By Derek Vanbuskirk
Former Democratic Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax committed suicide after killing his wife early Thursday during a messy divorce, authorities say.
Justin and his wife, Cerina Fairfax, were found dead in their Virginia home, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said. (RELATED: Remains Of Teen US Soldier Who Went Missing During Korean War Identified)
Davis said that Justin shot Cerina in the basement before making his way upstairs and shooting himself in the primary bedroom. The murder-suicide followed what Davis said, “seems to be a complicated or messy divorce.”
Davis noted that Justin was recently served papers associated with an upcoming court proceeding, which he said “apparently led to this incident.”
He said that police had responded to calls in January, where Justin alleged that Cerina had assaulted him; however, cameras in the house showed that “the alleged assault never occurred,” Davis said.
Investigators have collected footage from the cameras to corroborate details of the attack.
Davis added that Fairfax’s two teenage children were home during the incident, describing it as “a traumatic event for those children to live through.”
One of the children made the 911 call after midnight, Davis said, corroborating much of the story.
Justin Fairfax served as lieutenant governor under Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, also a Democrat, between 2018 and 2022 and had run for governor himself in 2021.
While in office, Justin was accused of sexual assault by at least two women in 2000 and 2004; however, Justin maintained that the encounters were consensual, according to the New York Post.
