Virginia au pair Juliana Perez Magalhães pleads guilty to manslaughter in the deaths of Christine Banfield and Joe Ryan

A Virginia au pair pleaded guilty Tuesday to manslaughter. in connection with the 2023 murders her employer’s wife and another man.

Juliana Perez Magalhães’ employer, Brendan Banfield, was charged with murder last month in the case – a year after Magalhães was arrested and charged.

Prosecutors said Magalhães and Banfield began having an extramarital affair in August 2022, and in the fall of that year, Banfield expressed a desire to “get rid of” his wife, Christine Banfield, according to a plea agreement obtained by ABC News.

In the months that followed, Brendan Banfield allegedly fleshed out the plan, the prosecution said. However, Magalhães was reluctant to proceed on several counts and, according to the plea agreement, allegedly did not trust Banfield to follow through with the case, prosecutors said.

In the lead-up to the double murder, Brendan Banfield allegedly created a profile on the sex fetish website FetLife, where he found a man named Joe Ryan, plea agreement details. He then allegedly asked Magalhães to call Ryan, pretending to be Christina Banfield, to confirm that both were willing to have sex at her home using “restraints,” according to prosecutors.

According to the prosecution agreement, when Ryan arrived at the home in February 2023, Banfield allegedly shot him in the head and then stabbed his wife to death. Magalhães then also shot and killed Ryan, prosecutors said.

Magalhães then allegedly called 911 and pretended Ryan was the intruder, prosecutors said.

Magalhaes was initially charged with second-degree murder in Ryan’s death. On Tuesday, Magalhães pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter.

She could face up to 10 years in prison.

She is scheduled to be sentenced on March 21 after Banfield’s February trial.

“Today’s agreement marks a significant step forward in this case and is an important development in our pursuit of justice for the victims and their families,” Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said in a statement read outside the courthouse. “Much of the information that led to this agreement cannot be made public at this time due to the pending criminal trial against another defendant in this case.”

ABC News’ Christina Corbin, Briana Stewart and Gemma Schneider contributed to this report.