Banfield Trial: Defense Attorney Bob Motta On Attacking Juliana's Testimony | What The Jury Needs To Know

True Crime Today brings you the defense strategy for the most important witness in the Brendan Banfield murder trial. Juliana Peres Magalhaes is the prosecution's case. Without her testimony, they have a forensics expert who contradicted their theory, investigators who were transferred, and 19 months of spinning theories. Defense attorney Bob Motta explains how you destroy her credibility.

Juliana spent a year in jail maintaining the same story Brendan told police. Then she flipped. She pleaded to manslaughter. She gets time served. She goes home to Brazil. Her sentencing is scheduled after Banfield's trial — to ensure she continues to cooperate. From jail, she wrote to her mother that she was "heartbroken for doing this to Brendan" and that she loved him.

Motta breaks down how you use that letter on cross-examination. He explains how to frame her year-long lie for the jury — is she someone who finally told the truth, or someone who changed lies when the deal was right?

The prosecution reduced her charge from second-degree murder to involuntary manslaughter. Motta explains how to make the jury understand the magnitude of what she received in exchange for her testimony.

The prosecution is positioning Juliana as a reluctant participant. Motta dismantles that framing. He identifies the biggest mistakes defense attorneys make with cooperating witnesses — and what happens to the state's case if Juliana falls apart on the stand.

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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.