Former Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax fatally shot his estranged wife, Dr. Cerina Fairfax, in their basement before killing himself early Thursday, Fairfax County police said. The deaths occurred in Annandale, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C.
The couple, who had been separated for nearly two years while living together with their two teenage children, was in the midst of divorce proceedings when the deaths occurred. Their son called 911.
The deaths close a political arc for Fairfax: from lieutenant governor and potential gubernatorial candidate in 2017 to political isolation following sexual assault allegations in 2019, and subsequent personal and financial decline.
Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis identified the deceased as Justin Fairfax and his wife, Dr. Cerina Fairfax, 49. Officers discovered their bodies after being called to the home early Thursday morning. Justin Fairfax, 47, had been the state’s lieutenant governor from 2017 until his resignation in 2019.
“It’s very sad for this community,” Davis said. “A lot of people who know the Fairfax family, everybody’s shocked. We’re shocked.”
A Marriage in Crisis
Court records show the couple had been separated for nearly two years but continued to live in the same house with their two teenage children. Cerina Fairfax filed for divorce last year, citing the strain of Justin Fairfax’s isolation and drinking.
In her divorce testimony, Cerina Fairfax said her husband drank daily, his living space littered with empty wine bottles and piles of dirty laundry. Court documents show he purchased a handgun in 2022, using money that had been intended for horseback riding lessons for their children.
In a March 30 ruling, a judge ordered Fairfax to move out by the end of April, writing that tensions in the home had been “extremely high for an extended period of time.” The judge’s findings went deeper. She documented how Fairfax’s “isolation, drinking, and a lack of participation in family life are manifestations of what seems to be a sense of fatalism and hopelessness.”
After an unsuccessful 2013 campaign for Democratic attorney general, Fairfax had recovered within about a month of heavy drinking and withdrawal. But he never bounced back from the 2019 scandal that followed.
Sophia A. Nelson, a Virginia author and journalist who described Fairfax as a close friend, told the Associated Press that she and other friends had repeatedly urged him to seek help. “I was concerned, as were other close friends, fraternity brothers, family members,” Nelson said. “There were talks of suicidal thoughts.”
Nelson said she believed Fairfax lacked the financial means to move out despite the court order. His 2019 downfall had stripped away his resources. He resigned as a partner at a prestigious law firm, and the IRS later filed a tax lien against the couple for more than $91,000, which was resolved in 2021.
From Rising Star to Political Isolation
Fairfax won election as Virginia’s lieutenant governor in 2017 as a rising Democratic star. Two years later, when Governor Ralph Northam faced pressure to resign over a racist photograph in his medical school yearbook, Fairfax appeared positioned to become Virginia’s second Black governor.
But in 2019, two women came forward with accusations that Fairfax had sexually assaulted them years earlier, before he was married. Fairfax denied the allegations, saying any encounters had been consensual, and refused to resign. He attempted to run for governor in 2021 but was largely shunned by Virginia Democrats and defeated in the primary.
Nelson said that on Tuesday night, just days before his death, Fairfax expressed how recent sexual assault allegations against Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell had brought back his sense of being unfairly judged. “He never moved past the 2019 scandal,” Nelson said.
A Life Remembered
Cerina Fairfax built a distinct professional identity separate from her husband’s political career. She earned her dental degree from Virginia Commonwealth University, which honored her as an outstanding alumna in 2015. She operated a family dentistry practice where clients knew her as an avid reader, traveler, and trail runner. The couple had met as undergraduates at Duke University and married in 2006.
Virginia’s Democratic U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine issued a joint statement: “We are keeping Cerina and Justin Fairfax’s family — especially their two children — in our prayers as we all process this shocking and horrifying news.” Fairfax had served as co-chair of Warner’s 2014 reelection campaign.
Governor Abigail Spanberger posted on X that she was deeply saddened by the deaths. “This tragedy reminds us that domestic violence can occur in any family and in any place,” she wrote.
Nelson reflected on the weight of what Fairfax’s actions would mean for his legacy. “You now fit what many, many men have done in domestic violence incidences like this,” she said, fighting back tears. “And that’s how you’re remembered.”
Editor’s Note: This article discusses suicide and domestic violence. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org. For domestic violence support, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233.