23: The Au Pair Murders: The Bodycam, 911 Calls, & Bizarre Footage

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Today's case is one that so many of you have been asking me to cover. Being like, Annie, why aren't you talking about this? Everybody's talking about this case. Like, I want to know what your opinion is. And I will say, technically, I did cover it before. However, it was right when the case first happened years ago. It was back before there were any real big updates in it. Any big arrests made, even. And since then, not only have we received so many updates, but there is plenty. Of body cam footage. A lot of very bizarre footage at that. There's also 911 calls that have been released. There is some very uncomfy, I wouldn't call it interrogation footage, but what's the word I'm looking for? Like, interaction footage, I'll say that. That also I want to share with you and go over. Not to mention, this trial actually just wrapped up. And I think that's why so many of you were messaging me, asking me for my take. And for me to cover the case. And so today, what I want to do is not only go over the case, but I want to share with you a lot of that footage. And a lot of, you know, my thoughts on the footage and what feels weird about it. And just talk through everything. So today, we are going to be going over the double murder of 37-year-old Christine Banfield and 38-year-old Joseph Ryan. Better known in the media as the Au Pair murder case. So here's what we're going to do today. Okay. We're going to go over the case, go over the details in case there's any of you out there who maybe aren't familiar with it. And then we're going to go over some of the crazy things that have been released recently. We're going to look at new footage that has been released, new details that have emerged, and really just kind of like dissect it all. So with that, let's get right into it. On February 24th, 2023, the authorities were called to the home belonging to Christine Banfield and Brendan Banfield. And this call reported that an unknown man had broken into their home and had brutally attacked Christine with a knife. Now, on the other end of this 911 call, the callers who were calling in, it was the couple's au pair, Juliana, and Christine's husband, Brendan. Now, I will say au pair is just like a fancy word for namesake. So if you get confused by that, I just want to, like, you know, make that blanket statement now. So Brendan reported that he had shot the intruder who broke into their home, but that Christine was in really bad shape by the time that he got there. She had been stabbed multiple times. But the biggest concern to him on this 911 call is that there were stab wounds to her neck. What's your house number? It's, um, um, um, um, I, um. Okay. Is there somebody else there that can give me the address? 1-3-2-3-0, Stablebrook Way. Okay. And what's your name and what's going on? My name is Brendan Banfield. I'm a federal agent. This is my house. There's somebody here. I shot him. She stabbed her. She's bleeding. She's got several marks on her neck. What do I do? Okay. So what I need you to do is apply direct pressure directly to where she's bleeding from, okay? And if it becomes so, just add more cloth to what is already there. How old is the person? I don't know. The person that's bleeding? 37. Okay. All right. I'm going to call the police. - I know. - All right, thank you. They don't have any water. If you give me a couple minutes, I'm sure I can find someone that has some, okay? Okay, so you live here? I'm an all-payer. You're an all-payer? Okay. Yeah. Okay. It's okay. It was a lot of blood. Where is he now? It's okay. I know it's traumatizing. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. You're okay. Take a minute. I'm dizzy. Okay. Do you need an ambulance? No. Do you want to be seen by the ambulance crew? No. Okay. I don't know. I'm just -- Okay. It's okay. It's the blood rush. I just -- It's the adrenaline. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. It's okay. It's okay. It's the blood rush. It's the adrenaline. Okay. It's the blood rush. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay. that just walked out? He lives here? Yeah, we all live here. Okay. So you live here as well, but you're here in all pairs? Yeah. Okay. You want to see if there's any more medical equipment? Okay. Oh, there's some right here. Am I allowed to come in and grab that? Alright. Okay. So, alright. I'm going to ask you again in a few minutes. I'll give you another, okay? It's okay. Okay. Let's take a nice deep breath, okay? Go. And out. We're going to slow your breathing, okay? It's okay. Take a nice deep breath in. Okay. You need to slow your breathing a little bit. Okay. That's going to help you feel better. Take a nice deep breath in with me. Okay. I understand. Okay. Do you want to take a nice deep breath in with me? Okay. Now, there was a lot of confusion in the beginning, trying to figure out what exactly happened here, what really unfolded, you know, what went down. Now, there are body cam videos of officers talking with the au pair, Juliana, like the one that we just saw. But there are also videos of officers talking to Christine's husband, Brendan. And the main thing that these two videos have in common is that both Brendan and Juliana have blood on their hands. Literally, and as we'll get to, figuratively too. But Juliana's just look kind of like a stain. Like, you know, it was transfer, it's a stain on her hand. But Brendan, it's clear as day. Now, on top of that, they are both completely freaking out, almost incoherent, which I have to say, it makes sense given the circumstances, right? Hey, can you check him out? Yeah, I got, I got more units here. We'll check him out. He's starting to break down a little bit. Stay with, stay with Sergeant. I'll just do a walkthrough, okay? What did