ANNANDALE, Va. — Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax shot and killed his wife and then himself in their Annandale home shortly after midnight Thursday, according to Fairfax County Police.
Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax smiles at members of the state Senate as they give him a standing ovation for his service to the body in the Senate Chamber at the state Capitol on Jan. 14, 2022.
Police responded to the home shortly after midnight to find Justin Fairfax and his wife, Cerina Fairfax, both dead.
The incident began when Justin Fairfax was served court papers related to the couple’s ongoing divorce proceedings, police said. It culminated with Justin Fairfax shooting his wife in their basement several times before running upstairs to shoot himself with the same gun, police said.
Their teenage children were present when it happened, and their son placed the 911 call, according to police.
Fairfax Police Chief Kevin Davis briefed reporters outside the home Thursday morning.
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Justin Fairfax “was a rising star politically — not just in Northern Virginia, but in Virginia,” Chief Davis said. “So it's high profile in nature. It's tragic in nature, certainly a fall from grace for a relatively high-profile family that seemingly had had a lot of things going in their favor.”
Fairfax served as lieutenant governor from 2018 to 2022, a position traditionally seen as a stepping stone to a run for governor at the next election.
When a scandal erupted around photos that seemed to show then-Gov. Ralph Northam as a medical student wearing blackface, Fairfax seemed poised to step in as the state’s chief executive.
But within days, allegations that Fairfax had sexually assaulted two women years ago deepened one of the state’s most dramatic political crises, while Northam quickly moved to dampen outrage over the photo.
Fairfax said the allegations were prompted by political opponents who were angling to run for governor in 2021, and spent most of the rest of his time as lieutenant governor and the years that followed defending himself against the assault charges.
Northam said in a statement: "Pam and I are devastated by this heartbreaking news. I had the privilege of getting to know the Fairfaxes while our families served together. We are praying for Cameron, Carys, and the entire Fairfax family during this incredibly difficult time."
Times-Dispatch reporter Michael Martz contributed to this story
This story will be updated.
