The Au Pair Affair Part 2: Brendan Banfield Takes the Stand | The Verdict & Sentencing

This Feels Criminal: A True Crime Podcast (Formerly Killer Queens)

This Feels Criminal | Formerly Killer Queens

Society & Culture, True Crime

4.4 • 3.1K Ratings

🗓️ 3 March 2026

⏱️ 64 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

"It's easier to fall in love with someone that saved you."

Those were the words of Brendan Banfield as he attempted to explain away an affair, a dead wife, and a dead stranger to a jury of twelve. In Part 2 of our deep dive into the VA v. Brendan Banfield trial, we move past the "catfish" plot and into the courtroom moments that sealed the defendant's fate.

In this episode, we discuss:

Brendan's Performance: Was he a grieving husband or a cold-blooded manipulator? We analyze his claims that Christine could speak after seven stab wounds to the neck.
The Forensic "Gotcha": Why the defense's own digital investigator became the prosecution's best witness during cross-examination.
The Fatal Flaw: The specific pattern of FetLife logins that proved "Anastasia 9" only existed when Brendan or Juliana were home.
The Rebuttal: How a brief testimony from Brendan's supervisor, T. Smith Patrick, turned a "work meeting" alibi into a documented lie.
Closure: The sentencing of Juliana Magalhães and what this case says about the "Double Murder" plot that nearly worked.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey guys, before we start today's episode, we just wanted to take a second and talk about our new look.
0:06.3	If you noticed a new cover art and name today, you are in the right place.
0:11.8	After a lot of thought and a lot of growth, Killer Queens is now officially becoming this feels criminal.
0:19.1	Killer Queens built this community. It gave us eight incredible years,
0:22.9	lifelong friendships, and a space to tell stories that matter. But this new name reflects where we're
0:28.7	headed. Deeper conversations, broader cases and content that sometimes just feels criminal. So it's still
0:35.9	the same us, same storytelling.
0:38.5	It's just the next evolution.
0:40.8	We love you guys.
0:46.3	Did you ever hear a story and think we're not getting the full picture?
0:50.6	That's where we start.
0:52.1	On this feels criminal, we unpack crime, corruption, and conspiracy with curiosity, context, and just a touch of chaos.
0:59.8	We step outside the timelines and ask better questions and explore the systems behind the story,
1:05.0	all in a voice that feels more like a friend than a reporter.
1:07.9	Because when you identify the patterns, you can't unsee how often they show up.
1:15.3	Okay, so we are here for part two of the Brendan Banfield Opaire Affair trial.
1:22.8	We sure are.
1:24.4	I don't love when they give them like, you know, names like that or whatever, but it is
1:29.1	catchy. It is. And, well, it makes it sound more interesting, you know? Yeah. So I guess there's that.
1:38.4	All right. So last week or just a few minutes ago, if you're a patron. That's true.
1:44.2	Patreon.
1:45.4	Sign up.
	...

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