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Brendan Banfield just bet everything on himself.
The Virginia man accused of killing his wife Christine and a stranger named Joseph Ryan took the witness stand today in Fairfax County Circuit Court. It's a move most defense attorneys advise against — once you testify, everything you say becomes ammunition for the prosecution. But Banfield apparently decided the only way to beat the au pair's testimony was to counter it directly.
And counter it he did. Banfield admitted the affair with Juliana Peres Magalhães, the family's Brazilian au pair. He said it started in August 2022. But he told the jury he was upfront with her — this was just another affair, and it wasn't going to change his relationship with his wife. He said both he and Christine had strayed before. They'd gone to counseling. They'd made the decision to stay together.
When asked if he plotted with the au pair to kill Christine, Banfield's response was immediate: "No, there was no plan." He called the accusation "absurd" and "absolutely crazy."
The prosecution's theory is that Banfield and the au pair catfished Joseph Ryan using a fake profile on a fetish website, lured him to the house, then killed both Ryan and Christine in an elaborate staged crime scene. The au pair, who flipped on Banfield in exchange for a plea deal, testified to exactly that.
Now the jury has two completely different stories. And Banfield has to survive cross-examination Thursday morning.
#BrendanBanfield #TrueCrimeToday #AuPairAffair #ChristineBanfield #MurderTrial #FairfaxVirginia #JosephRyan #TrueCrimeNews #CourtTV #BreakingCrime
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Sarah Grace Patrick was denied bond today in Carroll County, Georgia. The 17-year-old accused of killing her mother Kristin Brock and stepfather James Brock will remain in solitary confinement as her trial gets pushed to August 2026.
Judge Dustin Hightower cited flight risk and revealed that family members have signed contracts with media production companies for a documentary — raising concerns about financial motivation.
But buried in the court record is a history nobody's discussing. In 2022, Kristin was charged with attempting to run James over with a car. James filed for a protective order with allegations of abuse and 911 interference. The order was dismissed weeks later. They married in 2023.
Bond hearing witnesses testified Sarah showed signs of trauma — apologizing for eating, showering, using the bathroom. Her best friend said she was never allowed inside Sarah's home. Court documents reveal cameras were in Sarah's bedroom and were removed before the murders.
Sarah has been in isolation for seven months. Research shows juvenile solitary causes permanent psychological damage. The UN defines it as torture after 15 days.
Kristin's parents believe Sarah is innocent. James's family fears for their lives. The victims' own families are at war.
#SarahGracePatrick #BondDenied #CarrollCounty #TrueCrimeToday #KristinBrock #JamesBrock #GeorgiaMurder #Breaking #SolitaryConfinement #Documentary
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The Paul Caneiro trial continues in Monmouth County, New Jersey, where prosecutors allege Paul murdered his brother Keith, sister-in-law Jennifer, and their two children — 11-year-old Jesse and 8-year-old Sophia — in November 2018. According to the prosecution, Keith had just discovered Paul stole $78,000 from a trust account. The confrontation allegedly triggered a massacre. Keith was shot five times. Jennifer was shot and stabbed. And little Sophia was stabbed 17 times, including a wound to her eye — and prosecutors say she was still alive when the fire was set.
On True Crime Today, psychotherapist Shavaun Scott analyzes the psychology of family annihilation. What happens when someone who's been living a financial double life gets cornered? Why do family annihilators often kill everyone — including children — rather than face exposure? And what does extreme overkill violence tell us about the perpetrator's mental state?
We examine key trial evidence including surveillance footage showing Paul disconnecting his security cameras at 1:28 a.m. and testimony about doctored bank statements. Witnesses described Paul and his family sitting calmly outside their own burning home — which prosecutors allege Paul set on fire as a "ruse" while his wife and adult daughters were inside. Shavaun breaks down what genuine trauma responses look like and how to read courtroom emotion. Essential psychological analysis of the Caneiro family annihilation case.
#PaulCaneiro #CaneiraTrial #ColtsNeckMurders #FamilyAnnihilation #KeithCaneiro #JenniferCaneiro #ShavaunScott #TrueCrimeToday #MurderTrial #PsychologyOfKillers
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Breaking details from the newly unsealed affidavit in the Michael McKee double murder case reveal that the accused killer was at his ex-wife's Columbus home on December 6th — while she and her husband Spencer were at the Big Ten Championship game 200 miles away.
According to court documents, video captured McKee on the Tepe property that night. The Columbus Dispatch reports he entered the home and left "a few hours later." WOSU says he walked through the yard. Monique Tepe left the game at halftime, reportedly upset about "something involving her ex-husband."
The affidavit paints a picture of eight years of alleged terror. Witnesses told investigators McKee forced unwanted sex on Monique, strangled her, and threatened to kill her "at any time." He allegedly said he would "buy the house right next to her" and that "she will always be his wife." Despite all of this, Columbus police confirmed there were no prior reports filed.
On December 30th, three weeks after the December 6th incident, Spencer and Monique Tepe were found shot to death in their second-floor bedroom. Their children — ages 1 and 4 — were discovered unharmed. McKee's phone showed no activity for 17 hours. A silenced firearm was used. No forced entry.
McKee was arrested at a Rockford Chick-fil-A on January 10th. He's charged with four counts of aggravated murder and has pleaded not guilty. The question now: what happened in those 24 days between December 6th and December 30th?
#TrueCrimeToday #MichaelMcKee #TepeMurders #BreakingNews #ColumbusOhio #DomesticViolence #CourtDocuments #SpencerTepe #MoniqueTepe #TrueCrimeNews
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Two murder cases. Two very different defense strategies. Defense attorney Bob Motta joins True Crime Today to break down both.
Aaron Spencer's trial just got a new judge after the Arkansas Supreme Court removed Barbara Elmore for constitutional violations—the second time in seven months. Spencer faces second-degree murder for killing Michael Fosler, the man out on bond for allegedly raping his 14-year-old daughter. The defense is arguing he saved his child. The prosecution has prior statements suggesting premeditation. And now a retired judge from the other side of the state is inheriting the most divisive case in Arkansas.
Michael McKee pleaded not guilty to four counts of aggravated murder in the deaths of his ex-wife Monique Tepe and her husband Spencer Tepe. His lawyer is Diane Menashe—who got Dr. William Husel acquitted of fourteen ICU murders by calling one witness and watching the state's case crumble. The prosecution has ballistics, surveillance, vehicle tracking, a suppressor. Menashe doesn't present defenses. She destroys prosecutions.
Bob Motta analyzes both cases: what judicial removal means for Spencer, how to defend a father who killed his daughter's alleged abuser, whether Menashe's Husel playbook works against different evidence, and what both cases tell us about murder defense strategy in high-profile trials.
#BobMotta #TrueCrimeToday #AaronSpencer #MichaelMcKee #MoniqueTepe #JudgeElmore #DianeMenashe #MurderDefense #HuselAcquittal #DefenseStrategy
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