Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfa and his estranged wife, Cerina Fairfax, were found dead early Thursday in what authorities have described as a murder-suicide inside their Annandale, Virginia home.
According to Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis, the 47-year-old Democrat fatally shot his wife in the basement of their residence shortly after midnight before taking his own life in another section of the house.
The property, located outside Washington, D.C., has been described as a million-dollar home.
The couple’s two teenage children were inside the house at the time of the shooting. Police said the couple’s son called 911 to report the gunfire.
“It is high-profile in nature, it’s tragic in nature. Certainly a fall from grace for a relatively high-profile family that seemingly had had a lot of things going in their favor,” Davis told reporters before the bodies were removed from the residence.
“So, tragic for the children to lose both parents, extra tragic for them to actually be in the home when it occurred. So yeah, there’s a lot going on,” he added.
Authorities said the couple had been undergoing divorce proceedings but were still living together. Court records indicate that Justin Fairfax had been scheduled to appear for a hearing Tuesday morning.
Cerina Fairfax reportedly filed for divorce in July 2025, more than a year after the couple initially separated. Under Virginia law, couples seeking divorce must live “separate and apart without interruption” for at least one year before filing.
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Chief Davis described the situation as an ongoing domestic dispute tied to what he called a “complicated or messy divorce.”
The Fairfaxes were married on June 17, 2006, after meeting as undergraduates at Duke University. Their two children are currently in high school.
Justin Fairfax rose to national prominence in the 2010s as a Democratic Party figure, having worked on the presidential campaigns of Al Gore and John Kerry before establishing a legal career. After serving as a federal prosecutor, he ran unsuccessfully for Virginia Attorney General in 2013, narrowly losing the Democratic primary to Mark Herring.
In 2017, Fairfax was elected Lieutenant Governor of Virginia alongside Governor Ralph Northam. However, his political trajectory was significantly disrupted in 2019 when multiple women publicly accused him of sexual assault.
Vanessa Tyson, an associate professor at Scripps College and fellow at Stanford University, alleged that Fairfax sexually assaulted her during the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. Fairfax denied the allegation, maintaining the encounter was consensual.
A second accuser, Meredith Watson, claimed Fairfax assaulted her in 2000 while they were both students at Duke University. Fairfax also denied that allegation, stating he had “never forced” himself on anyone and suggesting the timing of the accusations was politically motivated.
Investigations into the allegations did not result in criminal charges at the time, but the controversy effectively ended his prospects for higher office.
Police said investigations into Thursday’s deaths are ongoing, though authorities have indicated there is no threat to the public.