Fairfax County Double Murder

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m probably the only one here saying this, but I’m betting he is found not guilty.

respectfully, i’d say there’s very little chance of a not guilty verdict. i’d say there’s is a chance of a hung jury.

I agree. This is not the professional operation that the Karen Read trial was.

How much does a lawyer like the one Karen Read had cost? How much does the guy BB has cost? I'm curious how these things work - do you pay up front or on an hourly basis?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Which one was Tess?

She was subpoenaed, so not allowed to be in the courtroom in case she testified.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The sheer indignity of Christine's death enrages me. By all accounts she was kind, smart, hardworking, dedicated to her family and job. She dealt with being married to a cheating POS for her daughter's sake. She made majority of the household income and spent her free time finding fun things to do with her daughter. And this arrogant, nasty, soft pasty "man" not only murders her in cold blood, but he sets her up in such a disgusting way. To make it look like she wants to be raped, to say she was turned on by her job as a sexual assault nurse, to call her a cheater without a shred of evidence. What on earth could this woman have done to deserve such indignity?!?!

He could have plead guilty to spare his daughter listening to all the records when she grows up. But this narcist wanted his day in court.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Admittedly I didn't listen to the jury instructions (are those posted online anywhere? I tried googling). But there was something about the aggravated homicide charge needing 2 people killed within 3 years or same transaction - what if the jury is convinced on Christine but not on Joe?

I guess they did not want to charge separately because of whatever sentencing attaches (?), but they kind of put the bar higher for themselves than they needed to? I understand they may have done for strategic reasons.

Full disclosure - not a lawyer. I haven’t seen the jury instructions..I doubt they’d be posted online. I was of the understanding that juries in VA can return convictions for lesser offenses than what was charged in the indictment(s). What’s interesting is this CNN article ( https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/30/us/brendan-banfield-jury-double-murder-trial ) says “Prosecutors and Banfield’s defense attorney agreed not to offer the jury less severe homicide charges to consider against Banfield.” I’m wondering if that’s because this was charged as basically 2 premeditated murders in 1 rather than separate counts. Sorry if I’m basically just repeating your question in my response.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Admittedly I didn't listen to the jury instructions (are those posted online anywhere? I tried googling). But there was something about the aggravated homicide charge needing 2 people killed within 3 years or same transaction - what if the jury is convinced on Christine but not on Joe?

I guess they did not want to charge separately because of whatever sentencing attaches (?), but they kind of put the bar higher for themselves than they needed to? I understand they may have done for strategic reasons.

Full disclosure - not a lawyer. I haven’t seen the jury instructions..I doubt they’d be posted online. I was of the understanding that juries in VA can return convictions for lesser offenses than what was charged in the indictment(s). What’s interesting is this CNN article ( https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/30/us/brendan-banfield-jury-double-murder-trial ) says “Prosecutors and Banfield’s defense attorney agreed not to offer the jury less severe homicide charges to consider against Banfield.” I’m wondering if that’s because this was charged as basically 2 premeditated murders in 1 rather than separate counts. Sorry if I’m basically just repeating your question in my response.

I lost a bit of confidence when the CW attorney said she was just sailing with the original indictment and then they were fumbling to figure out which charges they wanted to proceed on. The jury instructions and the nature of the charges are often the most important thing in the jury room.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Admittedly I didn't listen to the jury instructions (are those posted online anywhere? I tried googling). But there was something about the aggravated homicide charge needing 2 people killed within 3 years or same transaction - what if the jury is convinced on Christine but not on Joe?

I guess they did not want to charge separately because of whatever sentencing attaches (?), but they kind of put the bar higher for themselves than they needed to? I understand they may have done for strategic reasons.

Full disclosure - not a lawyer. I haven’t seen the jury instructions..I doubt they’d be posted online. I was of the understanding that juries in VA can return convictions for lesser offenses than what was charged in the indictment(s). What’s interesting is this CNN article ( https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/30/us/brendan-banfield-jury-double-murder-trial ) says “Prosecutors and Banfield’s defense attorney agreed not to offer the jury less severe homicide charges to consider against Banfield.” I’m wondering if that’s because this was charged as basically 2 premeditated murders in 1 rather than separate counts. Sorry if I’m basically just repeating your question in my response.

PP here. I just looked up the VA Codes. The statutory minimum for First Degree Murder (of 1 person) is 20yrs, max is Life. The minimum for Aggravated murder is Life. I do think your question about setting the bar high is a good one. Personally, I think he’ll be found guilty, but we’ll see about the possibility of a hung jury. IMO, no chance at a not guilty verdict.

