Brendan Banfield Faces Cross-Examination on the Stand

[00:00:00] Vinny Palantan: The Virginia trial of Brendan Banfield, a former IRS special agent, centers on an alleged murder plot that can only be described as calculated and twisted. Banfield is charged with aggravated murder in the February 2023 killings of his wife Christine and Joseph Ryan inside their Herndon, Virginia home. Prosecutors allege Banfield orchestrated the killings to conceal an affair with the family's Brazilian au pair, Juliana Magalice. They say Banfield impersonated his wife on a fetish website, luring Ryan to the home under the guise of a sexual encounter. According to Magalice's testimony, Banfield shot Ryan and stabbed Christine while staging the scene as a home invasion. Banfield is facing life behind bars and has pleaded not guilty, and today Banfield told the jury what he says happened the morning his wife was murdered. [00:00:58] Speaker 2: It appeared that he did a very forceful stab towards Christine. [00:01:06] Vinny Palantan: Tonight, we are live from Virginia with all the big moments from inside the courtroom. I'm Vinny Palantan. Thank you for joining us tonight here on Closing Arguments. Get ready. We are going deep into the testimony of the accused murderer Brendan Banfield in the au pair affair murder trial. And I'll tell you what today was like. It was about a man trashing his dead wife. That's what I heard loud and clear from Brendan Banfield on the witness stand talking about Christine. Christine. Oh, Christine. Yeah, she had affairs. Really? Really? This mother of a little girl is working 12 and a half hour shifts as a nurse, a sexual assault nurse. She was busy running around town having affairs. Okay. All right. All right. He admitted he had affairs also. So, okay. Goose gander, whatever. Right? Yeah, we had one of those relationships. You know, she sleeps around a little bit. I sleep around a little bit. Oh, yeah, we have a four-year-old, by the way. Also said that she wanted a rape fantasy. Of course she did. She was into all that stuff. I wasn't into that. That's what Brendan said. That's not my speed. You know, I like, you know, I'm old school. She's like a little freaky. My dead wife, she's a freak. That one. She wanted to do things I wanted no part of. So, of course, it's not so much of a leap that she would find someone to do it with because she's having affairs anyway. So if she's going to have affairs, she's probably going to want to have the kind of affairs where she can do the things that she likes to do because my dead wife, well, you know, she was into BDSM and all that stuff. Can you imagine the audacity? Like this, yeah, yeah, he's going to go after the au pair is lying. But this was really about trashing Christine, the mother of his four-year-old, the woman he loved and didn't want to leave. Oh, by the way, he also said that she apologized as she's dying. As she's dying after being stabbed, she's apologizing. I'm sorry. Not only does Brendan make himself out to be some sort of a hero trying to save his wife's life, but also, like, makes his wife look like she's garbage. She created this whole mess. It's all her fault. But in her dying moments, she's apologizing. She's got stab wounds all over, and she's apologizing to him who was sleeping in their bed with the au pair because he's a good guy. He's a good guy, Brendan Badfield. Christine. So the question tonight after he testified, will the jury believe him? I'll be honest. What do you think I think? I'm having a hard time buying it. So let me do this. Let me play for you some of this testimony about him going into the house that morning. Like, the whole setup and how he got there, to me, is strange also. But listen to this. [00:04:30] Speaker 2: While I was looking on the main floor of the house, I heard sounds from upstairs. I heard the sounds of, I would say, moaning, as well as sound of skin-on-skin contact. [00:04:48] Speaker 3: And what did you think was going on at that point? Sex. Why didn't you call 911 at that point? [00:04:55] Speaker 2: Well, I believe that it was an affair that was going on at that point. That doesn't seem something to, that doesn't seem like an emergency for the police to be involved in, was my thought at that moment. [00:05:11] Speaker 3: What were you thinking at that point when you decided what that was? [00:05:15] Speaker 2: I guess I was, I was emotional at that point. While Christine and I had, had affairs, we had never seen each other with anyone. Um, it was never, no one was ever caught in the act or anything, or anything like that. Um, hearing, hearing what I thought was sex was upsetting. As my mind was kind of racing in this, in this moment, um, the sound of, the sound, I guess, sounded like it changed to me. Um, instead of what I thought was the sounds of sex, I thought that the impact sounds sounded forceful, and that Christine's moaning sounded