Transcript

Mistress testifies against man accused of BDSM plot to murder his wife

From True Crime News · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 60 min · 8,509 words · 90 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "Mistress testifies against man accused of BDSM plot to murder his wife", an episode of True Crime News published January 20, 2026 (60 min, about 8,509 words). It mentions 20 people, works and ideas, including Brandon Banfield, Juliana Magalace, Allison Treel, Christine Banfield, Paul Canro.

What this episode is about

A mistress testifies against a man accused of orchestrating a BDSM-themed murder plot to kill his wife, highlighting the extreme lengths of betrayal and manipulation in a shocking and complex case. The investigation reveals sophisticated planning and raises questions about morality, trust, and familial loyalty, as it also involves a brother implicated in a separate family murder.

Key takeaways

  • When love becomes lethal: jealousy and betrayal fuel the darkest true crime stories.
  • Opaire involvement raises eyebrows; history shows their roles often twist into something sinister.
  • Investigators circle the closest first—don’t dismiss the grieving spouse as just a victim.
  • Self-defense claims can be a red herring; motive often hides behind a facade of fear.
  • Complicated plots could rival a soap opera, but true crime reveals the chilling reality beneath.

Who speaks in this episode?

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 5:00: Brandon Banfield, Juliana Magalace, Lewis Balanos, Virginia
  2. – 10:00: Christine Banfield, Brandon Banfield, Joseph Ryan, Virginia
  3. – 20:00: fatlife.com, Joseph Ryan
  4. – 25:00: Joseph Ryan
  5. – 35:00: Joseph Ryan
  6. – 40:00: Juliana Magalace, Joseph Ryan
  7. – 45:00: Paul Canro, New Jersey (Jersey), Keith Canro, Jennifer Canero
  8. – 50:00: Jennifer Canero, Jesse Canero, Sophia Canero, Ocean Township
  9. – 55:00: Jesse Canero
  10. – 59:33: Anna Garcia

Notable quotes from "Mistress testifies against man accused of BDSM plot to murder his wife"

  • Your regular host, Anna Garcia, is out this week. We wish her the best and hope to see her really soon. My name is Allison Treel. I am a criminal defense attorney and a legal…
    about Allison Treel · at
  • That they then orchestrated because according to the nanny, the Opair, Brandon wanted his wife gone and divorce was not an option for him. So they concocted basically Brandon as the mastermind, a phony home invasion using a BDSM.
    about Brandon Banfield · at
  • Witnesses to the horrors that unfolded in this home. They both alleged that Christine was attacked by Joseph before they intervened with the father and the nanny both shooting Joseph in what they claimed was self-defense.
    about Christine Banfield · at
  • While Christine is a pediatric ICU nurse who was acknowledged as a devoted and loving caretaker. The couple show shared a home in a suburban town in Virginia, which is it was an upscale suburb right near Washington DC.
    about Virginia · at
  • They set up a profile and basically they say that this woman that Christine wants to meet people seeking fetish sex meetups including fantasy rapes being tied up. This is a woman who is a.
    about fatlife.com · at
  • Conscience, according to her, led her to make a deal with the prosecutors. On October 29th, 2024, Juliana plead guilty to a charge of manslaughter for her part in the fatal…
    about Juliana Magalace · at
  • After enacting the alleged murderous rampage, Paul is accused of setting fire to Keith's home before setting fire to his own home. So, I'm going to give us some background and then we're going to jump in. Okay.
    about Paul Canro · at
  • Keith Cano founded the company Square One in the early 90s doing tech consulting and installing networks. As the company took off, Keith hired his first employee who was his older brother.
    about Keith Canro · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • Brandon Banfield — Person · Accused perpetrator (Case 1 defendant) · 3 mentions · first at
    Central defendant in the Virginia trial discussed; alleged to have masterminded a staged home-invasion plot leading to two deaths.
  • Juliana Magalace — Person · Key witness / alleged co-conspirator (Case 1) · 3 mentions · first at
    Au pair whose testimony is described as the backbone of the prosecution’s narrative; alleged participant in planning and in the shooting of Joseph Ryan.
  • Allison Treel — Person · Host (fill-in) / main narrator · 1 mention · first at
    Leads the episode, frames both cases, summarizes allegations, and interviews the homicide detective co-host/guest.
  • Christine Banfield — Person · Victim (Case 1) · 4 mentions · first at
    Murder victim whose death is central to the alleged staged home-invasion plot; described as a pediatric ICU nurse and mother.
  • Paul Canro — Person · Accused perpetrator (Case 2 defendant) · 2 mentions · first at
    Primary defendant in the New Jersey quadruple-homicide trial; alleged to have killed his brother and family and set fires to conceal the crime.
  • Joseph Ryan — Person · Victim (Case 1) · 6 mentions · first at
    Second homicide victim in the Banfield case; described as lured via fetish-site messaging and shot during the incident.
    To find Christine Banszfield stabbed in her bedroom with an unknown male, later determined to be Joseph Ryan, fatally shot nearby.
  • Lewis Balanos — Person · Co-host / referenced expert (homicide detective) · 2 mentions · first at
    Provides investigative perspective on both cases, including red flags, interrogation/Miranda issues, and evidentiary interpretation.
    Well, I think you know in investigator 101, one of the first things they teach you, and we talk about this all the time on this program, is that you always start with the individual closest to the victim first, right? That's.
  • Keith Canro — Person · Victim (Case 2) · 1 mention · first at
    Brother of the accused in the New Jersey case; alleged to have been killed after confronting Paul about missing trust funds.
  • Jesse Canero — Person · Victim (Case 2) · 3 mentions · first at
    Child victim in the New Jersey case; described as stabbed to death.
    Brother Keith along with Keith's wife Jennifer who is 45, their 11-year-old son Jesse, and their 8-year-old daughter Sophia.
  • Jennifer Canero — Person · Victim (Case 2) · 2 mentions · first at
    Wife of Keith and one of the four homicide victims in the New Jersey case; described as shot and stabbed.
    Lower back and four to the head. to the head. Inside Keith's home, authorities discovered that his wife, Jennifer, has a gunshot wound to the head and multiple stab wounds to…
  • Sophia Canero — Person · Victim (Case 2) · 2 mentions · first at
    Child victim in the New Jersey case; described as stabbed 17 times and inhaling smoke, emphasized as especially horrific evidence.
    Discover that both of Keith's children, Jesse, who's 11, has been stabbed to death, and Sophia, who is 8 and only weighs 45 pounds, has been stabbed 17 times. In addition, upon…
  • Anna Garcia — Person · Regular host (absent this episode) · 2 mentions · first at
    Named as the usual host of the podcast; her absence sets up Allison Treel as fill-in host.
    Your regular host, Anna Garcia, is out this week. We wish her the best and hope to see her really soon. My name is Allison Treel. I am a criminal defense attorney and a legal analyst and I will be filling in I will be filling in.

