Ex-Virginia Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax murders | Political News
Fairfax, 47, shot his spouse, Cerina, lifeless, before turning the gun on himself and taking his life, according to police (Image: Facebook)
Former Virginia lieutenant governor Justin Fairfax murdered his spouse, then killed himself in their million-dollar Virginia home, as police say divorce proceedings could have triggered the act of violence.
Fairfax, 47, shot his spouse, Cerina, lifeless, before turning the gun on himself and taking his life, according to police.
The couple’s teenage son, Cameron, and daughter, Carys, had been home at the time but had been unhurt. Police said Cameron was the one who called 911.
According to police, Fairfax shot Cerina, a dentist, in the basement of their Annandale home in the early hours of Thursday.
Both victims had been pronounced lifeless at the scene. The couple was going through a contentious divorce.
“This has been an ongoing domestic dispute surrounding what seems to be a complicated or messy divorce,” Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said.
Cerina, 49, filed for divorce from Fairfax last July, and the proceedings had been underway at the time of their deaths, with court appearances pending for next week.
“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,” Davis added.
The couple, married for 20 years, were separated but still living in the same home and reportedly using separate bedrooms.
Officers were previously called to the residence in January this year after Fairfax alleged that Cerina assaulted them inside the home.
The couple’s teenage son, Cameron, and daughter, Carys, were home at the time but were unharmed (Image: Getty)
Investigators determined that the alleged assault never occurred, police said.
The reason for the divorce wasn’t clear.
Fairfax, who built a career in the political and legal field, faced a slew of inappropriate assault allegations during his political career.
The former federal prosecutor and civil litigator served as Virginia’s lieutenant governor from 2018 to 2022 under then-governor Ralph Northam.
In 2021, he launched a gubernatorial campaign, but finished fourth in the Democratic primary after the campaign was marred by scandal from the inappropriate assault allegations made by at least two women in 2019. The women publicly accused him of inappropriately assaulting them in 2000 and 2004.
Fairfax maintained that the inappropriate encounters were both consensual and refused to resign as lieutenant governor.
He ultimately left his position in 2022 after being ousted by Republican Winsome Earle-Sears.
A police investigation concerning Thursday’s capturing is underway.
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