painful and not pleasurable, and that the distance between the sounds of the skin on skin contact sounded too far apart for sex, and I thought that, I thought that maybe she was being hurt. Um, so what did you do? [00:06:51] Speaker 3: I started to go up the stairs. Did you draw your weapon at any point? [00:06:57] Speaker 2: Um, while I was walking up the stairs, I did unholster my weapon, and I angled my body going up the stairs so that I was facing the bedroom door. Um, and I remember pushing the door open with my right foot revealed, uh, Christine, and who I now know as Joseph Ryan. Um, they were on the floor near the bottom left of my bed. Uh, kind of in front of the master bathroom door, um, just past, just past the, just past the bed, um, in between the bed and the tall dresser. Um, Christine was, I would describe as nude and on all fours, um, on her hands, on her hands and knees. And Joe Ryan was behind her, like angle, angled slightly behind her. And from my position at the door, slightly to the left, slightly to the left of her, uh, he was, he was clothed and, um, he was looking direct, he was looking directly at me as I opened the door almost immediately. I, I said, police. Okay. And what was your intention in doing that? Alerting, alerting the room that I was there. Christine responded first. Christine said, Brendan, Brendan, he has a knife. Joe Ryan didn't say something until after I told him to drop the knife. What was his response? He told, he told, he told me to drop my gun. He said that, that she was his and that she gave, she gave herself to him, to me, is what, she gave herself to me is what he said. She kind of moved to her left and to my right. But, uh, my best guess is that he had a grip on maybe the back of her neck, maybe the back of her hair. And I can't see his, I can't see his, his left hand at this point. Um, and so she did not, she did not go, she did not really go anywhere. [00:09:45] Speaker 3: Did she appear to be injured, um, greater than what you thought when you saw her? [00:09:54] Speaker 2: Um, it appeared that she had some amount of, I believe that she had some amount of blood in her hair, but I know that I told him to, to let her go at least one more time. And, uh, then I know that I told him, I told him that he was going, I told him that he was going to be under arrest. Um, there was a, I missed that at some point, he had, he asked for me to leave and a different point he asked for himself to leave. [00:10:34] Speaker 3: And what did you say to those requests? Uh, at that, at that point, that was when I told him that he was under arrest. What, if anything took place, uh, that caused you to discharge your firearm? Um, it appeared that he did a very forceful stab towards Christine and Christine kind of spun away from him. [00:11:04] Speaker 2: Um, so she was facing towards, she was facing towards me and I guess, uh, she like, rotated as she spun away from him and landed on, landed on her stomach on the ground. Um, this kind of had Joe now, like, on his, on his knees, kind of facing Christine, of which I saw him do a downward stabbing stroke and that is when I, and that's when I fired at him. [00:11:45] Speaker 3: When you fired, um, were you able to determine whether or not you made contact? [00:11:51] Speaker 2: I didn't know where I made contact, but I believed that I, that I made contact as he moved. [00:12:01] Vinny Palantan: Okay, we've got a lot more to get through, but let's bring in Court TV legal correspondent, Kelly Craft, who was inside the courtroom today, joining us live tonight from outside the courthouse. Whew. What was the reaction like to Brendan today? [00:12:18] Speaker 4: Hi there, Vinny. So, I'll describe the inside of the courtroom for you. So, we're all sitting there in the gallery on the one side and we don't ever show that side. This, this is the side that's packed with friends and family of Christine Banfield. You have her father, you have the mother sitting right next to him. I believe her sister, aunts and uncles and some friends of Christine. So, that side of the courtroom is really packed. Then you have this other side, Brendan Banfield's side, and so you have a few people on his side as well. And then you have the jurors, and when you see Brendan Banfield looking over like that, he is talking to the jurors. So, those of us in the gallery are, are really just hanging on every single word, wondering what is going to come out of his mouth next. But, when you're watching the jurors as he's providing his testimony, same kind of response from some of them as yesterday. Hands crossed, arms crossed in front of their chest. Three men in the front row in particular. Another young woman was drinking out of one of the really large water bottles throughout his testimony today. Another gentleman in the back taking some notes and really analyzing the notes as if to indicate I'm confused as to