Companies & orgs

  • Square One — Company · Business focus · 1 mention · first at
    Tech consulting company founded by Keith Canro, central to the financial success of the Canro brothers.
    The company took off, Keith hired his first employee who was his older brother Paul to come aboard. Keith owned 90% of the company and he gave 40% of the he gave 10% of the…
  • Ecostar — Company · Business focus · 1 mention · first at
    Pest control company acquired by the Canro brothers, mentioned in the context of their business ventures.
    It led to their financial success and looking to expand further they acquired the pest control company Ecostar around 2011. Now in that deal it was a 50/50 split. That company was not nearly, however, as successful as the tech.

Concepts & topics

  • fatlife.com — Concept · Core topic · 1 mention · first at
    BDSM fetish site used in the alleged plot by Brandon and Juliana to orchestrate Christine's murder.

Places & events

  • Virginia — Place · Setting · 3 mentions · first at
    Location where the first case involving the Banfield family murders took place.
  • New Jersey (Jersey) — Place · Setting · 2 mentions · first at
    Location where the second case involving the Canro family murders took place.
    Deserves our attention, too. And this is another case involving family members. It's out of New Jersey and it is also, if to be believed, a very sinister plot by one brother against another. And so this is Paul Canro. He's 59 years old.
  • Ocean Township — Place · Setting · 2 mentions · first at
    Location of Paul Canro's home, where he allegedly set fire to destroy evidence.
    Sprawling landscape with celebrity residents including Bruce Springsteen and members of Bon Joby. Meanwhile, purch Paul purchased a lavish home in Ocean Township, New Jersey to…
  • Colts Neck — Place · Setting · 1 mention · first at
    Luxurious estate location where Keith Canro and his family lived before the murders.
    So they've got a family here and then they go to this home and at around 12:38 p.m. responders in Coltneck arrive at Keith's home for a to follow up on a report of a fire. as…
  • Washington, D.C. — Place · Setting · 1 mention · first at
    Nearby city to the suburban town in Virginia where the Banfield family lived.
    While Christine is a pediatric ICU nurse who was acknowledged as a devoted and loving caretaker. The couple show shared a home in a suburban town in Virginia, which is it was an upscale suburb right near Washington DC.

Full transcript with timestamps

A word of warning, this podcast explores graphic and disturbing stories and includes some strong language. It therefore may not be suitable for our young listeners or other folks who may find it disturbing. Hello and welcome to True Crime News, the podcast. These podcasts cover both high-profile and under the radar cases. Your regular host, Anna Garcia, is out this week. We wish her the best and hope to see her really soon. My name is Allison Treel. I am a criminal defense attorney and a legal analyst and I will be filling in I will be filling in Anna's very big shoes today. But thankfully I am joined by um Lewis Balanos who is a uh veteran homicide detective. He has 30 years of experience and God knows we're going to need it because for the two cases we're covering today, it is all about investigation, investigation, investigation. So, Lewis, I'm so happy to have you join me today as we walk our viewers through two

really unbelievable cases of love and family and betrayal that ultimately ends in multiple murders.

Right. It's just two incredible cases. And I got to say, I've seen a lot that are pretty bad, but these may be two of the worst that I've ever seen in my entire career. Yeah.

So unnecessary on so many levels. Yeah. And complex. I mean, the the first one that we're going to talk about um the there's a lot of sophistication in the planning. And if he um and and the trial's underway, he's obviously presumed not guilty, but if he's found not guilty and it turns out that he actually did it, wow, did he pull off something else. because this is as complicated and complex as I've ever seen. And the other one um it it's you know the this is two brothers that are best friends that are in business together and one is accused of not just killing him but also killing his entire family. So, with that, what I'd like to do, Lewis, is I'd like to discuss the background of the case and um and then I'm going to turn to you as our expert because I'm so interested in the investigations and how these played out and in your mind, what could have been done, what should have been done. But

let's start off by talking about the Opair case. Okay. Absolutely. All right. So, we're recording today, Friday, January 16th, 2025. And I'm going to give you a summary, Lewis, and our listeners about our first case. On trial right now in Virginia is Brandon Bansfield. He's 40 years old. He is on trial for the murder of his wife Christine Banfield, who was 37 at the time, and Joseph Ryan, 39, who were both found dead in the Bansville's home in Virginia. Brandon was allegedly, and this is what the prosecutors have alleged in their opening statement. And now we've heard from the nanny, the Opair, Julianne Magalace, and her testimony. Lewis, wow, do I want to talk about it. I actually sat through six hours of watching it in preparation for today because I was just fixated on what she was going to say. So, she is at the heart of this case. Her testimony has been crucial.

