In the quiet, picture perfect town of Herndon, Virginia, everything about the Banfield family looked… normal. A beautiful home. Childhood sweethearts tuned into a long marriage. A young daughter. And two parents with demanding, high-pressure careers - one working in federal law enforcement, the other caring for critically ill children as a paediatric intensive care nurse.

But on the morning of February 24th, 2023, everything changes. A series of frantic 911 calls leads police to a scene inside the family home that is almost impossible to comprehend. A woman is found with devastating injuries. A man... a complete stranger... lies dead nearby. And in the basement, a four-year-old child is left completely unharmed.

At first glance, it looks like a home invasion gone terribly wrong. But as investigators begin to piece together what really happened inside that house, they uncover a trail that leads them far beyond the front door… into a hidden world of online identities, secret relationships, and messages that raise more questions than answers.

Because the man found inside the home that morning… wasn’t there by accident.

And the deeper detectives dig, the more the story begins to unravel. What starts as a seemingly random act of violence quickly becomes something far more complex... and far more deliberate.

In this episode, we break down the full timeline of events, the key people at the centre of the case, and the evidence that would ultimately lead to one of the most disturbing and calculated murder trials in recent memory.

Grace Recommends: https://amzn.to/4mcG9wm

Sign up for the free REDRUM newsletter, full of all things true crime, as well as a run down of all the latest REDRUM cases. This will only ever come to you once a month... I'm no fan of spam. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/W79H87S Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/redrumtruecrime/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/redrumtruecrime/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/redrumtruecrime

You can email me: redrumtruecrimepodcast@gmail.com COOKIES to look! : https://www.instagram.com/thiccbakess/

SHOP MERCH: redrumtruecrime.myshopify.com Podcast versions of all episodes if you prefer to listen on the go: https://open.spotify.com/show/1FCoeRZQeDkEJ5i8bGuFpy?si=ec5c7c4c945c4952 If you're able, please support me on Patreon/buymeacoffee/YouTube membership to continue bringing REDRUM content to YouTube. Thanks, Grace x

Patreon monthly subscription- www.patreon.com/redrumtruecrime A one off donation- www.buymeacoffee.com/redrumhumans Youtube monthly membership levels- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvGzDaluex7D_hPe7exgKhQ/join Thanks, Grace x

SOURCES: https://www.courthousenews.com/defense-attorney-in-double-murder-case-pushes-back-against-catfishing-theory/ https://www.fox5dc.com/news/banfield-murder-trial-defense-begin-presenting-case-wednesday https://www.reddit.com/r/nova/comments/1qrflij/brendan_banfield_the_mcdonalds_defence/ https://people.com/au-pair-made-up-bdsm-murder-plot-defense-attorney-claims-trial-11896564 https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/au-pairs-jailhouse-letters-plea-deal-questioned-ex-lovers-bdsm-double-rcna254059 https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/defense-in-virginia-fetish-sex-murder-case-challenges-catfish-theory/3954723/ https://news.sky.com/story/man-on-trial-in-virginia-accused-of-plotting-double-murder-with-brazilian-au-pair-13493962 https://www.courttv.com/news/va-v-brendan-banfield-au-pair-affair-murder-trial/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2026/02/02/banfield-au-pair-murders-verdict/ https://abc7.com/post/new-bodycam-video-revealed-trial-brendan-banfield-hospital-accused-killing-christine-amid-affair-au-pair/18493078/ https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/commonwealthattorney/sites/commonwealthattorney/files/Assets/press%20releases%20master/4.15.2024%20Indictments%20%28Smerk%20-%20Larazo%20Cruz%20-%20Peres%20Magalhaes%29.pdf Video footage of Herndon: Herndon, Virginia | Full Tour (4K) Living in Greater DC | Rick Hartunian

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Christine Banfield Murder Case: Full Story & Timeline