you say, the only thing you said when we were going? He said he didn't want to. All right. Okay. Okay. We're going to have to get him out of here. Yeah, I know. Can you give him a second? Don't touch anything else. I'm not. Let me change my gloves out, and we can get him out of here. Knife's there, guns are on the bed. I got you. We're going to take him and stick him in a freezer. Yeah, I'm going to hook him up, having a breakdown. Yeah. Okay. Just give him a second. I got to put him on the monitor. Yeah, yeah, go ahead. Is she, is she okay? Does she have a pulse? The fire department, we, they take over at this point. We're kind of just here. Is she breathing? So I, again, they're down there. What I want to do is get you out of here. Just watch what you're kicking, please. All right. Does that work? I know. I know what you got to do. I'm just. If you can't walk, we'll do, wait a minute. Do you need a minute? I think. I'm just getting you some fresh air right now as well, okay? So we can get you outside. Can you, can you help him just be with him? Yep. Yep. All right. I want the guys to be down. Whenever they called us, whenever, what's your name? Brendan. Brendan. Thank you. Say, Brendan. Brendan. Are you in Vienna? Easy. Sorry, say it again. So are you in Vienna? My office is in Vienna. Correct. Did you, did you call my office? No. I need to call my manager at some point. Just the least of our worries right now, man. We're just going to get you in a cruiser outside in the air where you can breathe. You're all good, okay? So because Christine was still alive and breathing at this point, she ended up being rushed to the hospital. Brendan, her husband, was also taken to the hospital. Juliana and the couple's daughter, Valerie, they were then taken to the police station for more questioning and to just, you know, hear about what truly transpired there. Now, unfortunately, as Christine was at the hospital, she did not survive her injuries. And new unreleased body cam footage shows the exact moment that Brendan was told that his wife, Christine, didn't make it. And also, it shows some of the aftermath of him praying and crying. But I want you to take a look. There's no one. She didn't see him in the bed for a minute. Anything bad? He just said that she didn't make it. I didn't hear what she said, sir. The cut and stuff probably needs to be switched out. Okay. Can you have someone check with him again? Okay. What is the nature of the incident? Check what? The status of his wife, ma'am. Hello, sir. My name is Dean. I'm one of the doctors here. Your wife has died. She's still in the ICU, sir. au pair she was arrested and charged with second degree murder for the death of the intruder whose name was joseph ryan your body is always giving you signals whoop helps you understand them who is the wearable health and fitness coach that provides personalized insights into your sleep recovery strain and overall health to help you make better decisions every day whether you're training working traveling or just trying to feel your best whoop shows you what helps your performance and what might be holding you back listen to your body build better habits see where whoop can take you try whoop free for 30 days at whoop.com have you ever wondered why some people seem to age slower like they figured out some secret the rest of us missed well it turns out someone actually did and it starts with a melon yep a melon there's a rare french melon that stays fresh four times longer than the rest of us and it's a melon that stays fresh four times longer than the rest of us and it's a melon that stays fresh four times longer than the rest of the rest of us and it's a melon that stays fresh four times longer than the rest of us longer than the fruit you and i buy at the store scientists discovered it produces an extraordinarily high level of a super antioxidant called sod the kind that helps defend skin from the visible signs of aging and get this meaningful beauty partnered with world-renowned french cosmetic specialist dr jean-louis sabah to capture that melon's youth preserving power in a skincare line you can actually use every day so if you're tired of trying products that all promise the same thing this one is truly different because it starts with something nature designed to stay young subscribe today and get the complete introductory system for just 49.95 at meaningfulbeauty.com you'll also get two free gifts free shipping and a 60-day money-back guarantee visit meaningfulbeauty.com and order today now when this news first came out there was tons of confusion and people were kind of like okay wait i thought this guy was an intruder wasn't he christine so why was juliana being arrested i mean couldn't she say that it was self-defense that she was trying to save christine and there were so many unanswered questions that just did not align and did not make sense but probably the biggest one was why juliana was arrested and brendan wasn't so joseph ryan had been shot twice the first time by brendan and the second time by juliana so was it the second shot that was the fatal one and that's why she was being charged and brendan the husband wasn't what was going on here and the truth was it was an ongoing investigation and the investigators weren't saying very much but juliana's arrest was pretty shocking i have to say to everyone but for months it was just kind of silent there were no real updates no in-depth details as to why she was arrested but then there was a major bombshell dropped because juliana in the midst of all of this she confessed to an entire insane murder plot that she claimed was concocted by both she and brendan and it was all orchestrated in an effort to get rid of christine the man who they killed joseph ryan he was unfortunately just a random person who was involved and at the wrong place at the wrong time and i