ANNANDALE, Va. – Former Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax, once a rising star in the Democratic Party, shot and killed his wife, Cerina Fairfax, before taking his own life inside their Northern Virginia home early Thursday morning. The couple’s two teenage children were present during the incident, with their son placing the desperate 911 call.
Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis confirmed the tragic sequence of events, stating that the shootings stemmed from an “ongoing domestic dispute” amid “what seems to be a complicated or messy divorce.”
Police responded to the Fairfax home in Annandale shortly after midnight Thursday. According to Chief Davis, the former lieutenant governor shot his wife multiple times in the basement before running upstairs to the primary bedroom, where he used the same firearm to kill himself.
The couple had been living together in separate bedrooms while separated. A show cause order issued April 10 had directed Justin Fairfax to appear in court on April 21 as part of the divorce proceedings, which Cerina Fairfax had filed on July 18, 2025.
The couple’s son placed the 911 call, initially reporting that his father might have stabbed his mother. Dispatch audio captured the caller describing his mother “lying on the ground bleeding” with holes in her shirt.
“So tragic for the children to lose both parents, extra tragic for them to actually be in the home when it occurred,” Chief Davis said during a morning press conference. “Certainly a fall from grace for a relatively high-profile family that seemingly had a lot of things going in their favor.”
The children are now being cared for by grandparents and other family members, with support from the police department’s victim services division.
Political Reaction and Fairfax’s Troubled Legacy
Virginia Democrats expressed shock and horror following the news.
Sen. Mark Warner, who had worked with Fairfax for over a decade and benefited from his campaign leadership, told reporters: “It’s awful news. I’ve worked with Justin for over a decade, and obviously, the idea that even his teenage kids were in the house, it’s a – it’s a huge tragedy.”
Sen. Tim Kaine said he and Warner are “very heartbroken about this.”
Fairfax served as lieutenant governor under Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam from 2018 to 2022. His political career was marred by sexual assault allegations that emerged in 2019, which he repeatedly denied. After leaving office, he returned to practicing law, while his wife worked as a dentist.
Financial Troubles and Prior Incident
Court records revealed significant financial strain in Fairfax’s recent years:
-
Capital One filed a warrant in debt against him in October 2024 for $5,922.58.
-
Discover Bank filed a warrant in debt in May 2025 for $23,871.31.
Both cases resulted in default judgments against him.
Additionally, police noted that Justin Fairfax had made a call to police in January alleging assault by his wife, but that allegation was not corroborated by detectives. Cameras set up inside the home as part of the divorce proceedings helped investigators review the incident.
Fairfax, who worked to pass gun violence prevention legislation as lieutenant governor and repeatedly called gun violence a “national health crisis emergency,” wrote in a 2023 Facebook post about addressing “the internal damage and brokenness that drives people to cruelty and to want to destroy other people, families and communities.”
Chief Davis reflected on the rarity of such an outcome: “Half of America probably goes through divorce proceedings at some point in time and very, very rarely, thankfully, does it ever end up like this. So, very sad for this community … a lot of people who know the Fairfax family — everybody’s shocked. We’re shocked.”
