Justin Fairfax, the former lieutenant governor of Virginia, shot and killed his wife Cerina Fairfax before turning the gun on himself on Thursday, police said. The incident occurred at their home in Annandale, Virginia, with the couple's teenage children making a 911 call shortly after midnight.
Kevin Davis, chief of Fairfax County police, said the killings took place amid "an ongoing domestic dispute surrounding what seems to be a complicated or messy divorce". He added that Fairfax had recently been served paperwork related to an upcoming court proceeding, which appeared to have triggered the violence.
Fairfax, a Democrat who served from 2018 to 2022 under Governor Ralph Northam, was seen as a rising star until allegations of sexual assault surfaced in 2019. He denied both accusations but faced calls to resign. In 2021, he finished fourth in the Democratic primary for governor.
Court documents from the couple's divorce proceedings painted a picture of a man in decline. Judge Timothy J McEvoy described Fairfax as "a talented man who struggles with undefined emotional and psychological issues", adding that these issues were "defining him and limiting his ability to be the person he is capable of being". Fairfax had purchased a gun in 2022 and on one occasion left home with it and a packed suitcase, later found in a park by his wife and relatives.
Journalist Sophia Nelson, a friend of Fairfax, expressed devastation for the couple's children. "Cerina did not deserve what Justin did to her," she said on X. "He was depressed. He was in darkness. He was dealing with everything he had lost, feeling that there was no hope." Nelson said Fairfax had told her he needed help to prove his innocence.
Police had been called to the residence once before in January when Fairfax accused his wife of assault, but officers determined no incident had occurred after reviewing footage from cameras she had installed.