what he's saying here. Is this even making sense? It was intense. It was uncomfortable, as he was describing, for instance, walking in and seeing his wife, Christine, on all fours, nude, and then Joseph Ryan looking at him. And then you look over at her parents and her sister, and their reaction to that is just, it's unbelievable. So, very dramatic, intense, and a lot of people just trying to put it all together. Does this even make sense? [00:13:54] Vinny Palantan: Yeah, there's a lot of things that we just heard didn't make sense to me. Like the part where he's saying, can I leave? And he says, no, you're under arrest, but he's holding a knife to his wife. So, why wouldn't you just let him leave, make sure he doesn't go down in the basement, but get him out of the house, then take care of him when everyone's in safety? That doesn't make sense to me. All right, let's talk about direct testimony. What observations, and what can you tell us about direct? [00:14:21] Speaker 4: So, Vinny, the direct examination, he's able to give his version of events, and his defense counsel was guiding him along. And you could tell at times he was prompting him in a way to let him know, okay, this is where we're going here next, and then would request him about something if he didn't get across what he was hopeful to get across. So, on the direct examination, he was able to tell his story, even though it seemed like there were a lot of holes in it. But he was able to get some things across, for instance, talking about Joseph Ryan. Why don't we go ahead and play a little bit of that testimony as to what he said about him? [00:15:03] Speaker 3: Why did you shoot John Ryan on February 24th? He was attacking Christine. [00:15:11] Speaker 2: I mean, he was stabbing her. I mean, I wish I shot him earlier. [00:15:25] Speaker 4: And Vinny, he seemed to have an answer for everything, talking about the fact that his wife, Christine, was into sexual violence, and she would bring home images from the hospital, from her work as a nurse, that would show people that had been choked and other things. And so, he said she spent a lot of time looking at those things. That was definitely another uncomfortable moment inside the courtroom when he was giving testimony as to that. [00:15:52] Vinny Palantan: Yeah, and anything he says, he just, he's not a guy who strikes him as being very comfortable in his own skin to begin with. And that just gets amplified under all of these circumstances. Let's talk about the cross-examination, because cross, obviously, is the true test of any witness's testimony, any witness's story. What about cross? [00:16:14] Speaker 4: Vinny Cross was tough. She is an aggressive go-getter prosecutor, and she went at him with a lot of different questions, questioning a lot of the things that he put out there, in particular asking him about his love for Juliana, because he was making it seem like, I'm in love with my wife. And we've been together for 19 years. Juliana's just one of many women that I have affairs with. And then she brings out this 14-page letter that he wrote to Juliana, because she was trying to, in a way, break up with him on several different occasions. And this letter was written, I believe it was right before her arrest, and she was indicating she was trying to break up with him. Let's go ahead and play a little bit of that cross-examination, because it was good. [00:17:05] Speaker 5: These are the wounds on the left side of her neck, correct? [00:17:11] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:17:12] Speaker 5: Okay. And if I can have the witness and the jury take a look at previously admitted Commonwealth 25, also under seal. And these are the wounds on the right side of her neck, correct? [00:17:29] Speaker 2: Yes. [00:17:29] Speaker 5: Okay. And she's chatting with you with these wounds in her neck, correct? [00:17:35] Speaker 2: Yes. Her voice is very hoarse. She was having difficulty speaking, but yes, she was talking to me. [00:17:45] Speaker 4: So, Vinny, that was such a great question, because on direct examination, he is talking about what you mentioned in the introduction, to your program, talking about how she was saying to him, I'm sorry, I love you. But yet she had seven stab wounds that she had been suffering from. So, the prosecutor asked about this on cross-examination, basically saying, so you mean to tell me she was chatting with you? Take a look at these wounds. She was having a conversation with you that was very effective, and a lot of people were wondering about that when he talked about that on direct, so we're glad that she followed up with that on cross. [00:18:18] Vinny Palantan: Yeah, his story about what happened was much different than what I expected and what I anticipated. It was a lot more playing out like a dramatic scene from a bad movie. Okay. Brendan Banfield, obviously, the headline, the biggest