have to say who was literally scouted by brendan and juliana to help execute their plan then i asked him we're going to force her he said that's not what i'm thinking about and then that's uh he explained that he was thinking about finding a way to just get rid of her for out of the picture somebody that sounded like violent and was kind of playing the way he wanted the person to play so then that's when he started talking to joe we told a lot of you before that it was kind of part of like a game where the person gets in the bedroom and then i react to like scared like try to run or try to scream but like so that and or if the person starts doing something she would just get kind of freaked out and try to resist but it was like part of the game now what was so shocking about this entire confession was that brendan wasn't even arrested until september 16th 2024 so you've heard everything directly from juliana's mouth i mean she and brendan i mean they planned this murder but why what was happening in that house to ultimately end up in a double homicide christine and her husband brendan banfield were a seemingly normal couple living in virginia with their young daughter valerie brendan worked as an armed irs investigator and christine was a nurse working all throughout the chaos during the pandemic and you know the after effects of that and there came a point in time during that around february 2021 when brendan and christine decided that they needed to bring an au pair into their home and again for those of you who might not be as familiar with that term as others it's this really cool program where somebody who is from out of the country will come to the country stay with you as their host family and they will provide in-house child care in exchange for a free stay and for a weekly stipend so typically au pairs are younger people students younger people wanting to just see more of the world so with this program it's a benefit to them they can check off a lot of those complicated boxes you know like finding a place to stay finding a job getting to a new country all of those things so it's not a bad gig all in all but it also seems like we only ever talk about au pairs in relation to true crime cases right so anyways in the fall of 2021 juliana who was just 21 years old at the time she moved into the banfield's home and juliana was from brazil she was raised on the outskirts of the south paulo so this was going to be something new for her very exciting and at first everything was working out pretty well too it didn't seem like this nightmare situation where the host family and the au pair didn't get along and there was hostility and there were you know barriers they needed to overcome it wasn't like that juliana seemed like a really nice girl and the banfield's daughter valerie really liked her as well i mean so what wasn't there to love this was a perfect situation and mutually beneficial however we know how this case ends or a lot of us do i should say so about 10 months into juliana's stay with the banfields something shifted juliana and brendan's relationship allegedly turned sexual at that time and this wasn't casual okay this also wasn't just like a fling where whenever christine wasn't home they'd flirt or they would be like touchy feely which i i get it that obviously wouldn't have been okay either but this was seemingly a full-blown relationship just happening not with christine's knowledge of course but like they didn't have any sort of boundaries they weren't really like trying to be ultra careful they were in this full relationship with one another now the last time that i covered this case we didn't even know for sure yet if there was any type of relationship going on between them prior to christine's death i mean everybody pretty much figured that it was the case but i don't think it was because of the fact that they were together because of how quickly they seemed to get together after her death but there wasn't any actual proof out there nothing had been confirmed now something that really shocked me about brendan and juliana's relationship now that we know the full details of it was that they didn't even try to hide it i know i alluded to that a little bit earlier but like they did hide it from christine but not from the rest of the world they would pose together for pictures some being very intimate they would post these pictures on juliana's instagram with captions as like just a normal happy couple who were head over heels in love with one another and these photos ended up being a huge piece of evidence in the case and in the trial and unfortunately this whole time that this was going on christine was just absolutely clueless about the ongoing affair and she made multiple different posts that really show just how truly blindsided she was by the entire situation in one post she wrote about the daughter valerie saying that juliana was her best friend her sister her third parent her everything she loved juliana in another post she uploaded a picture of valerie and juliana smiling together and she wrote a lot of people don't understand the au pair program but this is it right here it's opening your home and your heart to someone with big dreams of changing their life while in america and in the process they changed your life more than you could measure which think about that that is so incredibly like heartbreaking and infuriating she loved juliana she thought of her as family as a third parent to valerie she cherished her saying how you know in that post cryptically saying we just wanted to help juliana but we got so much more in return not even realizing that her sleazy ass husband was sleeping with her that juliana was sleeping with christine's husband behind her back and on top of that that the two of them were plotting christine's demise together it's horrible it's like the ultimate