And the prosecutors alleged that these two began an affair that they then orchestrated because according to the nanny, the Opair, Brandon wanted his wife gone and divorce was not an option for him. So they concocted basically Brandon as the mastermind, a phony home invasion using a BDSM fetish site. It is as crazy as what I just said, but I'm going to get into a little of the particulars. The case begins with a 911 call that led police to the discovery of two dead bodies and a sprawling investigation that took months and and I want to talk to you about that because it took months for police to uncover um the depths of this crime.

After separate calls to dispatch, responders arrive at the Bansfield home to find Christine Banszfield stabbed um in her bedroom with an unknown male, later determined to be Joseph Ryan, fatally shot nearby. Christine's husband, Brandon Banfield, and the family's live-in Opair, Juliana Mgalis, were the only surviving witnesses to the horrors that unfolded in this home. They both alleged that Christine was attacked by Joseph before they intervened with the father and the nanny both shooting Joseph in what they claimed was self-defense.

Okay. Question. When you walk in as an investigator, is anything with their story immediately raising red flags to you or are you is it so fresh, so new that you're not there yet? Well, I think you know in investigator 101, one of the first things they teach you, and we talk about this all the time on this program, is that you always start with the individual closest to the victim first, right? That that's generally where you start, unless there are obviously other very powerful indicators that take you instantly in a different direction. So, I think that's one of the things that started here. Um, and then they find out that there's an OPAIR involved. And you know, historically in law enforcement, especially lately, when Opairs are involved, it clicks it up just another notch at times because you think, uhoh, you know, is there a relationship going on between the husband and the OPAIR?

Now, Louis, are you are you because you know, on one hand, and I always want to know this. On one hand, you need to be sensitive because if the husband had nothing to do with it, he has just lost his wife. They have a young child, so he is now an only parent to a toddler, right?

So, you need to be sensitive to that, but you also don't want to miss key details early on in the investigation. So, can we talk a little bit about that?

Sure. Absolutely. Spot on. And yes, you do have to be sensitive, right? Because they're innocent until proven guilty, but your investigation still needs to move forward. But also the other side of it, not just being sensitive because you're a good human just in case, but you also want to be sensitive to the suspect because you don't want to shut them down. If you're anything other than sensitive and you're aggressive in your interview and start making accusations too early on, you're going to miss valuable statements potentially. So you want to increase the conversation because it really doesn't matter what they say in their story. You at that minimum you get them locked down into a story line and that's where you want to start.

Good. All right. Good to see those are the kinds of things that only someone like you would know. So thank you for that. So what the what the police um discover pretty immediately is that there is you there is no forced entry. So, they're questioning how did the man get inside the house? How were how were how was this pair able to respond to the home so quickly and intervene? Um, but then later, according to prosecutors, authorities find that this fatal incident was anything but coincidental. So, before we get into the fatal incident um that unfolded in the Banfield home, let's back up and talk about the Banfield family before the tragic events of February 23rd, 2023. And I want to keep uh note of that date because it is almost a year before anything in terms of of you know movement on the case for Brandon Bansfield takes place. Okay.

So Brandon and Christine Banfield were the type of hardworking couple you couldn't help but root for. Brandon is working as a law enforcement IRS officer. Okay. So he has a service weapon. Okay. [snorts] Right.

Um while Christine is a pediatric ICU nurse who was acknowledged as a devoted and loving caretaker. The couple show shared a home in a suburban town in Virginia, which is it was an upscale uh suburb right near Washington DC. After years of both parents working, the stress of raising their young daughter became too difficult to handle and their daughter had was just over 3 years old and the pair sought help of a living-in nanny or an Opair to help them alleviate the burden. That's how Juliana comes into the picture.

She is an Opair from S. Apollo Brazil and she comes to live in the family home. Juliana was seeking work in the states to build a better life. When she connected with the service that placed nannies in that area, though her mother had begged her not to leave, Juliana left her native home for the Bansfield in October of 2021. While the arrangement aimed to provide increased financial opportunities for Juliana and support for the Banfields, both parties quickly got more than they bargained for. In just under a year after living under the bandfield's roof, Brandon and Juliana struck struck up a romantic relationship that would spell the undoing of the family and an innocent bystander.

So, I want to stop right there for a minute. Exactly as you suspect, they begin a relationship. It doesn't appear or we we haven't learned yet that Christine ever discovered this relationship. As an investigator, are you immediately thinking, should I be connecting Juliana to Brandon, or is that way too early in the investigation?

Well, I think simply for the the most basic reason that she was present when all this happened, she's connected, right? So you have to look at her through the investigative eye. You can't discount her. So yes, I I would be connecting more than disconnecting at that time or attempting to connect.

Okay. So, she when she's speaking to the police and she does uh make a 911 call that we'll get into, but um Juliana claims that she did not initially regard her relationship with Brandon as that serious, but eventually the father began talking about a future with the nanny turned lover and envisioned a life. This is according to Juliana without his wife in the picture. According to Juliana's testimony, Brandon did not view divorce as an option due to the financial concerns, and he didn't want to lose custody um of his daughter or even split time uh with his wouldbe ex-wife. [snorts] So, on a trip to New York, Juliana says that Brandon began to form a plan to get rid of Christine.

And that plan would continue to develop over a series of months. And Juliana claims that Brandon knew he couldn't hire somebody to handle the job, fearing that a paper trail would be left behind. So, as an investigator, you know, right, that the less people that know about the plan, the better, right? somebody that's a law enforcement officer and he says to himself, "All right, well, if I'm going to do this, what's the best way to not get caught?" Right.

Right. Right. Like I I find it interesting in that scenario you just explained um that Juliana says, and she testifies to this that during the trip to New York, Brandon started coming up with it with the idea. He did that. He did that and since then he started chewing it up for the following months. Well, she was part of that discussion, right? She was just as much involved in it and I'm sure they're bouncing things off each other, which there are plenty of offramps before this murder. Plenty. She chose none of them. She chose none of them.

