Episode Details

Nine hours of deliberation. Guilty on every count. Aggravated murder. Mandatory life without parole.

Brendan Banfield is going to prison for killing his wife Christine—and the defense strategy that was supposed to save him may have sealed his fate.

Defense attorney Bob Motta breaks down exactly what went wrong.

The jury believed Juliana Peres Magalhães, the au pair who admitted to being at the scene, admitted to helping stage the crime, admitted to the affair. She testified that Banfield masterminded the entire plot—that she watched him stab Christine, that they called 911 together, that he wanted to "get rid of" his wife so they could be together.

She walked free with time served. He got life.

The defense called her bought and paid for. They pointed out Banfield's DNA wasn't on the murder weapon. They challenged the digital forensics. But Bob explains the fundamental problem: they told the jury what didn't happen, but never told them what did.

Attacking a cooperating witness only works if you give jurors an alternative story. The defense never provided one.

Then Banfield took the stand. A former IRS special agent who apparently believed he could outsmart the system he spent his career working inside. He told jurors that "no reasonable person" would kill their wife over a six-week affair.

Twelve people disagreed.

Prosecutors argued Banfield and Magalhães created fake profiles on FetLife, catfished Joseph Ryan into believing he was meeting Christine for a consensual encounter, killed him when he arrived, and framed him for her murder. The jury bought every word.

Bob identifies the moment this case was probably lost—and answers whether Banfield's arrogance cost him everything.

Appeals are coming. But right now, it's over.

#BrendanBanfield #ChristineBanfield #BanfieldGuilty #BanfieldVerdict #JulianaMagalhaes #BobMotta #AggravatedMurder #DefenseFailed #BanfieldCase #LifeWithoutParole

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This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.