Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax Kills Wife, Then Himself in Murder-Suicide Amid Contentious Divorce

ANNANDALE, Va. — Former Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax fatally shot his wife, Dr. Cerina Fairfax, multiple times in the basement of their home before turning the gun on himself early Thursday, Fairfax County police said.

Officers responded to a 911 call from the couple’s older teenage son shortly after midnight on April 16, 2026. Police Chief Kevin Davis confirmed the deaths as a domestic-related murder-suicide with no threat to the community.

Court documents show the couple was in the midst of a messy divorce. Fairfax had recently been ordered to leave the family home and lost custody of their two children, with a court deadline to vacate the property just weeks away.

Fairfax, 47, a Democrat, served as Virginia’s lieutenant governor from 2018 to 2022 under Gov. Ralph Northam. His political career was derailed by 2019 sexual assault allegations, which he denied but which led to calls for his resignation from members of his own party.

Dr. Cerina Fairfax, a practicing dentist, was 49. The couple’s two teenage children were home at the time of the shooting.

The tragedy leaves the children without both parents and has renewed focus on the dangers of escalating domestic disputes during divorce proceedings. The investigation remains ongoing.