And um I'm going to jump ahead and say this girl got the deal of a lifetime. It is shocking. Some some people have said, "Well, without her, um, the prosecution's case falls apart." Maybe that's true. Maybe that's true. But she admits on the stand to shooting someone and it may have been the fatal shot cuz he was alive before Hannah, according to her testimony. And if things go her way during this trial, Juliana is going to get time served. Have you ever heard of such a sweetheart deal? No, not at all. Not at all. And I I watched, you tell me if if I'm recalling this correctly, but I watched some of Juliana's testimony and she's being questioned about uh they're at the point where Brandon is on or over uh his wife stabbing her and she makes a comment to him to the effect he is still moving the guy that he just shot.

Yeah. So she fires a shot to finish him off. Correct. Right. So in that whole scenario, the only person besides Brandon that knows exactly what happened in there that survived is Juliana.

That's correct. So that's one of the big carrots. And that that is correct. So let let me um let me explain this plan. Okay. This is the plan that the prosecutor explained in her opening statement. And this is the plan that was testified to by Juliana for over 6 hours on the stand uh including her direct and her cross. So Brandon needed a more organic way um for his wife to meet her untimely end. Juliana testified that she and Brandon created a profile for Christine on a website called fatlife.com using Christine's computer. So Christine worked as a nurse and sort of had odd hours. So sometimes she would sleep during the day if she worked the overnight shift. She would leave her backpack at the door. In her backpack is her computer, which both Juliana and Brandon, according to Juliana, readily accessed to create that. Juliana says that Brandon created it, but she was right there with him. She was right

there with him. That he creates this Fet Life account under Christine's name. He uses her profile information. He snaps a p a sexy picture of her gets he actually sends that picture to Juliana. They questioned her about it on the stand. They set up a profile and basically they say that this woman that Christine wants to meet people seeking fetish sex meetups including fantasy rapes being tied up. This is a woman who is a devoted and loving nurse who they have turned into as someone who's into fetish lifestyles who has a young child. Young child. So [snorts] the pair um after they upload the pictures of Christine um they start seeking appropriate suitors for her to meet up with. And one thing that was so interesting to me is they would immediately, according to Juliana, discount anybody who wanted to meet in public before the hookup. And a lot of people said, "Hey, you know, I I've done this for a while. Um, I like

to meet the person first to make sure we're on the same page of what's acceptable, what's not acceptable." And these two said, "No, no, no. That's not what we're going to do. You're going to come into my home. They're they are acting as Christine. According to Juliana, I'm going to be asleep. You're going to cut my clothes off, bring a knife, tie me up, and rape me. Even if I scream and say, "I don't want this." Keep going. Okay. So, this is all according to Juliana. and they're looking specifically for users that would carry out this sexually aggressive assault fantasy that and that person had to be comfortable with knives, with blood, ruling out anybody else that didn't fit that description.

Eventually, this led Brandon and Juliana to a user named Taco Supreme 7000, an account used by their future victim, according to Juliana, Joseph Ryan. Joseph, who thought uh who he thought was Christine, they exchanged steamy messages detailing her fantasies and what the woman wanted him to do to her. What do you think of that so far?

Wow. Wow. And to be clear, Julianne is participating in these messages. Part of the facade that they're putting on, so her ability is still up there. Nothing has changed. She's just as involved.

Correct. So then Juliana claims that Brandon was very meticulous in planning the account encounter. He spends over a month cultivating the online relationship with Joseph. Eventually, Joseph agrees to um to this an encounter at the Bansfield home with Brandon allegedly telling the man, "Christine will be asleep in bed. Come straight upstairs, cut off the clothing, tie her up, rape her." Simple and fun. Simple and fun. And just like that, the trap Lewis was set. Little did Joseph know that he would be intruding on a woman against her will and that both unwilling participants would wind up dead. Now, that's pretty sinister.

I have been a criminal defense attorney for 30 years. Lewis, this is one of I mean this is one of the darkest plots I have ever heard of in all in in all of my time both living on this planet and practicing criminal defense. It's unbelievable.

Yeah, I I have to agree. I have to agree with that. And it's really bizarre. I don't think I've ever seen somebody pre pre-plan cuz they knew how Christine would react when someone came into the room. She would have her her she was frightened. She was scared, terrified. All that was real and they knew that he would see that and they put the plan in his head so that he would know that no, no, we're just playing here. Expect that, but go forward.

Yeah. And to me that is so dark. terrified. And and you know, to jump ahead a little bit, they these two were both willing to have um um this their young daughter, the young girl, believe that her mother's death would have been of her own making. Can you imagine? Can you imagine that if if Juliana is to be believed? And I and again, I want to stress that this case as we discuss it um is underway. He is presumed not guilty. But this is these are the allegations as told to us by the prosecutor and Juliana. So with with Joseph set uh to arrive at the house, Brandon allegedly planned alibis for both himself and Juliana to avoid suspicion. Brandon left the Bfield home around 700 a.m. for work before stopping at a local McDonald's. And by the way, he is on camera at the McDonald's. You see him there.

Uh Juliana was supposed to take the Bansville's daughter to the zoo. Um so both alleged conspirators would be out of the house when Joseph encountered the sleeping Christine. According to Juliana, Brandon instructed Juliana to return to the house around the time of the planned meet up with Joseph under the guise of forgetting the four-year-old's lunch for the zoo. The father reportedly told Juliana to call him after Joseph entered the home so that the father could come rushing back to valiantly save his family. Juliana and Brandon allegedly enter the house with his daughter, leaving the fouryear-old in the basement with an iPad to distract her. That's when Juliana says they made their way upstairs to the master bedroom where Joseph, according to her testimony, when they walk in, Joseph is on top of Christine with a knife.