level of betrayal and christine wasn't even aware of it while christine was at work literally saving lives and putting the needs of others before her own juliana and brendan were just at home talking about how they couldn't wait to be married how they loved each other they wanted to have their own kids together and have a life together brendan also allegedly talked about how much he disliked christine and how he felt like she was an awful mother to valerie so of course i mean when you're playing house together you're sleeping together you're making all these promises for the future together there comes a point in time when one person in the relationship starts to ask well when are these promises going to actually become a reality now to any normal person in their right mind the next best steps would have been for brendan to file for divorce then he and juliana can like go off get married you know do your thing brendan and christine would go through an entire custody agreement or a battle maybe with valerie but everyone's lives would be moving forward whether it's happily ever after or not so happily ever after but they would be moving forward we always say just get a divorce but brendan did not want to go down that route like i said for whatever reason brendan thought that christine was a bad mom so he didn't want to split custody with her and he knew that they would likely end up in a 50-50 type situation there was also a money aspect to all of it too because brendan said that if he and christine divorced quote she would have more money than he would so basically he wasn't about to go the traditional route and potentially only have have custody not have a lot of his you know the financial strength in the outcome so in his mind it's like oh well the best thing to do is kill christine which why people jump to that conclusion i will never know now this was when brendan allegedly began concocting a plan to get rid of christine for good in a way that ensured that there would be no money issues no custody battles only a happy ending with juliana but juliana isn't innocent in all of this because she was every bit his accomplice in all of it just listening to his devious plan with no judgments just waiting for the day that they could officially be together and look i don't want to give brendan and juliana too much credit here but i do have to say they were methodical they thought through things and were pretty strategic in a way that hypothetically may not have gotten them caught it's great that they did get caught but they did think this through now their plan the two of them the pair they decided to sign christine up for an account on an online sexual fetish website i know it's wild but stay with me for a moment so both juliana and brendan would post on this website from christine's laptop pretending to be her catfishing as her and they would only ever post whenever christine was home so that it would really make it seem like it was christine behind the screen so that in the event that forensic data was ever pulled off of these accounts it would align with when christine was in fact at the home not at work it wouldn't be obvious that somebody else was logging in and posing as her and like i said i don't want to give them too much credit here but they did think through this pretty strategically so they start posting on this online sexual fetish website acting as christine looking for dates and experiences and this is when joseph ryan comes into play because joseph was messaging back and forth with christine well with brendan and juliana he thought he was talking with christine and they were exchanging messages for about a month and these messages consisted of making plans for joseph and christine to get together and start playing out a sexual assault fantasy the agreement was that on february 24th 2023 joseph would come to the banfield home while christine was asleep and i say that loosely because again this was like their role-playing conversation she was gonna play like she was asleep and he would come in armed with restraints and a knife and remember i'm using quotes around not only christine but also asleep because this guy thought that he was talking to christine the whole time so she was going to pretend like she was asleep and he was going to pretend that she was asleep then wake up see him and be scared for her life and like juliana said they had literally made sure in the messages to say that christine was going to scream for help and she was going to act scared and to still not stop because it was all part of the game it was all part of the fantasy and the role playing so no matter how hard you hear how loud you hear me scream no matter how many times i say no no matter how much i fight back it's all part of my fantasy it seems like the perfect crime right if this guy is going in as a what he thinks willing participant in this with somebody else who is you know this is consensual those are the rules that's the fantasy but this is where brendan and juliana come into the picture neither one of them were going to want to be home when joseph arrived because they didn't want it to be suspicious right so juliana took valerie in the car and she parked far enough away from the home that it wouldn't seem suspicious yet it would be close enough that she could see when joseph arrived brendan on the other hand he was parked at a local mcdonald's parking lot waiting for juliana to call him and tell him you know joseph's here he's arrived he's in the house the plans go you know it's all going according to plan but what joseph of course did not understand was that he was being set up just as much as christine was as soon as he got to the banfield house that day brendan and juliana rushed back to the house to finish the plan that they had started once they both arrived back at the house they took brendan and christine's