Leah Smith Testifies in Brendan Banfield Trial — The "Au Pair Affair Murder Trial"
True Crime Today | Daily True Crime News & Interviews
Tony Brueski
4.2 • 612 Ratings
🗓️ 22 January 2026
⏱️ 20 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Leah Smith, Detective with the Fairfax Co. Police Department, took the stand in the murder trial of Brendan Banfield, the former IRS agent charged with four counts of aggravated murder in the deaths of his wife Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan. Prosecutors allege Banfield and the family's au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, lured Ryan to their Herndon home through a fetish website and staged the killings as a home invasion.
The defense argues digital forensics contradict the catfishing theory and that investigators who disagreed were reassigned. Banfield faces life without parole if convicted. The four-week trial continues in Fairfax County.
#TrueCrimeToday #BrendanBanfield #AuPairAffair #MurderTrial #ChristineBanfield #JosephRyan #FairfaxCounty #JulianaMagalhaes #Justice #Breaking
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You're listening to the Aupair Affair Murder Trial of Branton Vanfield from True Crime today on the Hidden Killers podcast. |
| 0:08.0 | Now, back to the courtroom. |
| 0:13.4 | Good morning, Detective Smith. |
| 0:15.0 | Can you please state your name and spell it for the court reporter? |
| 0:19.8 | Leah Smith, |
| 0:24.7 | L-E-A-H-S-M-I-T-H. |
| 0:31.0 | And what division in the Fairfax County Police are you currently in? |
| 0:32.4 | Homicide. |
| 0:33.1 | Okay. And were you in homicide during the time of February 24, 2023? |
| 0:40.3 | I was. |
| 0:41.3 | Okay. |
| 0:42.3 | So you're familiar with this case, the Bansfield case, and then the Juliana Perez-Magall-Hice case? |
| 0:49.3 | I am. |
| 0:50.3 | Okay. |
| 0:51.3 | And as a homicide detective, you're trained in certain investigatory techniques, correct? |
| 1:05.1 | Yes. |
| 1:05.7 | What are those, if you could just tell the ladies and gentlemen, the jury? |
| 1:10.6 | So we are gatherers of facts. |
| 1:12.6 | We will respond to scenes, talk with patrol officers who have already arrived. |
| 1:18.6 | They'll give us a briefing of the case. |
| 1:21.6 | We'll identify people that we need to talk to, places we need to go and gather other information and track down |
| 1:29.3 | what information we have gotten and if we need surveillance video or go to stores and track back |
... |
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