story, the biggest moments in the trial. But what else happened today? [00:18:42] Speaker 4: Yeah, Vinny, when you talk about like a bad movie, there was a lot of reaction in regard to, is this for real? Did he really decide to take the stand and give this story? And then the prosecutor really got in a lot of zingers. Those were some of the comments from inside the courtroom. So one of the things that the prosecutor did in her rebuttal case is she brought forth someone who supervised Brendan Banfield in the IRS investigation's office because Brendan Banfield, on direct examination, was talking about that day in which Christine Banfield was stabbed to death and Joseph Ryan was shot. And Brendan Banfield described it as, "I was going to be getting a promotion, and I was going to be going in for this big meeting on that day." Well, the prosecutor brings a witness to the stand who supervised, Brendan Banfield, who basically was indicating that was not true, that he was out of town and another lady that could have possibly been meeting with him was out of the country. So definitely got out some information here that that story certainly was not adding up. [00:19:44] Vinny Palantan: Yeah, that's problematic, too, right? Like, that's one of those things you could testify about, "Nah, they're not, what are they going to do, they're going to subpoena the guys, they don't know, nobody remembers what they're doing that day, but people do remember." All right, Kelly Craft, amazing work. Tomorrow, huge day, obviously, closing arguments, same name as this program, so we know it's going to be big and important. So we look forward to speaking with you tomorrow night when we could be talking about a verdict. Kelly Craft in Virginia, thank you so much. Thank you, Finney. All right, folks, we've got a lot more to get to. We're going to bring in our think tank, they're standing by. There we go, Allie, Lori, Carmen, ready to go. Plus, coming up next hour. Tonight on Vinnie Politan Investigates, Brendan Banfield tells his story on the witness stand in the Au Pair Affair murder trial. Will the jury believe him? What does his body language say? Tonight, we investigate. [00:20:42] Speaker 6: Did an affair lead to double murder? The Commonwealth's Attorney's Office has secured an indictment against Brandon Banfield for the murder of his wife, Christine, and the murder of Mr. Ryan. [00:20:51] Speaker 4: Prosecutors allege the defendant planned to run away with the family's Au Pair, so he killed his wife and another man. [00:20:58] Speaker 7: Use him, we're going to cure her, we're going to cure her. [00:21:01] Speaker 8: It's a case of sex, lies, and deadly deception. The Au Pair Affair murder trial, live coverage weekday mornings on Cork TV. [00:21:12] Speaker 3: What did you think when you made the decision to shoot Joe Ryan? [00:21:20] Speaker 2: That he was in imminent danger, that he was a threat to every -- he was a threat to Christine, and that that was the best way to stop -- to stop his actions. [00:21:34] Vinny Palantan: Well, if you want to stop the threat, you might shoot more than once. Like, that's your police training. You shot him once, then turned your back to him, so the Au Pair had to shoot him. Like, that's -- that's kind of strange, too. All right, Brandon Banfield on the stand. I opened the show talking about him trashing his wife, Christine, the woman who's dead. Take a listen. [00:22:00] Speaker 3: Have you ever used or looked at FetLife prior to the discovery that's come out in this case? No, I had never used or looked at or heard of FetLife previously. Were you aware of Christine using FetLife at all? [00:22:27] Speaker 2: No, I didn't have any knowledge of Christine using FetLife. There was a point a number of years ago that Christine had indicated that she was interested [00:22:40] Speaker 3: in bondage-type situations. In terms of your sexual relationship with Christine, what, if any, differences did you have? [00:22:58] Speaker 2: I was not interested in -- I was not interested in -- I was not interested in ever harming her. I wasn't -- I was never interested in sexual violence. I would say that we also had a discrepancy of how often we would like to have sex, or would like to have sex more frequently than we -- than we did. [00:23:28] Vinny Palantan: Okay. What's he gonna tell his daughter? Like, mommy liked to have strangers come over and rape her, and that's why she died? Let's bring in our think tank. Joining me tonight, Ali Benevento. Also with us, you know her as Lawyer Lori on TikTok, Criminal Defense Attorney Lori Murray, and, finally, Criminal Defense Attorney Legal Analyst Carmen Rowe. Great to see everyone tonight. What did you think, Ali, of the trashing of Christine today? [00:23:56] Speaker 7: I didn't like it, and I don't think that the jury is going to like it either. This gentleman's problem -- well, he has a few problems. Number