daughter valerie down to the basement and they told her stay down here play with your ipad we will come back and get you when it's you know when we're ready then they went upstairs together to solidify their love for each other i guess in the most despicable way possible when brendan and juliana got upstairs they saw christine on the floor with joseph on top of her engaging in this sex act that they had orchestrated christine was terrified scared to death yelling at her husband brendan for help saying brendan he has a knife he has a knife and in that moment that's when brendan shot joseph your body is always giving you signals whoop helps you understand them whoop is the wearable health and fitness coach that provides personalized insights into your sleep recovery strain and overall health to help you make better decisions every day whether you're training working traveling or just trying to feel your best whoop shows you what helps your performance and what might be holding you back listen to your body build better habits see where whoop can take you try whoop free for 30 days at whoop.com have you ever wondered why some people seem to age slower like they figured out some secret the rest of us missed well it turns out someone actually did and it starts with a melon yep a melon there's a rare french melon that stays fresh four times a year and it's one of the most popular fruits and vegetables in the world and it's one of the most popular fruits and vegetables in the world and it's one of the most popular fruits longer than the fruit you and i buy at the store scientists discovered it produces an extraordinarily high level of a super antioxidant called sod the kind that helps defend skin from the visible signs of aging and get this meaningful beauty partnered with world-renowned french cosmetic specialist dr jean-louis sabah to capture that melon's youth preserving power in a skin care line you can actually use every day so if you're tired of trying products that all promise the same thing this one is truly different because it starts with something nature designed to stay young subscribe today and get the complete introductory system for just 49.95 at meaningfulbeauty.com you'll also get two free gifts free shipping and a 60-day money-back guarantee visit meaningfulbeauty.com and order today now remember brendan and juliana set this whole plan up they knew that joseph was there they knew that he would likely be on top of christine playing out what he thought was this mutually shared fetish so after brendan shoots him christine thought that she had been saved that her husband came to her rescue she yelled out to juliana saying call 9-1-1 call 9-1-1 and what was so shocking was that juliana actually did call 9-1-1 but she hung up right away then according to juliana she went to the bathroom to grab some towels and when she came back into the bedroom she saw brendan on top of christine and now he was stabbing her to death with the knife now i think what is so difficult about this case is that christine was truly terrified in her final moments she had so much fear thinking that some random guy broke into the house was about to assault her and kill her only to then feel a brief fleeting moment of peace with for a split second when her husband shoots him before brendan then turns on her which imagine that moment where it's like i don't even know how your mind could work that quickly to calibrate everything but it's like you're scared for your life oh my god thank god he shot him then you see him turn on you and pick up the knife and jump on top of you your own husband the amount of betrayal that you would feel in that moment and just confusion it gives me the chills every single time i think about it and again juliana is not innocent in any of this she said that she saw brendan stabbing christine point blank and instead of stopping him or calling 9-1-1 she just squatted down cowered and closed her eyes that is until she saw joseph moving so this was when she then took the gun and had that second shot fired off into joseph making that this you know again the second time that he had been shot and as we know the shot that ultimately killed him and he was dead when the first responders arrived and look i know that christine is talked about a lot in this case especially during the trial and she's highlighted quite a bit because she was the targeted victim but at the end of the day i mean joseph was equally a victim in all of this as well and i'm not even going to try to get into the ethics or the opinions on sexual assault role play and things with that because that's an entirely different topic that i know will be really controversial but all i'm going to say is this he showed up at the banfield house that day thinking that what he was going to be doing was consensual with christine and because of that he ended up dead his mother has also spoken out about his death and how it has just greatly impacted her i remember when i got the call from the detective he called me and he told me that my son had been killed and i just know when when he told me that i could hear my own voice screaming and i remember that moment and i remember where i was sitting and i remember his words but it was almost like it was outside of my body hearing that he had been killed talk to me in the way you're most comfortable about what his role was when it came to sexual fetish websites did he ever talk to you about involvement in websites like that yes this was kind of out of character right not that he brought a knife but the idea of actually cutting a woman like he could bring a knife and and you just sort of play act it's not you're not using that knife you're just brandishing the knife and it's not intended you know it's it's role play it's not the same thing so we had discussed that in the past and wasn't it wasn't a strange topic