Ex-Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax and wife found dead in murder-suicide, police say

Former Virginia lieutenant governor Justin Fairfax and his wife, Cerina, were found dead by Fairfax County police in their Annandale home early Thursday morning in what police say was an apparent murder-suicide.

“Former Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax shot and killed his wife inside of their home and then shot and killed himself,” Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said at a news conference Thursday morning outside the couple’s home in the Annandale area of Fairfax. “This has been an ongoing domestic dispute surrounding what seems to be a complicated or messy divorce.”

Davis said that Fairfax, 47, was recently served paperwork related to an upcoming court proceeding. The couple, he said, were separated but living together. They married in 2006.

Both of the couple’s children, a teenage boy and girl, were at home when the shooting occurred, Davis said. According to Davis, Fairfax shot his wife several times in the basement and then ran upstairs to a bedroom, where he shot and killed himself. The couple’s son called 911, he said.

In January, Davis said, Justin Fairfax called police and reported that he had been assaulted by his wife. Police responded and determined that no assault had occurred.

Fairfax, a Democrat, was elected to Virginia’s second-highest office in 2017, becoming the second African American elected statewide in Virginia. He served with former governor Ralph Northam and was once a favorite to become the state’s governor.

“Pam and I are devastated by this heartbreaking news. I had the privilege of getting to know the Fairfaxes while our families served together,” Northam said in the statement Thursday morning.

In 2019, Fairfax faced sexual assault allegations dating to 2000 and 2004. He denied the accusations, but they upended his 2021 campaign for governor. In the Democratic primary that year, Fairfax came in fourth, with just over 17,600 votes.

by Joe Heim, Juan Benn Jr., Gregory S. Schneider | (c) 2026 , The Washington Post