Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, wife dead in apparent murder-suicide, police say

Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax fatally shot his wife, then turned the gun on himself in an apparent murder-suicide in their Annandale, Va., home, police said Thursday.

Fairfax County police said that just after midnight, Fairfax shot his wife multiple times in the basement of their home, then went upstairs to the master bedroom and shot himself.

Their two teenage children were at home when the incident happened. According to two sources with knowledge of the investigation, Fairfax’s son called 911 just after midnight from the Fairfax home. The caller said he thought his mother, Cerina Fairfax, had been stabbed. When police arrived at the home, they found bullet casings near his body. They later found Justin Fairfax upstairs with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Police said Fairfax and his wife were in the early stages of divorce proceedings and that Fairfax had recently received documents related to that divorce. The couple lived together but were separated and resided in separate bedrooms.

In January, Fairfax called police, alleging that his wife had assaulted him, although police determined at the time that the assault never occurred, based on home camera footage placed by Cerina Fairfax.

Fairfax served as the 41st lieutenant governor of Virginia, from 2018 to 2022.

This is a developing story and will be updated.