The deaths of former Virginia governor Justin Fairfax and his estranged wife, Cerina Fairfax, are currently being investigated by Fairfax County officers. Both were pronounced dead on Thursday April 16 in what is believed to be a murder-suicide.
In a televised press conference Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davies told reporters that Justin Fairfax shot and killed his wife before turning the gun on himself and taking his own life too. The couple’s children, a teenage boy and teenage girl, were both in the house at the time of the shooting. The boy called 911 after they discovered the bodies of their parents.
The exact timeline of events has not been made public but Davis explained that things unfolded very quickly, “There wasn’t a pause, there was never a moment where someone was holed up in a room.” According to the authorities the incident occurred “pretty spontaneously.”
Davis stated that Justin shot his wife “several times” at some point just after midnight. Afterwards he made his way to a different part of the house where he shot himself. The police Chief expressed concern for the well-being of the children, “They are interacting with us and certainly the son was the one who called 911 during a very chaotic situation. I can only imagine.”
Justin Fairfax and Cerina were going through a messy divorce
Chief Davis also shared that Fairfax and his wife had been in the middle of divorce proceedings in the months leading up to the shooting although he did not confirm whether or not this was the motivation for the apparent murder-suicide.
“We know that recently Mr. Fairfax was served some type of paperwork indicating when he was next scheduled to next appear in court for the ongoing divorce proceedings,” the Chief shared, before adding, “That is something that we’re looking at as something that may have led to whatever happened last night that led to the murder of a mother and wife and a suicide.”
According to an amended divorce complaint obtained by People, the couple separated in June of 2024 with Cerina filing for divorce the following year. She claimed that Fairfax had failed to pay child support for their two children as well as failing to cover other household expenses such as groceries and utilities. He also failed to pay the mortgage according to the divorce complaint.
Fairfax objected to his wife’s claims in court, contesting his wife’s intentions to remain separate despite sharing the same home. Shortly afterwards Cerina filed an opposition motion accusing Fairfax of being an alcoholic. The motion also noted he “was accused of sexual assault by third parties.” He had also supposedly allowed their home to go into foreclosure and gotten into financial debt.
The former Lt. Governor was ordered to appear in court by a judge and shortly afterwards his wife was dead and so was he.