one, he's not likable to begin with, and now I feel like he's making that worse. I have to imagine that the jurors do not appreciate the way he's talking. And to be honest with you, he's not coming across as credible or believable in any way. I do not understand the strategy behind putting him up there. I thought that there was a good chance that the defense could sit there without putting him on the stand, poke holes in the state's case, and probably get further. I feel like they've done themselves a disservice by putting him on the stand. He's not likable. He's saying things that juries are not going to want to hear. And also, he's saying things that just don't make any sense. Like, he's having these full, logical, measured conversations with a guy that he claims broke into his home, tried to rape and murder his wife. I'm sorry. It just does not come across as credible or believable in any way. I think this is a huge mistake from the defense team putting him up there. [00:24:56] Vinny Palantan: Lori. [00:24:59] Speaker 9: I agree with Ali. You know, the thing that I was listening to is the amount of detail that he is given. If you are going through something that traumatic, you don't have that much detail. And for that matter, you know, one of the things that first struck me is that he says he went into the room. He immediately barged into the room and announced himself as police. Not, hey, get off my wife. I'm police. Like, he knows that there's something going on that shouldn't be going on in that room. It's just not credible. Now, I think, and I disagree with Ali on this one a little bit, I think he had to take the stand, because I don't think that there was enough holes to be poked into the state story. I mean, you have the nanny coming in and testifying, so I think they almost had to. But I think I would question that decision given his likability factor. I don't think he has the likability factor. [00:25:45] Vinny Palantan: Did you call her the nanny? Did you call her? [00:25:48] Speaker 9: Yes, I did. [00:25:49] Vinny Palantan: She's, no, no, no. Au pair. [00:25:52] Speaker 9: Au pair. [00:25:53] Vinny Palantan: Next level. [00:25:54] Speaker ?: My bad. [00:25:54] Vinny Palantan: That's next level. All right. [00:25:56] Speaker 9: It's much more fancier. I got you. [00:25:58] Vinny Palantan: I'm so sorry. Yeah. Carmen, what are your thoughts here? I can't get over this. Like, he's basically, Christine is totally getting trashed. The woman who was stabbed to death, apologizing to him. She's the one that's into the bondage. Yeah, I'm not into it. I'm not into sexual violence, meaning that mommy is. [00:26:21] Speaker ?: Yeah, Vinny. [00:26:23] Speaker 10: I mean, I agree with everybody on the panel. I think it was a mistake to testify. I think he put the nail in the coffin by doing so. But keep in mind that it's his right and it's his choice whether to testify. I think he's an arrogant person who thinks he is the smartest man in the room. I think that he thought he could come up here and explain everything to everyone. But the problem is, as my other colleagues have pointed out, this went real bad. And, you know, most importantly, there's absolutely no evidence that the victim in this case ever engaged in this type of sexual behavior. And for him to put it out there was awful. But the worst thing I heard that I thought was so disgusting is that he actually suggested that she handled rape victims and other people who had been injured and gone to the hospital. And that she would actually take these files home and spend time with them as if this created some sexual gratification for her. That, to me, was beyond the pale. [00:27:21] Vinny Palantan: It's next level. Let's take a listen to a little more here as he talks about the au pair shooting Joseph Ryan. [00:27:30] Speaker 2: Christine told me that she was bleeding out and that she was sorry and that she loved me. And what did you tell her? It was at this point that there was another shot. And I looked up and I saw that Juliana had my other firearm. And I was stunned that Juliana had shot. [00:28:18] Vinny Palantan: He was shocked that his lover, who he had taken to the gun range, had just shot Joseph Ryan. Huh. How about that, Allie? [00:28:28] Speaker 7: Again, way too much detail here. If you actually walked into a room and saw your wife, unbeknownst to you, engaged in a sexual activity with another man who was then trying to harm her. I don't imagine that you're sitting there paying attention to every single detail. The way this man is able to sit on the stand, deadpan by the way, and recite all of these details, step by step, millisecond by millisecond. It's not believable at all. And it is just making him look awful. Once again, I think they should have stuck to their theory of tunnel vision. I think that there were enough problems with the state's case. I think they've handed the state a