Justin Fairfax, Virginia’s former lieutenant governor, and his estranged wife, Cerina Fairfax, are both dead. The cause is an apparent murder-suicide in the couple’s home.
In a press conference, police stated Justin shot his wife several times before shooting himself. Their two teenagers were in the home when it happened.
The couple were estranged before their deaths
According to an April 16 police statement, “Officers are on scene of a death investigation. An adult male and an adult female were found deceased inside a residence. Preliminarily, all parties are accounted for, and there is no threat to the community. Detectives are investigating.”
In a second statement, Fairfax County police officer, Captain Chris Cosgriff, revealed Justin “shot the adult female before shooting himself in a domestic related incident.” He added, “We are withholding the identities until next of kin can be notified. Anyone who may have information that can assist detectives with their investigation are asked to call crime solvers … additional information will be released on our X account and on the FCPD blog when it’s available.”
Fairfax police chief Kevin Davis, confirmed the couple’s identities. “Former lieutenant governor Justin Fairfax shot and killed his wife inside their home, and then shot and killed himself,” he said in a press conference. “This has been an ongoing domestic dispute surrounding what seems to be a complicated or messy divorce. So far what we know is what you know. There seems to be divorce proceedings that have been ongoing.”
Justin and Cerina married in June 2006 and have a son and daughter. “From what I understand at this early stage, [Justin] was recently served some paperwork associated with an upcoming court proceeding. That apparently led to the incident last night,” the police chief said. “Both of their children, teenagers … were in the house when it happened. That’s horrible news for the family, certainly a traumatic event for those children to live through.”
He added that Cerina served Justin with paperwork for a court proceeding and that may have led to the incident.
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