Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax Killed His Wife, Then Himself. Their Teenage Children Were Home.
The big picture: Justin Fairfax — once a rising Democratic star whose political career collapsed under sexual assault allegations — shot and killed his wife Cerina in their Annandale, Virginia home early Thursday, then killed himself. Their two teenage children were inside. The couple’s older son called 911.
Why it matters: Domestic violence during divorce proceedings is often the most dangerous phase of an abusive relationship. Today’s tragedy follows a pattern experts have warned about for years — and two teenagers have lost both parents in the most devastating way.
What happened
Just after midnight Thursday, Fairfax County police responded to the couple’s home on Guinevere Drive. Chief Kevin Davis said Justin Fairfax shot Cerina multiple times in the basement, then ran upstairs and shot himself in the primary bedroom. The same firearm was used in both shootings. The couple was separated but living together in different bedrooms while going through divorce proceedings.
Fairfax had recently been served paperwork indicating when he was next scheduled to appear in court, and Davis said that “may have been a spark.”
A prior police call
In January, Fairfax called police and alleged his wife had assaulted him. Officers reviewed footage from cameras Cerina had installed throughout the home during the divorce, AND determined that the alleged assault never occurred. No charges were filed. According to dispatch audio, when the couple’s son called 911, he initially reported that his father “might have stabbed” his mother.
The political backstory
Fairfax was elected Virginia’s lieutenant governor in 2017 — only the second African-American elected statewide in Virginia. In 2019, when a blackface scandal engulfed Governor Ralph Northam, Fairfax was next in line for the governorship. BUT then two women came forward accusing him of sexual assault — Meredith Watson said he raped her at Duke in 2000, and Vanessa Tyson said he forced her to perform oral sex at the 2004 DNC. Fairfax denied both, calling the encounters consensual. He lost his 2021 governor’s race badly and returned to practicing law.
The children
The two teenagers are being cared for by grandparents and other family, with support from Fairfax County Police’s victim services division. Chief Davis called it “so tragic for the children to lose both parents, extra tragic for them to actually be in the home when it occurred.”
By the numbers
47 — Justin Fairfax’s age
2 — teenage children who were home when the shootings occurred
1 — firearm used in both shootings
2000, 2004 — years of the two sexual assault allegations against Fairfax
3.6% — Fairfax’s share of the vote in his failed 2021 gubernatorial primary
The bottom line
A family is destroyed. Two children lost both parents. A community is grieving. And once again, domestic violence during divorce proceedings has produced an outcome experts have long warned was possible — and preventable.
If you or someone you know is in a dangerous relationship, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788. If you or someone you know is struggling, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7.
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