Prosecution Rests: Blood Analyst Says Brendan Banfield Staged the Crime Scene — Defense Motion to Dismiss DENIED

The prosecution has officially rested its case against Brendan Banfield. Their final day of testimony focused almost entirely on blood evidence — and what forensic analyst Iris Dalley Graff told the jury could be the key to this entire trial.

Graff, a blood stain pattern expert, testified that Joseph Ryan's body was moved after death based on blood flow patterns going multiple directions. She also told jurors that Christine Banfield's blood was deliberately transferred onto Ryan's hands and clothing — not from a struggle, but from intentional placement. She pointed to "finger-like" transfer marks and blood droplets consistent with someone dripping blood from above onto a horizontal surface.

This testimony directly supports what au pair Juliana Peres Magalhães told the court: that Brendan Banfield moved Ryan's body and smeared Christine's blood on him to frame Ryan for her murder. For the first time, the public gallery saw crime scene photos with Ryan's body still present. A woman in the victims' family section closed her eyes and looked away.

Defense attorney John Carroll attacked Graff's credibility, highlighting contradictions with homicide detectives' findings and pointing to body cam footage of Banfield pressing on his wife's neck when police arrived. After the jury was excused, Carroll moved to dismiss all charges — arguing no homicide detectives testified and the case relies on an unreliable cooperating witness. Judge Penney Azcarate denied the motion.

Christine's father Gary Benson briefly testified about her lifelong bleeding condition. The defense case begins next with four to five witnesses expected.

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