Justin Fairfax, a Democrat who served as Virginia's 41st Lieutenant Governor under Ralph Northam, and his wife, Cerina, have died in what authorities are calling a murder-suicide. This comes as the couple was going through a contentious divorce, according to authorities.
@fcpd Chief Kevin Davis confirms that former VA Lt Gov Justin Fairfax and his wife Cerina were found deceased from gunshot wounds in their Annandale home this morning. It appears to be a murder-suicide. Follow @fox5dc for more updates pic.twitter.com/M1YFmyRFWf
— Melanie Alnwick (@fox5melanie) April 16, 2026
Police were called to the Annandale home of Fairfax earlier this morning.
🚨 BREAKING: Murder suicide - former VA Dem Lt Gov @LGJustinFairfax kills wife then himself in Annandale, VA. Police are zip lipped.
— NOVA Campaigns (@NoVA_Campaigns) April 16, 2026
AJust after midnight Justin Fairfax shot and killed his wife and then shot himself in the head. They were going through divorce.
Police… pic.twitter.com/WgLSRf07GR
Authorities say former Virginia lieutenant governor Justin Fairfax shot and killed his wife before turning the gun on himself inside the couple’s Annandale home.
Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said officers were called shortly after midnight to the 8100 block of Guinevere Drive, where they found both adults dead inside the residence.
Davis said the shootings stemmed from a domestic dispute connected to the couple’s ongoing divorce.
The couple’s two children were inside the home at the time but were not harmed.
According to Davis, Fairfax shot his wife several times, then went to another part of the house and killed himself with the same weapon.
Fairfax ran for Governor in 2022, but his campaign was plagued by multiple scandals, including accusations of sexual assault.
🚨 BREAKING: Seeing a lot of chatter that former VA Lt. Gov @LGJustinFairfax killed his estranged wife & then himself in a murder-suicide last night. Fairfax had been embroiled in multiple scandals since his unsuccessful gubernatorial run in 2021. This story is developing.
— John Bourscheid 🇺🇸 🚀 (@bourscheid) April 16, 2026
Fairfax nearly became governor during Ralph Northam's blackface scandal, until the black Democrat was hit with multiple allegations of sexual assault.
— Scott Greer 6’2” IQ 187 (@ScottMGreer) April 16, 2026
The party decided Northam's scandal wasn't so bad after all. https://t.co/hF6QlKEgMn
The couple's children are teenagers.
#Breaking Now confirmed. Former Virginia Lt Gov Justin Fairfax shot and killed his wife then himself inside their Annandale VA home. Police say result of ongoing domestic dispute. Fairfax’s wife recently filed for divorce. Their two teenage children inside the home at the time https://t.co/ouJcDP8cgX
— Steve Chenevey FOX5 (@stevechenevey) April 16, 2026
Update on @LGJustinFairfax shooting https://t.co/ylIaEfl6pf pic.twitter.com/xxxs9Wd55k
— NOVA Campaigns (@NoVA_Campaigns) April 16, 2026
It sounds like the couple's son made the call to 911.
A gun was recovered from the home.
According to a police news conference, authorities had responded to the house in January, when Fairfax called and said his wife had assaulted him. Cameras installed by Cerina Fairfax showed the assault didn't take place.
Law enforcement said paperwork related to the ongoing divorce proceedings had been served yesterday, and they believe that's what prompted the murder-suicide.