what do you want people to know who are hearing you say that and they are passing judgment what do you want them to know and think about before they pass judgment i want them to look in the mirror that's what i want if they have issues they're their issues and maybe they're ashamed of their own sexual desires so even though juliana was charged with second-degree murder she very quickly took a plea deal pleading guilty to manslaughter now what's interesting about this case that will get brought up again is that there were no agreements made on her sentencing there was only a recommendation that had been given by the commonwealth and like i said juliana eventually confessed to everything so she is definitely not an angel in this case and personally i think she's pushing a little too hard on the idea of brendan being the complete mastermind behind the murders and the one who orchestrated everything i think she was an equal party to that now as for brendan there were no tearful confessions after his arrest brendan has been actively charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with the murder of brendan and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he will continue to be charged with second-degree murder in the past two years and he did a pretty decent job at this, honestly, truly. You see, the defense has been arguing that Juliana has made up this entire elaborate story all to benefit her. They go as far as saying, quote, Juliana made it up. She told the Commonwealth what they wanted to hear. She told this lie to secure herself a deal that benefited her. She was a pawn in trying to get to my client. Now, for one, she secured a plea deal. But apparently, she's also been in talks with selling her story for a documentary. So the thought is that if she can successfully pin this murder primarily on Brendan, then she gets to one day be a free woman with a paycheck, you know, notoriety, a documentary, maybe, all while this man sits in jail for the rest of his life. And I'm not saying that I actually believe this, but I always have to give credit where credit is due. Sometimes these defense lawyers definitely can't. They can come up with pretty compelling evidence for their arguments, right? So while Juliana was on the stand, the defense made her read a jailhouse letter that she sent to Brendan in December 2023, around two months after her arrest. This is a letter that you wrote, it looks like, on December 8th, 2023? Yes. And that would have been about two months after you were arrested on this charge? Yes, correct. And calling your attention to the highlighted portion. Did you ask something? I'm sorry, I was reading. Oh, I was asking you to read it, yes. Have you read it? Yeah, I read it. Okay. And the yellow portion there, can you read that, please? Yes. Well, now that you know, parenthesis, I mean, they already knew, close parenthesis, that I'm not going to cooperate with them, there is nothing I can do. So I don't know what they are going to use. I mean, everything they have and can. I don't know everything. I just have the feeling they might hold me here until my trial. It can take months, years. There are many theories of what had happened, set up by you, us, or I wasn't supposed to be there, and et cetera. Okay. In this letter, which you wrote, it suggests that someone from the Commonwealth had been talking to you about cooperating against Brendan. Is that correct? No, they never talked directly with me. Okay. How would they communicate that to you? Through my lawyer. Okay. Two months after you were arrested, and were you given an opportunity to plead guilty and cooperate at that time? Yes. Okay. And what was it that they were offering you at that time? that time? At that point, my lawyer had said that they were offering, in exchange for my cooperation, they would offer me a misdemeanor and I would be released on time served. Okay. So here, the defense was pretty much saying, you know, why the switch up? They feel like she's turning on Brandon for her own freedom. But it's also important to remember that she didn't make a deal on her sentencing. Her freedom is still up in the air, which makes the defense's argument kind of seem a little less likely, in my opinion. Listen to your body. Build better habits. Discovered, it produces an extraordinarily high level of a super antioxidant called SOD, the kind that helps defend skin from the visible signs of aging. And get this, Meaningful Beauty partnered with world-renowned French cosmetic specialist Dr. Jean-Louis Sabah to capture that melon's youth-preserving power in a skincare line you can actually use every day. So if you're tired of trying products that all promise the same thing, this one is truly different because it starts with something nature-designed to stay young. Subscribe today and get the complete introductory system for just $49.95 at meaningfulbeauty.com. You'll also get two free gifts, free shipping, and a 60-day money-back guarantee. Visit meaningfulbeauty.com and order today. 