Former Virginia Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax and wife found dead in reported murder-suicide

The Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said that Fairfax, 47, shot his wife and then himself.

Former Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax and his wife, Cerina Fairfax, were found dead in their home in what police are reporting as a murder-suicide, the New York Times reports.

The Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said that Fairfax, 47, shot his wife and then himself.

Fairfax, a Democrat, served as the lieutenant governor from 2018 to 2022, serving under former Governor Ralph Northam. He notably faced accusations of sexual assault by two women in 2019, dating back to 2000. The accusations prompted calls for his resignation; however, Fairfax denied the allegations and finished out his term.

Fairfax went on to run for governor in 2021, but lost the Democratic primary to former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe.

According to court documents filed in the Fairfax County Courthouse, Justin and Cerina Fairfax were in the middle of divorce proceedings. Cerina Fairfax filed for divorce in 2025, citing that the couple had separated in 2024. Justin Fairfax claimed his wife did not express her intent to permanently separate from him when she left.

The judge in the case, David Oblon, ruled in favor of Justin Fairfax, ordering that Cerina Fairfax “failed to plead her intent.”

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