Juliana then testifies that Brandon shot the shocked Joseph dead. Juliana claims that when Brandon instructed her to call 911, he then quickly tells her, "No, no, no, hang up. Hang up. Too soon. Too soon." Okay. So, there's one aborted phone call to 911. But, but Lewis, as you know, that doesn't mean that that call didn't register. Right.

Of course. Right. Right. So, is that the first is that the first trip up or or is that somewhere in the middle? What do you think?

Right. Well, it's hard to tell, but I think it I think those calls were planned and the hang-ups were planned to show a level of escalation. It's very likely that was part of their their evil diabolical plan here.

Unbelievable. Okay. So, um so according to Juliana, after the first 911 call, Brandon used the what the knife to repeatedly stab Christine. So Juliana's testimony is that it was Brandon and Brandon alone that stabbed his wife. That she had she took no part in that. Okay? And that in fact she was covering her eyes and her ears and she was terrified by all of this. Now she testifies by the way that they had gone to the firing range, that they had practiced her shooting and that she was walking around with a handgun in her pocket. Okay.

Um, and that she looks over. She says to Brandon, "Brandon, he's moving. He is moving. He doesn't respond." Brandon doesn't respond to her saying that. And so, on her own, she then shoots Joseph again. So, he's been shot. He's been shot by Brandon. And then the fatal shot is issued by Christine. Okay. Then they straighten out their stories. They finally call 911 to report this alleged home invasion. After the deaths of Christine and Joseph, Juliana and Brandon allegedly attempt to move on as if nothing had ever happened. And by the way, I found this to be so disturbing. Um, according to a later search of the home, Juliana had actually moved into the master bedroom. So, when the police originally come to the home, she has her Brazilian soccer jersey hanging in the closet of the guest house of the guest room. When they come back, that same Brazilian chalker jersey and all of her clothes are now in the master bedroom along with

a picture of her and Joseph as loving as ever in the master bedroom on the side of the bed where Christine used to sleep.

Pretty awful. Just awful. Just sick. Um, so but this this fairy tale wouldn't last that long. Just wouldn't last that long. And on October 19th of 2023, Juliana is arrested and charged with seconddegree murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. She would ultimately be the key that would unravel the entire plot. Now I want to ask you about that. So why does she get So she gets arrested, he doesn't. In my experience, you sort of work from the bottom and work your way up, right? Are you immediately trying to put pressure on her to flip because it takes a real long time? And by the way, he gets arrested prior to her actually entering into this plea and agreeing to testify. Can you as an expert here, homicide detective, private investigator, walk me through this?

Well, there's a lot of problems there because this is all what leads to this ridiculous deal that she obtained. All builds up to that. But I want to go back when I first looked at this case back in October of September of 2024. One of the things that caught my attention, Allison, was that they took her that day to the station to talk to her, but as a cooperative. Hey, I want and they put her in what's called a soft room. So, they're they're developing a relationship with her and then they move her to a hard room, an interview room.

And she is in that room for 7 hours, subjected to much harder questions, of course. And I, you know, when I was researching it back then and I, I haven't heard anything to contradict this yet. Well, where's her where's her Miranda and this whole thing? Because when you make that transition, the question started getting harder. Where the hell is

you're absolutely you're being is that part of the recipe that led to why we had to give her this deal?

Oh, interesting. Very, very interesting. I have not heard about that. And so, but but I I also think that um this plot is so twisted and there is a incredible power dynamic and age difference here. So, she's 21 at the time. Okay, she's 21 when she moves here from Brazil. She's never left home before. Um this is a man who is in his late 30s. He's already successful. He's a member of law enforcement. Um, and she's working for them. So, logically, it is understandable. It is understandable that when she falls in love with him, she's sort of under his spell and she wants this relationship to work. She is in love with him. She, by the way, when asked, "Well, did you make this relationship public? Did you let people know?" and she said, "Well, I did on my social media. I posted about us and how in love we were. She used an emoji to cover up his face." Um, but Brandon didn't tell anyone. He kept it a

secret, but we talked about future plans. And so, I wonder how long did it take for that fairy dust to disappear? And when you're sitting there in a cell day after day thinking, I'm gonna spend the rest of my life here. I'm gonna spend the rest of my life here. Where the man that planned this is enjoying his life. Not so fast. Not so fast.

Yeah. I I think it started disappearing the at first with her first conversation with her defense attorney. I'm sure that attorney gave her a reality check based on what we're talking about today. Um, so she probably knew was possible, but she also she wrote love letters to him while she was in prison. I mean, I'll take the responsibility, which by the way now can be used against her, but I'll take responsibility for this, you know, um, you know, on and on. Ausive love letters. Um, and by the way, his mother is not only putting money on her books for the commissary, his mother pays for her attorney. And that to me is is an interesting power play there, right? I mean, that's a very interesting power play, but not necessarily in terms of the the attorney's duty to her because I think the at- I I I think the attorney, although she complained about this attorney, this attorney got her one of

the greatest deals of all time. And I don't think he was disloyal in in in whose interest he was representing. But in Juliana's mind, if he she turns if she turns on Brandon, the love, the support, the closeness, the money goes away. The money goes away. And she was putting money. Tess, the mother, was allegedly putting money on her book so that she could reach out to her family in Brazil and she could buy things at the commissary. And when Brandon gets arrested, which I'm going to turn to in a minute, when Brandon gets a uh arrested, all that money goes away. And then according to Juliana, her financial support comes from um TV and movie producers that want to buy her story.

It's and they start get putting money on her books. So um so it does take time for prosecutors to charge Brandon. And remember, I talked about this crime occurring in 2023, but in October 2024, a grand jury indictes Brandon and they charge him with counts of aggravated murder and one use of a firearm in the commission of the of a felony. And as you know, if you get sentenced to aggravated murder, he's spending the rest of his life in prison.

