reflect on yourself and what you want. I'm Hope Woodard, host of the Boy Sober podcast, and each week this month, we're looking at love from every angle.

[Amy Robach]

I don't know how to tell my partner, like, what I want in bed. The thing about romantic fiction, I would say more than any other genre of culture, is that it's always put women first. My marriage stopped making sense. The connection started to feel off. The behavior started to feel different.

[Hope Woodard]

This February, get in touch with yourself by listening to Boy Sober. That's b o y s o b e r. I'm like, I would love to not hate the man I'm sleeping with. I don't know what that's about. Listen to voiceover on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Dr. Jesse Mills]

Hey there. Dr. Jesse Mills here. I'm the director of the men's clinic at UCLA Health, and I want to tell you about My new podcast called.

[Jordan (Producer)]

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[Dr. Jesse Mills]

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[Jordan (Producer)]

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[Jordan (Producer)]

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[Dr. Jesse Mills]

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[Jordan (Producer)]

It's going to be fun, whether you're 27, 97, or somewhere in between.

[Dr. Jesse Mills]

Men's Health is about more than six packs and supplements. It's about energy, confidence, and connection. We don't just want you to live longer. We want you to live better. So check out the mailroom on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows.

[AT&T Business Wireless Narrator]

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[TJ Holmes]

Sometimes AT&T business Wireless connecting changes everything. All right, we continue here on Amy and TJ Robes. How long do you get it before the movie is made about this?

[Amy Robach]

Oh, they're probably in the works right now because, look, we already know that Netflix has reached out to Juliana Marcolais because they wanted to do something. I don't know. We don't know exactly what it was, but they were already offering her 10,000, up to $25,000 for her participation in some sort of Netflix film. So, yes, I think that is 100% happening sooner rather than later.

[TJ Holmes]

And she will probably be cashing those checks at the bank of Brazil because she is out of here. They gave her the okay. She cut her deal. She's gone. It's done. It's over. The woman who, by all accounts, fired the fatal shot that killed Mr. Joe.

[Amy Robach]

Wright, I have to say, that was a huge part of my doubt. And that was the one of the main reasons why I felt like maybe one juror, because you only need one juror, would hold out for a not Guilty verdict. Because Juliana Marcla has got such a sweetheart deal. She basically paid with what, a year, two years in prison for murder for admitting to murdering someone and then testifying against who she claimed was the mastermind. You literally end up with just two years behind bars. That's, that's, that's hard to then take that person's testimony credibly because, you know, they are so incentivized to say whatever they need to say to secure their freedom.

[TJ Holmes]

Well, we haven't seen, don't know if we will hear anything from these jurors, but I would be fascinating.

[Amy Robach]

Oh, yes.

[TJ Holmes]

To hear what they were hung up on, to hear what they had difficulty with and hear how close they might have come to this not being the same type of verdict. We. I think I got it right. There was some back and forth in the courtrooms about his sentencing hearing. I think they finally settled on early May.

[Amy Robach]

May 8th.

[TJ Holmes]

It's when it's going to happen. There we go. So he will be back for that. Go ahead.

[Amy Robach]

Oh, no, I'm saying they settled on May 8th. And, and one of the reasons was the prosecution said they want to have a little bit of time because they said they will have victim impact statements. And those are always just, you know, gutting to hear but important for the court and important for the judge to hear when determining sentencing. But with two aggravated murder charges he is facing, I mean, obviously he will never, ever get out of jail, I think.

[TJ Holmes]

Isn't this mandatory life? I believe aggravated murder, I believe there in Virginia, this is life in prison, I believe without possibility of parole. Aggravated murder is a special, not legal here, but special circumstance, if you will. You can only have aggravated murder if you kill two people as a part of the same event within a three year period, as they say. Yes, but, yes, very specific, very specific.

[Amy Robach]

There In Virginia, aggravated murder is obviously the most severe form of homicide. And yes, it's, it's determined as the willful, deliberate and premeditated killing of a person under those special circumstances that you were just talking about it. And yes, a conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without parole. So a lot of this is just the moment for these victims. I don't know if we'll hear from the. I know the mom of Joe Ryan has been outspoken leading up to the trial. Just, can you imagine? So your child is murdered and now the person who police say murdered your child is claiming that your son is actually the sexual deviant, that your son is actually the evil murderer. So not only did he take his life but he took his reputation, or at least put a huge question mark over your son's morality and credibility. And that has to just be so extremely painful.

[TJ Holmes]

She'll be there. You. I don't know if you saw the clip of her interview. Yeah, she'll.

[Amy Robach]

She'll be there. And then we have Christine's parents. So, you know, they were. I mean, just hearing that they were coming to visit their daughter that day, the day they get to Virginia to find out that their daughter has been murdered. I mean, it's just a surreal situation. So it's likely we will hear from several family members, and that will certainly be quite the day on May 8. And the judge wanted to get it in because she said, hey, I'm. I'm retiring July 1st. I want to get. She's been in a hurry this entire trial, but you can. She said she was retiring in July. That reads she's. She's seen enough. She's seen a lot. But this will probably be one of her final cases, and what a case to go out on. So we appreciate you, as always, listening to us, and we thank you. I'm Amy Robach alongside my partner, TJ Holmes. We'll talk to you soon. This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.