VIRGINIA. —The former lieutenant governor of Virginia Justin Fairfax He was facing a court-ordered deadline to move out of the family home before police say he killed his wife and then took his own life Thursday.
According to authorities, the couple’s two teenage children were inside the home at the time of the crime. It was one of them who called 911 shortly after midnight to report what had happened.
Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davisreported that authorities Fairfax found dead47 years old, and his wife, the doctor Cerina Fairfax49, at his Annandale home.
He detailed that the former official shot his wife, Cerina Fairfax, multiple times in the basement of the house. Later, he went up to the main room, where he took his life.
The minors were not physically injured, although they remain under protection after the events.
The couple was going through a complicated divorcebut he continued living in the same house with his two teenage children.
Cerina Fairfax said in court documents that They separated almost two years ago and that she filed for divorce last summer. A judge last month ordered Justin Fairfax to move out by the end of April.
In January 2026, the former lieutenant governor himself made a complaint in which accused his wife of assaulting him; However, after reviewing security camera recordings, the police determined that said attack did not occur, so the case was dismissed.
The couple, who met as students at Duke Universitymarried in 2006.
Who was Cerina Fairfax, murdered by former lieutenant governor of Virginia?
Cerina Fairfax ran a family dental clinic. She also attended Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry, which recognized her in 2015 as its Most Outstanding Alumna of the Past Decade.
Her profile on her practice website describes her as an avid reader who enjoyed traveling, practicing yoga, trail running with her vizsla dogs, and “spending time with her wonderful family.”
“It’s very sad for this community,” Davis said. “Many people who know the Fairfax family, everyone is shocked. “We are shocked.”
Justin Fairfax Controversies
For a brief period in 2019, Justin Fairfax appeared to be in a position to become the second black governor of Virginiaas Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam became embroiled in a scandal over a racist photo in his medical school yearbook that sparked calls for his resignation. Fairfax would have automatically become governor if Northam had resigned.
but then Two women accused Fairfax of sexually assaulting them years before. He strongly denied the allegations, saying they were part of a smear campaign against him. He was never formally charged.
An assistant to then-Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards denounced that Fairfax sexually assaulted her during the Democratic National Convention in 2004. Two days after she appeared, another woman accused him of raping her in 2000, when they were students at Duke.
Fairfax assured that These were consensual meetings. and rejected calls to resign. He later attempted to run for governor in 2021, but was largely sidelined by Virginia Democrats and was defeated in the Democratic primary.
Court documents show that Fairfax had financial difficulties following allegations of sexual assault, prompting his resignation as a partner at a prestigious law firm. The tax service filed a lien against the couple for more than $91,000 in unpaid taxes that was resolved in 2021.
The deaths stunned political leaders across the state.
READ: Surgeon will face charges for confusing an organ
Leave a Reply