gift. And again, I disagree with Lori. I don't think he had to get up there. And he definitely shouldn't have. [00:29:13] Vinny Palantan: So why did Juliana shoot Joseph Ryan? What do you think, Lori? Why did the au pair shoot Joseph Ryan? [00:29:22] Speaker 9: I mean, are we sure that she did? Did she testify that she did? I don't remember that. Oh yeah. No, she absolutely did. Well, I think that maybe it was a... I mean, if you go along with the state's theory, I would think that it was to say that there was so much danger here that even she had to step in because he was about to get the better of Banfield. But I don't know. I don't know why she would shoot him other than to make it a little bit more credible for everybody. I think that one of the pieces of the story that he said was, you know, that the guy even asked for him to be able to leave. You know, just let me leave. And then, you know, two seconds later, he raises the knife again. It just doesn't make sense. Ali's completely right. And I do see the same thing she said, deadpan. He looks like he's trying to muster some tears, but there is not a one on his face that I have seen. [00:30:15] Vinny Palantan: No, no. He could not get one out. Carmen, go ahead. [00:30:20] Speaker 10: Look, I know why she shot him because she was part of this conspiracy. I still think that it's troubling to me that the Commonwealth doesn't believe that this 20 year old from out of the country could be more complicit or part of the planning in this case. I mean, we don't know what happened in this in that room. All we can do is trust what she says or what he says, neither one of which makes any sense to me. But at the end of the day, she's getting this sweetheart deal because she came in first and Banfield broke the number one rule in any murder case. Don't commit murders when anybody else is present because they almost always and certainly in this case testify against you and get these kinds of deals. I don't think the Commonwealth needed her. I don't think they should have made this deal with her. And I think most of our viewers agree with that because what they did in that room together as part of a bigger plan was so horrible. [00:31:15] Vinny Palantan: It was horrific. All right. When we come back, we're going to take a look at the cross examination of Brendan Banfield. Big, big day in Virginia. And tomorrow, closing arguments, the jury will have the case. So we'll be on a verdict watch. [00:31:36] Speaker 5: Let's talk about Christine and her apparent decision to solicit someone to fake rape her. You would agree you have not seen today, nor are you aware of any phone history, computer history, indicating that she was interested in this type of relationship. Prior to January of 2023, correct? [00:32:09] Speaker 2: I was aware that she was interested in this, in this type of thing, but I was unaware of the messages or that she was pursuing this again, as had been many years since she had expressed those feelings. [00:32:25] Vinny Palantan: So the answer is, yeah, we talked about it, but you know, nothing, I guess nothing came of it. That's again, like there's, there's nothing to corroborate his trashing of Christine. There's nothing there other than the words coming out of his mouth. Probably the reason that he's testifying because those certain facts aren't found anywhere else. So they've got to come from somewhere. Take a listen to some more cross-examination here of Brendan Banfield. Again, talking about fetish websites. [00:32:57] Speaker 5: You've had multiple affairs, correct? Yes. Okay. And one of those affairs was with a woman named Danielle, who you met on a fetish site searching for sugar babies. Is that correct? [00:33:10] Speaker 2: I would not call it a fetish site. Okay. [00:33:16] Speaker 5: What would you call it? [00:33:18] Speaker 2: An arranged relationship. Okay. [00:33:24] Speaker 5: But you were looking for someone to be your sugar baby? [00:33:28] Speaker 2: I guess it was a relationship where they would already know that I was married. [00:33:40] Vinny Palantan: So someone in the house is on the computer looking for sex, Lori, but apparently it's not Christine. [00:33:49] Speaker 9: I think he's the very definition of someone who would have to have a sugar baby. This guy looks like he has no game and he's actually actively looking for an affair. And I think that's one of the also very offensive things that he talks about with his wife is that he says she was cheating on him. There's no proof of that. It's just his words. Just another way to malign her after her death and extremely hard to hear, I'm sure, for her family. But yeah, I mean, he was looking for it. And look, all he had to do was look around the corner down the hall and he found it. [00:34:25] Vinny Palantan: Yep. Carmen, I want you to take a listen to this. I've got Brendan Banfield here. And I think this may have been a huge