Former Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax and his wife, Cerina Fairfax, found dead in apparent murder-suicide
Content caution: Sexual assault, violence, and suicide are discussed in this story. A terrible catastrophe revolves around a former government operative.
Local authorities verified that Justin Fairfax, a Democrat who was lieutenant governor of Virginia from 2018 to 2022, shot and killed his wife, Dr. Cerina Fairfax, and then himself at their Annandale home in what seemed to be a murder-suicide.
“I know he was served some paperwork,” in a press conference on April 16, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis stated. “Apparently the paperwork indicated when he was next to appear in court. That could have been a spark.”
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Police are still figuring out the reason, though, Davis continued, “Detectives will figure out what led to this tragedy here.”
After meeting while attending Duke University, Fairfax, 47, and Cerina, 49, got married in 2006. At the time of the shootings, their two teenage children, a daughter and a son, were at home. The first 911 call was made by their kid, according to the police.
Davis highlighted, “A mother shot and killed, taken from her children and then he takes his own life.”
However, authorities do have some working assumptions as they continue their investigation. Davis told NBC News in a statement that Fairfax's actions seemed to be driven by a "domestic dispute surrounding what seems to be a complicated or messy divorce."
The couple was still residing at their Annandale house together, although having different bedrooms, the police chief added.
In 2019, Fairfax was accused of sexual assault by two women while serving as lieutenant governor. One woman said he had forced her to have oral sex with him during the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, while another claimed he had sexually assaulted her in a 2000 event while they were both Duke University students.
Despite being pressured to leave by colleagues at the time, Fairfax vehemently disputed the accusations at the time, claiming that both incidents were consensual. He continued to hold the position until 2022.
“I have nothing to hide,” as per NBC News, Fairfax claimed in a statement at the time that he later launched an unsuccessful candidacy for governor. “Any review of the circumstances would support my account, because it is the truth.”
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