Justin Fairfax, a former Virginia lieutenant governor, fatally shot his wife, Cerina, inside their Annandale home before dying by suicide amid a “messy” divorce, police said.
The deadly violence unfolded early Thursday morning at the Fairfaxes’ residence on the 8100 block of Guinevere Drive, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis told reporters at a news conference after the incident. He said both the couple’s teen children were home at the time, and that their son made the initial 911 call.
“This is certainly a fall from grace for a relatively high-profile family that seemingly had a lot of things going for them,” Davis said. “Tragic for the children to lose both parents. Extra tragic for them to actually be in the home when it occurred.”
When authorities arrived on the scene just after midnight, they discovered both Cerina and Fairfax dead inside the residence. Davis said that Cerina, a dentist, was shot several times in the basement, adding that her body was surrounded by bullet casings.
“At some point after Justin shoots and kills his wife, he runs upstairs in the home, into the primary bedroom,” where he used the same weapon on himself, Davis told reporters.
The murder-suicide came amid an “ongoing domestic dispute” surrounding a “messy or complicated divorce.” Davis added that Fairfax was recently served paperwork related to the proceedings, which “apparently led to this incident last night.”
The couple had been living together but were separated, he said, residing in separate bedrooms.
They met while studying at Duke University and married in June 2006.
Cerina listed their date of separation as June 1, 2024 in documents obtained by TMZ. She said they entered into a post-nuptial agreement in December 2024 — resolving the division of their assets and spousal support — and she officially filed for divorce the following year in July.
“There is no expectation or hope of reconciliation,” she said.
In the divorce filing, Cerina alleged Fairfax refused to pay 50% of the children’s private school tuition as required, failed to pay for the extracurricular activities and failed to pay the mortgage and his cut of the household expenses, per TMZ. Cerina also demanded full custody of the children, citing the fact that she’d been the only person contributing financially to the family and served as the primary caretaker.
The case has not yet been resolved.
Authorities previously responded to the residence back in January, when Fairfax called and claimed he’d been assaulted by his wife, Davis said. It was later determined no assault had occurred after investigators reviewed footage from surveillance cameras installed inside the home by Cerina. No charges were ever filed.
Fairfax was the lieutenant governor under Democrat Ralph Northam, who served as the 73rd governor of Virginia from 2018 to 2022. His appointment made him only the second African American elected statewide in Virginia.
“Pam and I are devastated by this heartbreaking news. I had the privilege of getting to know the Fairfaxes while our families served together,” Northam said in a statement to the Washington Post on Thursday.
In 2019, Fairfax was accused of sexual assault by two women, with the alleged incidents dating back to 2000 and 2004. The allegations triggered calls for Fairfax’s resignation, but he resisted and finished off his term before launching an unsuccessful campaign for governor in 2021. He finished fourth for the Democratic Party.