slip by the IRS armed agent. Take a listen. [00:34:39] Speaker 5: In this letter, you profess your undying love for Juliana. [00:34:43] Speaker 2: Yes, it appears that I was I was definitely in love with her. Definitely starting in this definitely starting in the summer of 23. [00:34:57] Speaker 5: Oh, OK. So it was just before she was arrested that you were fully in love with her. [00:35:04] Speaker 2: Well, that's when we had an opportunity to actually have a bit of a relationship with other points were obviously very separated. I mean, I was still spent I was still working a lot. I Christine was Christine. I was obviously still around and I was spending a lot of time with her. [00:35:29] Vinny Palantan: Christine was still around like, oh, we couldn't do it. Christine is still around. So once we got rid of her, then we could fall in love. Wow. [00:35:39] Speaker 10: Vinny, I think it is hilarious. I watched this cross all afternoon and that's where I got stuck. I actually wrote that quote down because it's like, wait, she wasn't around anymore because before when she was around, I couldn't solidify this relationship. And now she's not around. So it's all good. I mean, there are so many times that he makes little statements that you're like, wait, what? And this is one that I couldn't get past. It was just it was one of those things where this had always been planned and we couldn't really be together until she was out of the picture gone. And now she is. And so everything's great in my home after that. And it's just it's chilling to listen to some of these things and know that he planned this out and brutally murdered his wife to be with this au pair. [00:36:27] Vinny Palantan: Ali sounds like he's confirming his his motive for the jury. Just in case you missed the the bathtub pictures or his ringless hand on the au pair's thigh. He sort of confirmed it. [00:36:41] Speaker 7: He did. And again, I know I sound like a broken record here. I just don't understand the purpose of this. Like, let's all not forget, we're all criminal defense attorneys here on the panel. He does not have a responsibility to prove the state's theory of the case wrong. That is not his burden. That is not his responsibility. I don't understand what they're doing here. The jury. If they still had questions after the close of the state's case, they can only ask those questions of the state. Why are there unanswered questions? Why do we still not know things? Why do we still not know what happened? They don't they're not allowed to look to Mr. Banfield for that to make him give them that explanation. And for some reason, I feel like he's trying to give that explanation. And he's not only failing miserably, but it just it makes absolutely no strategic sense from a defense standpoint. None whatsoever. [00:37:30] Vinny Palantan: No, he's sitting in the same chair in the same courtroom that Johnny Depp sat in. What a different type of result and vibe. All right, Lori, I've got one more thing to play for you. This is Brendan. And, you know, the ladies just seem to love this guy. Take a listen. [00:37:46] Speaker 5: Another one of your affairs was with your best friend's wife. Is that correct? [00:37:53] Speaker 2: No. First, he's not my best friend. Number two, they were not married. They were not even together at that point. [00:38:00] Speaker 5: They were is that your understanding of what they believed or is that how you perceived their relationship? Did they think they were together? [00:38:14] Speaker 2: I don't think so. She my understanding is that she wanted to be with him and they were not together at that point. OK, but no, they were and they were definitely not married at that point or anything like that. [00:38:26] Speaker 5: OK, but you were married at that point. [00:38:28] Speaker 2: Yes, I was married at that point. [00:38:31] Vinny Palantan: Yeah. How about Lori? My best friend's girlfriend. [00:38:37] Speaker 9: I mean, again, I'm so yeah, I can't believe that he gets this many women. Like I said, I thought he was the prime example of someone who would need a sugar baby, someone he had to pay to, you know, be around him. But I mean, it's the lowest of the low. And I honestly now want to know, are they married or are they not married? Because, you know, and then the thing is, when the prosecutors answering or asking that question, I believe her clearly they must be married. And I think he must be wrong. And that should tell you something as to how this cross examination has gone for him. I believe her when she starts asking those questions. But what a prince of a guy. What a prince of a guy. And every time you talk about another affair in this case or, you know, that he has had, it makes the probability in my mind that he would commit this murder even greater. I think that showing how much he wanted out of that marriage is evident by the number of affairs that he