[Anonymous]

I was reading BB’s letters to Juliana and I’m concerned about how hard it actually is to be hired by the IRS….

[Anonymous]

“Irreplacible”
“Beleive”

It hurts to read these.

[Anonymous]

“Fufillment”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was reading BB’s letters to Juliana and I’m concerned about how hard it actually is to be hired by the IRS….

That was your takeaway?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Admittedly I didn't listen to the jury instructions (are those posted online anywhere? I tried googling). But there was something about the aggravated homicide charge needing 2 people killed within 3 years or same transaction - what if the jury is convinced on Christine but not on Joe?

I guess they did not want to charge separately because of whatever sentencing attaches (?), but they kind of put the bar higher for themselves than they needed to? I understand they may have done for strategic reasons.

Full disclosure - not a lawyer. I haven’t seen the jury instructions..I doubt they’d be posted online. I was of the understanding that juries in VA can return convictions for lesser offenses than what was charged in the indictment(s). What’s interesting is this CNN article ( https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/30/us/brendan-banfield-jury-double-murder-trial ) says “Prosecutors and Banfield’s defense attorney agreed not to offer the jury less severe homicide charges to consider against Banfield.” I’m wondering if that’s because this was charged as basically 2 premeditated murders in 1 rather than separate counts. Sorry if I’m basically just repeating your question in my response.

PP here. I just looked up the VA Codes. The statutory minimum for First Degree Murder (of 1 person) is 20yrs, max is Life. The minimum for Aggravated murder is Life. I do think your question about setting the bar high is a good one. Personally, I think he’ll be found guilty, but we’ll see about the possibility of a hung jury. IMO, no chance at a not guilty verdict.

They really wanted to put him in for life then and may have worried about a compromised verdict. But I'm curious what the CW had to prove in order to show that he "killed" two people. Is it enough that he set the whole thing up? That he told Juliana to shoot? Or did he need to deliver the kill shot to Joe for it to qualify? Maybe a VA criminal lawyer will chime in and reassure me!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Admittedly I didn't listen to the jury instructions (are those posted online anywhere? I tried googling). But there was something about the aggravated homicide charge needing 2 people killed within 3 years or same transaction - what if the jury is convinced on Christine but not on Joe?

I guess they did not want to charge separately because of whatever sentencing attaches (?), but they kind of put the bar higher for themselves than they needed to? I understand they may have done for strategic reasons.

Full disclosure - not a lawyer. I haven’t seen the jury instructions..I doubt they’d be posted online. I was of the understanding that juries in VA can return convictions for lesser offenses than what was charged in the indictment(s). What’s interesting is this CNN article ( https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/30/us/brendan-banfield-jury-double-murder-trial ) says “Prosecutors and Banfield’s defense attorney agreed not to offer the jury less severe homicide charges to consider against Banfield.” I’m wondering if that’s because this was charged as basically 2 premeditated murders in 1 rather than separate counts. Sorry if I’m basically just repeating your question in my response.

PP here. I just looked up the VA Codes. The statutory minimum for First Degree Murder (of 1 person) is 20yrs, max is Life. The minimum for Aggravated murder is Life. I do think your question about setting the bar high is a good one. Personally, I think he’ll be found guilty, but we’ll see about the possibility of a hung jury. IMO, no chance at a not guilty verdict.

They really wanted to put him in for life then and may have worried about a compromised verdict. But I'm curious what the CW had to prove in order to show that he "killed" two people. Is it enough that he set the whole thing up? That he told Juliana to shoot? Or did he need to deliver the kill shot to Joe for it to qualify? Maybe a VA criminal lawyer will chime in and reassure me!

I’m still the non-lawyer PP, but the code for aggravated murder requires that they’re (all) premeditated. Theoretically, that means there has to be proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the murder of both Joe and Christine was planned in advance.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, but there is literally no way his daughter is going to grow up to be a happy, healthy, normal woman. It's tragic, but her having half his DNA makes it impossible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was reading BB’s letters to Juliana and I’m concerned about how hard it actually is to be hired by the IRS….

All you need is an Associate's degree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was reading BB’s letters to Juliana and I’m concerned about how hard it actually is to be hired by the IRS….

That was your takeaway?

It called my attention, yes!

What was yours ? If you bothered to answer passive aggressively, you must have a really interesting one and is dying to share it