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So if you're tired of trying products that all promise the same thing, this one is truly different. Because it starts with something nature-designed, to stay young. There's one thing that has been constantly stated in various media outlets that I think it's really important on your show that we clarify this completely. I mean, I was there on the ground floor when the plea happened. Juliana does not have a plea agreement that says that at the end of this case, she's walking. There is no agreement as to her sentence. There is a recommendation that the Commonwealth has put forward. But that is not binding on the judge. So it's important to know that she is still facing up to the point where she's going to be sentenced to 10 years under a manslaughter charge in Virginia, no matter what happens here. Now, obviously, if things go a certain way, there's going to be arguments and discussions with regards to that. But as things are right now, there is no agreed sentence in this case. That's an important point. So in other words, whether the prosecution believes at the end of the day she testified truthfully or she didn't testify truthfully, there's no promise to her whatsoever. Not at this stage, no. And that can change. And I don't know whether it will. So then Brendan took the stand. And like I said, he and Juliana's testimonies, they could not have been farther apart. So let's get into some of the conflicting details, okay? Now, when it comes to he and Juliana's relationship, he did not deny their affair, though he did essentially say that she's the one who came on to him, not the other way around, as if it matters. We'd spent maybe an hour and a half or two hours talking about some random things, but also about her dating history. During this time, when she was talking about different people, she described people that she was interested in, people that were taller, people that were older. And it appeared to me that she was. Along with the photos, the screenshots that she had shown me of people that she had matched with, that she was basically describing me. Also, I guess when we were having this conversation, we were sitting at the island in the kitchen. And she scooted her seat closer to mine a couple times. And so, what did you do at that point? I did not stop her advances. At some point, I told her that I was going to go upstairs, indicating that I was going to go to bed. And she said that she was tired and that she was going to do the same. A little bit of information about this. , the upstairs of my house. So even though he admitted to their affair, he really minimized the importance to him and his life. And he refused to admit that they ever had feelings for each other prior to Christine's death. That it was only after she passed during the summer of 2023 that he said that they were in love. That it was only after she passed during the summer of 2023 that he said that he refused to admit that they ever had feelings for each other prior to Christine's death. Though still not as in love as he and Christine ever were. And again, you describe here in the very first paragraph-ish, you came here and we fell in love. But you're suggesting that that love didn't happen until after Christine was dead. As I said, that we did have feelings for each other prior, but I would not describe them as the level of feelings that I had for my wife of 19 years. As for his relationship with his wife, Christine, he admitted that he had cheated on her many times. Yet, despite the affairs, he said that he felt that they were still a strong and happy couple. How would you characterize your relationship with Christine? For the most part, we were pretty inseparable. We were together the entire time. We didn't break up at any point. We were from college to. to our first jobs after college to buying our first house together to marriage to getting. getting a dog and a second dog and then moving and then moving down and moving down here. We were always together, always planning for the future. This was part of this was part of our life. Did you love your wife? Very much. Did you want to continue your marriage with your wife? Yes. Do you love your daughter, Valerie? More than anything. When Brendan was asked about Christine's relationship with Valerie and how she was, you know, as a mother, he only had positive things to say, which again, was very different from what Giuliano was saying that he felt about Christine. How did you observe the relationship between. relationship between Christine and Valerie? Christine loved Valerie very, very much. dearly. And Valerie was very attached to her mother. This is, you know, it was tragic, their separation. But, you know, when Valerie was always very excited as soon as Christine would get home from work, you know, she would run up to her mother and say, be happy and call her mama. They spent quite a bit of time doing art-related projects. Christine would often bring Valerie to dance when she was not working. So the jury began deliberations on Friday, January 30th, 2026. But they didn't. They didn't reach a verdict that day. So deliberations went over the weekend into Monday. And the jury ended up deliberating close to nine full hours on two different days before they finally, ultimately did reach a verdict. And the jury found Brendan guilty of two counts of aggravated murder, also a firearms offense, as well as child endangerment. Now, as of right now, he is scheduled to be sentenced on May 8th, 2026. And I will be honest, I watched a little bit of the trial. I'm not shocked that the jury came to this conclusion and this verdict. I think it was pretty obvious. But I am going to be curious to see what goes down with Juliana. I don't think that she was just some innocent bystander in all of this. And he orchestrated this and he manipulated her. I mean, yes, she was young, but also old enough and an adult to understand right from wrong. And she carried on an affair with him. They plotted this together. She admitted to, you know, lighthandedly, her role in things. But I think she is just as culpable. Truly, I do. But I'm curious to know what you guys think. So let me know in the comment section. Thank you again for tuning in to another episode of 10 to Life. Don't forget to subscribe, follow, do all of the things so that you do not miss future episodes. And until the next one, stay safe. Bye. That provides personalized insights into your sleep, recovery, strain, and overall health to help you make better decisions every day. Whether you're training, working, traveling, or just trying to feel your best. Listen to your body. Build better habits. 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