had. [00:39:33] Vinny Palantan: Yeah. I mean, but I've seen attorneys in their clothes say, well, why would he kill her? He's got his cake and he's eating it too, right? He's got all these women at his disposal. He's got one even at home. There's no reason to kill her because he can just continue on, be married to Christine and have his little au pair on the side. Carmen, do you think they'll make that argument? But he was in love. [00:39:56] Speaker 9: But he was in love. Maybe. No, no, no. [00:39:59] Vinny Palantan: The love didn't happen until Christine was out of the way. Right. [00:40:03] Speaker 9: But I think it's the point that he said that I was trying to be in love, but I needed to get rid of Christine. [00:40:09] Speaker 7: Can I bring us back to the point, though, that they're doing a great job of proving that this guy is a POS, but they're not really talking a whole lot about what actually happened. And I don't think that the state has really done a great job in this case of proving their case. So, yeah, they're making him look like a terrible person and he's really helping them very well. He's a great witness for the state. But again, I think this is a distraction. I think it'll probably be an effective one, but they're doing a good job of proving he's a bad guy. And I think they're doing that out of desperation because they know that their case has some problems. Interesting. [00:40:42] Vinny Palantan: Carmen, I'll give you the last word tonight. [00:40:44] Speaker 10: I think it's love on the rocks. I don't think this is going to go very far. But seriously, I mean, I think the au pair was the game changer. He's had other affairs, none with this woman until her. There was never a plan and there was never a murder. Yeah. [00:41:00] Vinny Palantan: And she's great with kids. Carmen Rowe, Lori Murray, Allie Benevento. Thank you so much. Great to have you on the program. When we come back, I will reveal something else you need to know tonight. Plus, coming up next hour. Tonight on Vinnie Politan Investigates, Brendan Banfield tells his version of how his wife Christine was murdered. How does it compare to the au pairs version? [00:41:24] Speaker 8: Tonight, we investigate. The Manchin Murders Trial. [00:41:42] Vinny Palantan: Live coverage weekday mornings, 8/7 central on Court TV. [00:41:46] Speaker 8: Time to reveal something else you need to know tonight. Let's take a look at the big board. 20 years for a former Illinois sheriff's deputy for shooting Sonia Massey, who had dialed 911 to report a prowler outside of her house. [00:42:06] Vinny Palantan: 20 years for a former Illinois sheriff's deputy for shooting Sonia Massey, who had dialed 911 to report a prowler outside of her house. 20 years for a former Illinois sheriff's deputy for shooting Sonia Massey, who had dialed 911 to report a prowler outside of her house. 20 years for a former Illinois sheriff's deputy for shooting Sonia Massey, who had dialed 911 to report a prowler outside of her house. But when he got inside her home, things got really bizarre and strange. He asked for six years. He says he has colon cancer and is dying. Judge gave him 20. Let me show you the body camera video from this fatal shooting. We don't need this. [00:42:41] Speaker 6: We don't need a fire while we're here. Right. [00:42:44] Speaker 9: Okay. [00:42:45] Speaker ?: Are you going? Huh? Where are you going? Away from your hot steam and water. Away from my hot steam and water? Yeah. Oh, I was repeating you in the name of Jesus. I'll snoop you when I was doing it. You better not. That's where I got. I'll shoot you right in your face. Okay. Okay, I'm sorry. [00:42:58] Speaker 6: Drop the pot. Drop the pot. Drop the pot. Drop the pot. [00:43:02] Speaker ?: You better not. [00:43:02] Speaker 6: That's where I got. I'll shoot you right in your face. Okay. I'm sorry. Drop the pot. Drop the pot. [00:43:08] Speaker ?: Drop the pot. Drop the pot. [00:43:11] Speaker 6: 14 shots fired. [00:43:18] Vinny Palantan: It made no sense. It made no sense. They're laughing and joking. One minute. Next minute she's shooting because she's got a pot of water that he told her to get off of the stove. What is going on? 20 years. All right. Take a look at your screens. We have a missing child who needs your help tonight. This is LaTosha Renna McLeod. Missing since the 23rd out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Just 17 years old. This is what you can do. If you see LaTosha, take a look at the picture. If you see LaTosha, make a call. Make a difference. 911. 1-800-THE-LOST. Or you can call the Fort Lauderdale Police Department down in Florida. That number's on your screen right now. Let's see if we can get LaTosha to a safe place tonight. Don't go anywhere. We have another hour of live true crime. Vinnie Politan Investigates is next. In the meantime, please don't forget to unmute. Don't forget to hug the kids.