Yeah. As you should. According to Brandon's defense, the couple continued correspondence while they were both incarcerated during the cross-examination. And I have to tell you something, I listened to the cross-examination of Juliana. She was not um she she she has a interesting affect on direct. You didn't really see any remorse. Um she teared up a little bit when talking about the little girl. Um but things were pretty matterof fact for her. Louis, is that common? Because it it bothered me. It bothered me that she was so um emotionless when she's talking about the killing of two people.

And if she's claiming that why did I fall for this? Why did I fall for this? I was this un I was just this stupid girl who fell in love with this man who convinced me to do this. Why isn't she more emotional on the stand?

Well, good good observation because I when I saw her testimony, one of the first things that caught me, Allison, is how she would distance herself from the actual murders. One of the statements was uh you know cuz the attorney the the the prosecutor had to ask her a few times to speak up but you know I had to I I show I shoot you know she used words to soften her execution of poor Mr. Joseph Ryan while he's laying on the ground

to make it look like oh I just had to fire he was still moving. Yeah. Right. But she made it sound like a dis. And yes, she did soften it up because she she's trying to distance herself from from the actual crime. And yes, Allison, that is very common in these things. Very common.

But see, I would think if you're trying to distance yourself, you're so emotional that you're so you you you feel such guilt and remorse um and contrition. Um and I didn't see that from her.

Right. Um, so so they're writing letters back and forth. They continue their relationship. They refu, she refuses to accept a plea offer. Finally, Juliana's isolation from her family. The weight of her conscience, according to her, led her to make a deal with the prosecutors. On October 29th, 2024, Juliana plead guilty to a charge of manslaughter for her part in the fatal shooting of Joseph Ryan. In exchange for the plea, Juliana was expected to cooperate fully with the prosecutors and her testimony would provide the key backbone of the state's case against Brandon. She is expected to be sentenced at the conclusion of Brandon's trial. And according to attorneys, her sentence is ultimately dependent upon her level of cooperation.

um she could get a minimum of one year, which by the way she's already served up to 10 years in prison for the conviction and if she fully cooperates essentially she's getting time served. She's getting out, she's going home to Brazil and she can have a life again.

Unbelievable. I do think and I and I want to ask you because we have another case that we will we won't have as much time nearly to go over, but I do want to ask you, did the prosecutors need her? Do they need her? And what does the jury think about her? Or does it not matter? Because they she fills in the gaps that the prosecutor needs. So they think, well, she, you know, they made a deal with the devil, but ultimately he was the mastermind.

Yeah. Well, I think ultimately the the bottom line is yes, they needed her. Or would they they would have never offered her this plea deal. Um, and and but does that mean that there were other ways he could have addressed this and also held her fully culpable for the same charges as as Brendan? Um, I I think they had a great case against her against both of them, but they didn't feel comfortable for some reason. So,

whether it was the lack of Miranda rights earlier in her interview or things along that line, I I I just I don't know, but that's usually what it takes. And anytime we've done a a a contract with somebody who wants to cooperate to minimize their their penalty in the law, um, and part of that contract is you have to be 100% honest. You have to cooperate 100%. Everything has to be has to be has to be just the truth. Nothing else is acceptable. If you lie, we're going to take that information, use it as best as we can, but this contract goes out the window.

So, you know, and most of the time I, you know, it's 50/50 in my experience, it's hard getting 100% truth out of everybody,

right? And I will say just to just to sort of button this case up, I will say that um this is such a um an unbelievable story that you almost have to hear it from someone who lived it to believe it. And so maybe the prosecutors felt that ultimately because of the power dynamic, because he uh they believed that he was the one that was the mastermind that they needed her to explain this very twisted tale in order to get the real conviction that they wanted.

Yeah. Yeah. So time will tell. I want I I want this show to follow up and let the listeners know how it goes. But my goodness, what a story to start with. Huh.

Yeah, absolutely. Look, I just have to add two things that really bugged me about this. One is those letters are going back and forth between Julianne and Brendan. Was that at the urging of the prosecutors? Was she already working for them in that capac capacity? And will that come out? Number two is I don't want to lose the four-year-old. I she's a victim in this. The daughter of the Brent of the Bfields, right? Juliana and Brendan made the decision to bring her into the home. They made that conscious decision to do that. And she gets this deal. She gets to go home.

She gets to go if um if she gets to go home. I mean, and listen, if I'm her attorney, during her questioning, the the prosecutor got up when they felt that that um she was being uncooperative with the defense, and the prosecutor said, "She's doing the best she can. She's telling the truth. She's she is not avoiding your questions. If she doesn't remember, she's telling you, I'm doing the best I can. I don't want to make things up." So, as her defense attorney, if they say, "Well, she wasn't exactly honest." I would then pull up that transcript and say, "Wait a minute. You said she was doing the best she could and that she did that that she wanted to be as factually complete as she could.

She didn't want to make things up or guess. So, let's move on. We're not going to have nearly the amount of time, but my goodness, this case, this case deserves our attention, too." And this is another case involving family members. It's out of New Jersey and it is also, if to be believed, a very sinister plot by one brother against another. And so this is Paul Canro. He's 59 years old. He's facing trial and he's currently on trial for four counts of first-degree murder after allegedly killing his brother Keith along with Keith's wife Jennifer who is 45, their 11-year-old son Jesse, and their 8-year-old daughter Sophia.

After enacting the alleged murderous rampage, Paul is accused of setting fire to Keith's home before setting fire to his own home. So, I'm going to give us some background and then we're going to jump in. Okay. Before the Kos murders, this is according to the prosecutor and I want to say something about this prosecutor. [snorts] I don't know if I have ever been as impressed with an opening statement as I am of Nicole Wallace's opening statement in this case. It was explosive. It was riveting. It was clear, concise, and laid out a a case from start to finish in 30 minutes as compelling as I've ever heard. Now, for her part, the defense, she did a very good job.

