Justin Fairfax ex Virginia Lt Governor shoots & kills wife, Cerina Fairfax then self at their million dollar Annandale home amid doomed marriage and ongoing scandals ahead of divorce court next week.
A former Virginia lieutenant governor, murdered his wife and then killed himself at their $1 million Annandale area home early Thursday morning. The apparent murder-suicide comes just days after the husband being served divorce papers ahead of an upcoming court date.
Justin Fairfax, 47, Virginia’s former lieutenant governor, shot and killed his wife, Cerina Fairfax dead in the unfinished basement of their home on Guinevere Drive in Annandale early Thursday morning, Fairfax County Police said.
The couple’s teenage son and daughter were home at the time, but unharmed.
Filed divorce papers against ex Virginia Lt Governor said he was deadbeat dad & alcoholic
Ongoing divorce proceedings and looming court date
Cerina, 49, filed for divorce from Fairfax in July of last year and the proceedings were underway at the time of their deaths, with court appearances pending for next week.
The couple, who had been married 20 years, were separated but still living together amid the ongoing divorce proceedings, cops confirmed.
Fairfax was recently served paperwork indicating when he was due to appear in court which investigators say ‘may have been a spark’ to the deadly act of violence.
Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis described the case as both ‘high profile’ and deeply tragic, noting Fairfax’s once-prominent political standing.
‘At one point in time, I think it’s fair to say that Justin Fairfax was a rising star politically, not just in Northern Virginia, but in Virginia,’ 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 a lot of things going in their favor.’
Both husband and estranged wife found dead at scene
Leading up to the murder-suicide, police had received a 911call from the couple’s son just after midnight to report a violent incident involving his parents according to the dailymail.
When officers arrived on scene, they discovered Cerina unconscious and bleeding inside the home after incurring multiple gunshot wounds.
The teenager told responding officers he did not know where his father was.
Investigators later found Fairfax in a separate area of the home with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Both victims were pronounced dead at the scene.
Fractured marriage unable to withstand allegations of cheating, sexual abuse and failed Democratic run
The couple had been living together despite being separated and were understood to have separate bedrooms, police said.
Officers were previously called to the residence in January this year after Fairfax alleging Cerina assaulting him inside the home.
After a review of security cameras, this claim was unfounded, WTKR reported.
Investigators determined that the alleged assault never occurred, police said.
Fairfax, a Democrat and former federal prosecutor and civil litigator, served as Virginia’s lieutenant governor from 2018 to 2022 under then-governor Ralph Northam.
He launched his own bid for governor in 2021, but finished fourth in the Democratic primary after his campaign was marred by sexual assault allegations from two women.
Fairfax denied the women’s allegations and said both encounters were entirely consensual.
In 2019, a woman accused him of sexually assaulting her in 2004, and another woman accused him of raping her when they were both college students in 2004.
Despite marred in scandal and implored to resign, Fairfax went on to finish his term with wife Cerina standing by him.
Justin Fairfax met Cerina Fairfax at Duke University in 1997. The couple went on to celebrate their 11 year wedding anniversary in 2017.
