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Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax is accused of killing his wife and the fatally shooting himself early Thursday (April 16) morning as part of a murder-suicide amid a "messy divorce," police announced via the New York Post.
Fairfax, 47, a Democrat, is believed to have repeatedly shot his wife, Cerina Fairfax, a dentist, in the basement of their home in Annandale just after midnight prior to turning the gun on himself while their two teenage children were inside the home, according to police.
“This has been an ongoing domestic dispute surrounding what seems to be a complicated or messy divorce,” Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said via the New York Post. “I don’t think it’s a secret that there’s been a 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 last night.”
The couple was reportedly separated but still living together amid divorce proceedings, according to police. Cerina initially filed for divorce last July, according to court documents.
Fairfax faced sexual assault claims during his time in office in 2019, with at least two women accusing him of incidents that allegedly took place in 2000 and 2004. The former lieutenant governor claimed that both sexual encounters were consensual and refused to resign, instead launching a failed bid for governor in 2021 and ultimately leaving his post after being defeated by Republican Winsome Earle-Sears in 2022.
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