A former powerful Democratic lawmaker, former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, shot and killed his wife inside their home early Thursday morning before turning the gun on himself, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis confirmed at a press conference.
The murder-suicide occurred just after midnight at the couple’s home in Virginia. Police believe Fairfax, 47, shot his wife, Dr. Cerina W. Fairfax, a dentist, multiple times in the basement of the home. He then ran upstairs to the primary bedroom, where he shot and killed himself.
The couple’s two teenage children — a son and a daughter — were inside the home when the shootings took place. Their son called 911.
“Former Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax shot and killed his wife inside of their home and then shot and killed himself,” Chief Davis said.
Police said the couple had been separated but were living together in the home amid contentious ongoing divorce proceedings.
Dr. Cerina Fairfax had installed surveillance cameras around the residence. According to Davis, Fairfax had recently been served court paperwork related to an upcoming divorce hearing, which investigators believe may have triggered the violence.
“This has been an ongoing domestic dispute surrounding what seems to be a complicated or messy divorce,” Davis said. “I don’t think it’s a secret that there’s been divorce proceedings that have been ongoing.”
“From what I understand in this early stage, former Lieutenant Governor Fairfax was recently served some paperwork associated with an upcoming court proceeding that apparently led to this incident,” he said. “The family was going through, seemingly, a very tough time with the separation, with the divorce. I can only imagine the stress that the parents felt, the kids felt, and the other family members as well.”
Both children are being supported by the Fairfax County Police victim services division.
Fairfax served as Virginia’s 41st lieutenant governor under Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam from January 2018 to January 2022.
In 2019, two women accused Fairfax of sexual assault in incidents they alleged occurred in 2000 and 2004. Fairfax denied the allegations and refused calls to resign.
He launched a failed bid for governor in 2021 and was ultimately replaced by Republican Winsome Earle-Sears.