Unfortunately, the facts may not be on their side, but we're going to go through them. So, before the Callus murders, Paul and Keith were very close, and they made names for themselves as millionaire entrepreneurs. Keith Cano founded the company Square One in the early 90s doing tech consulting and installing networks. As the company took off, Keith hired his first employee who was his older brother Paul to come aboard. Keith owned 90% of the company and he gave 40% of the he gave 10% of the company to Paul. That's important. He gave 10% of the company to Paul. Um the pair have appear they appeared to work brilliantly together.

Um it led to their financial success and looking to expand further they acquired the pest control company Ecostar around 2011. Now in that deal it was a 50/50 split. That company was not nearly, however, as successful as the tech company, but in that company, they had a 50/50 split. As their fortunes grew, the brothers also expanded their own families. Keith settled in a luxurious estate in Colts Neck, New Jersey, a sprawling landscape with celebrity residents including Bruce Springsteen and members of Bon Joby. Meanwhile, purch uh Paul purchased a lavish home in Ocean Township, New Jersey to enjoy the fruits of his success. Now, quickly, I want to mention that while Keith had these two two streams of income, he was making a lot more money on the tech company than Paul was because he owned 90% of it. But Paul had um some additional streams according to the prosecutors. So he was collecting money

from disability in addition to his salary that paid for his healthcare and his cars and allegedly he also had a audi for his mistress. Um but he also according to prosecutors and this is what prosecutors say formed the basis and the motive for this killing. [snorts] He also was the trustee of Keith's living trust that was to benefit his children in case he and his when he and his wife passed away. And according to prosecutors, the night before the killing, the night before, Keith confronts Paul. Prior to that, several months prior, Keith had learned that Paul had not made a payment.

And Paul said, "Oh, I'm so sorry. My bad. My clerical error. It was $25,000. By the way, my clerical error, it went for some student activity. I will repay it." According to prosecutors, not only does he not repay it, but from April until the night of this murder, no pay in November, no payment is ever made. So about, according to prosecutors, Paul had siphoned about $80,000 out of this living trust. And the day before, Keith found out about it and confronted his his brother Lois. Uh Lewis, uh Lewis, what do you think about a motive for there for that?

Oh, this is financial a motive for the actual brutal homicides that are second to to none as far as anything this evil. Yeah, it's it's anger. It's financial is easy to say, but part of it is also I think that that uh uh Paul is worried about his reputation and losing his family because what is going to come to fruition very soon, it comes very real to Paul. He's got 24 hours. This thing is going to blow up now. Everybody's going to know is what he did with that money for starters.

Yeah. What did he do with the money? And then, you know, and then Keith also recognizes that his business is wrapping up is wrapping up. And so he's made plans for what he's going to do in his next step according to the prosecutors. But Paul can't work because he's on disability. So he can't double dip there. And he's just been had on taking the money from the trust. So according to prosecutors, this is what happens the following morning at 5:00 a.m. Okay. Um, authorities respond to a call for a fire at Paul's Ocean Township home.

Mercifully, the father, his two adult daughters, and his wife were all found unharmed. As soon as officers arrive on the scene, an arson is apparent. Investigators quickly locate multiple cans in the home and one near Paul's burntout Porsche Macan. So, someone has lit the house on fire and Paul's car on fire. Okay. While Paul's home had multiple security cameras, they were all mysteriously disabled around 1:29 in the morning. And the last known footage of Paul is of him walking toward the DVR recording before they stop capturing footage. As authorities obtain search uh uh search Paul's home for additional clues on the suspected arsonist, other officers are responding to another fire which would uncover additional horrors. So at the time Lewis that Paul and his family are taken down to the police station to figure out what happened, who who caused this fire.

There's another call that comes in about Keith home being on fire and officers soon learn that both of the last names are Caner. So they've got a family here and then they go to this home and at around 12:38 p.m. responders in Coltneck arrive at Keith's home for a to follow up on a report of a fire. as authorities conducted a f fire suppression efforts. And by the way, the house is there's so much smoke coming out that the police can't go in. They wait for the fire department. The fire the uh the fire responders go in. They find four deceased bodies in a blaze.

Keith has been found in the front lawn suffering from gunshot wounds to his lower back and four to the head. to the head. Inside Keith's home, authorities discovered that his wife, Jennifer, has a gunshot wound to the head and multiple stab wounds to the torso. They also discover that both of Keith's children, Jesse, who's 11, has been stabbed to death, and Sophia, who is 8 and only weighs 45 pounds, has been stabbed 17 times. In addition, upon the autopsy, this is according to the prosecutor, air is found in their lungs, smoke is found in their lungs. So, these two don't immediately die from the stab wounds, but it is a slow death where they're also ingesting the smoke from the fire.

Can you imagine? Can you imagine the torment there? And these two are staring when when they're stabbed. If this if this is Paul that has done this, according to the prosecutors, they know the asalent. The the wife knows that this is her brother-in-law. If prosecutors are to be if this is true, what do you think of that?

I I family sides version of it are just so rare. the rage that he must have had in him to come up with this plan so quick and who knows if he was planning it for weeks prior to that cuz he knew eventually he's probably going to get caught. What is he going to do? Um but the rage to go forward with everything he did that night. I mean he went to the house after he was confronted earlier the previous night uh by his brother where's my $80,000 at? Um and [clears throat] never really responded with that. He came up with this plan right after right after the confrontation. But he went to the house and he shut off the generator and the power to the house to make his brother come out to see what was wrong.

So he's literally luring if prosecutors would be believe he is luring his own brother to his own death. Right.

