Kathryn Colombo Testifies in Brendan Banfield Trial — The "Au Pair Affair Murder Trial"

True Crime Today brings you an exclusive behavioral analysis of Brendan Banfield from retired FBI Special Agent Robin Dreeke. Dreeke led the FBI's Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program and has spent over three decades reading people. His question for this case: does the prosecution's theory actually make behavioral sense?Brendan Banfield was an IRS criminal investigator — a federal agent who built cases for a living. Prosecutors say he used that expertise to plan an elaborate double murder: creating fake FetLife profiles, luring a stranger to his home, coordinating with his au pair mistress, staging the crime scene as self-defense. But if that's true, why did Banfield leave a framed photo of himself and Juliana on his nightstand for police to find? Why did he call 911 and give a detailed statement?Dreeke breaks down what deception looks like in real time — and whether Banfield's post-offense behavior fits the profile of a calculated killer. He examines the gun purchase prosecutors call premeditation. He analyzes the McDonald's detail where Banfield allegedly waited nearby. He explains what the 911 call should reveal about whether Banfield was telling the truth.The affair is central to the motive theory. But affairs happen constantly without murder. Dreeke identifies the escalation factors that would need to be present for someone to go from infidelity to allegedly orchestrating a double homicide — and whether they appear in this case.This is behavioral analysis you won't hear in the courtroom. Dreeke gives his expert read on what Brendan Banfield's actions actually tell us.#BrendanBanfield #RobinDreeke #TrueCrimeToday #FBI #BehavioralAnalysis #ChristineBanfield #AuPairMurder #MurderTrial #Psychology #DeceptionJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISDOES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This 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.

16 Tammi 17min

Psychotherapist Shavaun Scott reveals why 18-plus rehab stays, unlimited resources, and decades of intervention couldn't prevent Rob and Michele Reiner's deaths at the hands of their son Nick.The Reiners paid for the best dual-diagnosis treatment facilities in the country. They kept Nick close. They supported him financially. They did everything families are told to do. And still, sources say Nick would stay only 30 days—long enough to detox—then leave before any psychiatric care could take hold. Patient autonomy laws meant he could refuse treatment and walk away.Shavaun breaks down why the private treatment industry fails people with severe mental illness, why doctors reportedly didn't pursue a psychiatric hold during Nick's dangerous medication transition, and what "permanent custodial care" would actually look like for someone with schizoaffective disorder. The Reiners couldn't save their son. Could anyone?#NickReiner #RobReiner #TrueCrimeToday #MentalHealth #Rehab #Treatment #ShavaunScott #SystemFailure #ReinerCaseJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This 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.

15 Tammi 12min

Madeline Crowley, Senior DNA Analyst, 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 #BreakingJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This 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.

15 Tammi 12min

Susan Greenspoon, Forensics Molecular Biologist at the Virginia Dept. of Forensic Science, 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 #BreakingJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This 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.

15 Tammi 27min

Cara McCarthy, Supervisor at the Virginia Dept. of Forensics Science, 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 #BreakingJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This 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.

15 Tammi 27min

The legal battle over Nick Reiner's fate will likely come down to a test created in 1843 after a delusional man shot the wrong person on a London street. The M'Naghten Rule has been used for more than 180 years to determine when mental illness excuses murder. It's about to be applied to the man charged with killing Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner in their Brentwood home.Here's how the rule works: Two prongs, only one required. Prong one—you didn't understand the nature and quality of the act. Prong two—you didn't know it was wrong. Most defendants can't use prong two if they fled, hid evidence, or showed awareness of wrongdoing. Nick Reiner reportedly checked into a hotel after the alleged killings and spent more than 24 hours navigating Los Angeles. That behavior likely kills prong two for him.Which leaves prong one: nature and quality. This is exactly what worked for David Carmichael, a Canadian father who killed his 11-year-old son in 2004. Carmichael planned the murder, researched prison sentences, expected 25 years. But his delusion—triggered by the SSRI Paxil—made him believe his son was suffering, brain-damaged, and dangerous. He didn't understand the true reality of what he was doing. He walked free in roughly two years.Nick Reiner's medication for schizoaffective disorder was reportedly changed approximately one month before the alleged murders. His meds still aren't stabilized. He reportedly still believes his incarceration is a conspiracy. But does that mean his perception was distorted during the act itself? That's the question the defense must answer—and the question that will determine whether a rule from 1843 sets him free.#NickReiner #RobReiner #TrueCrimeToday #InsanityDefense #MNaghtenRule #BrentwoodMurders #CriminalJustice #MentalHealth #DavidCarmichael #TrueCrimeJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISDOES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This 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.

15 Tammi 21min

Douglas Gudakunst, Fingerprint Specialist with the Fairfax County Police Department, took the stand today in the Brendan Banfield murder trial in Fairfax County, Virginia.Banfield, a former IRS Criminal Investigation agent, faces four counts of aggravated murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and child abuse charges in the February 24, 2023 deaths of his wife Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan. Prosecutors allege Banfield and the family's Brazilian au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, were having an affair and conspired to lure Ryan to their Herndon home using a fake profile on a sexual fetish website — then killed both victims and staged it as a home invasion.Magalhães has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and is cooperating with prosecutors in exchange for a recommendation of time served. The defense maintains that digital forensic evidence shows Christine Banfield controlled her own devices and that investigators who contradicted the catfishing theory were reassigned.If convicted on all counts, Banfield faces life in prison without parole plus 13 additional years. The trial is expected to last four weeks.#BrendanBanfield #AuPairAffair #BanfieldTrial #ChristineBanfield #JosephRyan #JulianaMagalhaes #FairfaxCounty #MurderTrial #TrueCrime #BreakingJoin Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspodInstagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodListen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872This 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.

15 Tammi 18min