Then-Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax in the Senate chamber at the Virginia Capitol in Richmond, Va., on Feb. 7, 2019. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Two teenage children were inside the house when their father, former Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax, shot and killed their mother before turning the gun on himself, authorities revealed Thursday — a grim ending to what police described as a turbulent and drawn-out divorce.
Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis confirmed at a morning news conference that the incident, which unfolded Wednesday night at the family’s Fairfax County home, was being investigated as a murder-suicide rooted in a bitter marital breakdown. “This has been an ongoing domestic dispute surrounding what seems to be a complicated or messy divorce,” Davis said.
According to investigators, Fairfax shot his wife, Cerina Fairfax — a practicing dentist — in the home’s unfinished basement, before moving to the primary bedroom, where he used the same firearm to end his own life. One of the couple’s children, a boy and a girl, both teenagers, called 911 after the shooting. Authorities are working with social services to support the two minors in the aftermath.
Davis indicated that the violence may have been triggered by legal developments in the divorce proceedings. “From what I understand in this early stage, former Lt. Gov. Fairfax was recently served some paperwork associated with an upcoming court proceeding that apparently led to this incident last night,” he said. Investigators are examining those court documents and the circumstances surrounding his being summoned to appear before a judge.
Though separated, the couple had continued living under the same roof. Justin and Cerina Fairfax had been married for 20 years, officials noted — a detail that underscores the complicated domestic arrangement that preceded the tragedy. “That’s horrible news for the family,” Davis said, calling the impact on the children devastating.
The fatal incident was not the first time police had been drawn into the couple’s domestic disputes. In January, Justin Fairfax contacted authorities and alleged that his wife had physically assaulted him inside the home. A review of surveillance footage, however, told a different story. “We were able to go to those cameras and determine that that never occurred,” Davis said, noting that the alleged assault was “proven to be untrue.” Despite the false report, Fairfax was not cited or charged.
The fall of Justin Fairfax is particularly striking given the heights he once reached in Virginia politics. A Democrat, he served as lieutenant governor under former Gov. Ralph Northam from 2018 to 2022 and mounted a bid for the governorship in 2021, though he finished fourth in the Democratic primary. Davis himself acknowledged it was “certainly a fall from grace for a relatively high-profile” figure in the state’s political landscape.
Fairfax’s career had already been shadowed by serious controversy. In 2019, two women publicly accused him of sexual assault, allegations he denied at the time and continued to contest. The accusations prompted a swift and sharp rebuke from fellow Democrats. “The Lieutenant Governor no longer has our confidence or support. He must resign,” state Democrats declared. Fairfax refused to step down and served out the remainder of his term.
Davis said the investigation remains in its early stages and that additional findings will be made public as the inquiry progresses.
By: Andrews Kwesi Yeboah