Right. Luring and I I want to add hunting. He's hunting this family. And you he according to prosecutors he kills the children because in order to receive the benefits of the life insurance which is $3 million the other living heirs have to go. So the wife has to be killed. The two innocent children I mean other they have to be killed. And so he and the third brother, Corey, who by the way, according to the defense's opening, seems to be who they're going to lie blame upon. Okay. Lie blame. And in the defense, God bless her. Doing everything that she can in the face. And I want to get to this because there is a lot of evidence, physical evidence in this case. A lot. More than usual, right, Lewis? I mean, this is a case where they have physical evidence that links, according to the prosecutor, this crime directly to Paul. As investigators uh sort through the charred evidence and the scorched remains, they quickly

narrow in on Paul. Just days after the blaze on both the Caneros's homes, Paul is charged with arson for the fire at his home. In the search of Paul's home, uh, they recover not only evidence that he knowingly ignited his own home, but troubling indications that he was behind the murder of his brother, sister-in-law, and their two children. A search of one of Paul's vehicles, a Porsche Cayenne, produced a backpack containing Paul's passport, a laptop along with a gun barrel, a suppressor, and night vision accessories. Inside his home, Paul has an arsenal of weapons, including a large gun safe containing a multitude of weapons and ammunition.

Most interestingly to the officers is the presence of this 9mm which according to prosecutors has matched the shell casings found near Keith's body. Um, while it appeared that Paul had set blaze to destroy evidence, prosecutors alleged that he was utterly unsuccessful on that front because they locate bloody latex gloves in his home along with stained clothing and a knife that allegedly has contained DNA. And that DNA matches according to the prosecutors young Sophia. Young 8-year-old 45B Sophia. Authorities arrest Paul on for and charge him with four counts of first-degree murder on November 29th, 2018.

Um, the only question is could this successful man could he have so ruthlessly and callously taken the lives of his brother and his brother's family? What say you?

Based on the evidence that I've seen um and what's being presented right now, it doesn't look good for him. Yeah. I I feel very confident they have the right person.

You did. Yeah. and and you know they have to put up a defense uh you know his attorney has to put up a defense and pointing at the other brother is a reasonable defense to be fair because allegedly that other brother has as bad as financial as many financial problems that Paul is having his brother's problems are even worse financially

so Lewis what do you buy of the defense's statement that that they made that come on this was way too obvious he would never have left this much evidence and scattered about for the police to find like, you know, like crumbs on the way to grand, you know, uh, grandma's house. I mean, he would never have left such evidence lying about so so carelessly. In your experience as a homicide detective, as a private investigator, decades in the field, what it that's not uncommon, is it?

Not uncommon at all. Not uncommon at all. Look, the perfect crime if it exists, I I've yet to see it. Um, but why would I see it if it was perfect? Uh so uh, no, [clears throat] I think they have so much and they zeroed in on Paul so soon in this investigation. Um, his the fact that he didn't flee, why would he draw attention to the house? Well, he came up with that plan rather quick. It seems like he did have his passport in his car and he had the barrel that was located in the bag that they found uh that belonged to with Paul's items in it. The barrel they found there was one that he already exchanged for the one that he used to kill the family members.

Can you walk me a little through that because that's something that as a a detective and in law enforcement you understand better than the rest of us. So he according to the prosecutors he removes the barrel, right? He removes the barrel. Um, and but there's spent shell casings that match. Then they have the they find the gun. Um, just because you remove the barrel, what does that do? And where does that lead us?

Well, if you remove the barrel and they can't connect the barrel to the actual firearm or to the styrations on the bullets that are recovered, the markings on the rounds had been fired. Um, you you lose that. You lose that. However, you still have the potential because they found brass and the slugs to find a a firing pin mark um and and DNA and fingerprints on the brass. That's still very possible and I think they actually did in this case.

So, I just I just want to say and it's so important that we recognize, you know, um so many lives have been senselessly lost here. So many lives have been sl, you know, whether it's money or love or lust, it just doesn't make any sense. Um, and while Paul's case has taken years to reach the courtroom, it's currently underway with testimony ongoing at the time of this recording. Paul and Brandon are both presumed innocent. Uh we all need to understand that this in our criminal justice system until there's a verdict of guilty they are presumed innocent. Um but the desire for justice for these victims looms large both in the courtrooms and in the communities. I loved having you on.

Where can the listeners find you? You are brilliant. You are um you are just the man for these cases. Fantastic. Where can they find you?

Thank you, Alison. Uh, my entire social media footprint can be found at getbitinvestigations.com.

Great. Um, you can find uh, True Crime News across all social platforms at my tri my true crime news. Um, you can find our episodes wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe to our True Crime News channel on YouTube and sign up to receive our newsletter at true crimenews.com. Until network, until next week, this is True Crime News, the podcast reminding you, as Anna always does, don't do crime.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Mistress testifies against man accused of BDSM plot to murder his wife"?

Allison Treel (Host), Lewis Balanos (Guest), Anna Garcia (Guest), Juliana Magalace (Guest), Brandon Banfield (Guest), Joseph Ryan (Guest), Christine Banfield (Guest), Paul Canro (Guest).

What is "Mistress testifies against man accused of BDSM plot to murder his wife" about?

A mistress testifies against a man accused of orchestrating a BDSM-themed murder plot to kill his wife, highlighting the extreme lengths of betrayal and manipulation in a shocking and complex case. The investigation reveals sophisticated planning and raises questions about morality, trust, and familial loyalty, as it also involves a brother implicated in a separate family murder.

What is mentioned in this True Crime News episode?

20 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Brandon Banfield, Juliana Magalace, Allison Treel, Christine Banfield, Paul Canro, Joseph Ryan. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Mistress testifies against man accused of BDSM plot to murder his wife"?

The episode runs 60 min; the transcript is about 8,509 words in 90 timestamped sections.

More from True Crime News

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated January 24, 2026.