Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax and his wife, Cerina Fairfax, were found dead early Thursday morning in an apparent murder-suicide.
The New York Times reports that Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said Fairfax shot his wife and then himself while their teenage children were home. He said that police were called to the house earlier this year after Fairfax accused his wife of assault, but cameras in the house showed no evidence of an assault.
The couple was in the midst of divorce proceedings, and Justin Fairfax recently received papers informing him of his next court hearing. “Detectives will figure out if that led to this tragedy here,” Davis told reporters.
“It’s very sad for this community,” Davis added. “A lot of people who know the Fairfax family, everybody’s shocked. We’re shocked.”
Justin Fairfax’s time as Virginia’s lieutenant governor was not without controversy. After Gov. Ralph Northam came under controversy in 2019 after pictures were found of him in blackface, it looked like Fairfax was primed to become Virginia’s second Black governor. Those ambitions were quickly shot down after two women accused him of sexual assault.
Vanessa Tyson alleged that Fairfax forced her to perform oral sex in his hotel room during the Democratic National Convention in Boston in 2004. Justin Fairfax’s second accuser, Meredith Watson, issued a statement only two days after Tyson’s. Watson accused Fairfax of raping her in 2000, while they were both students at Duke University. Despite widespread calls to step down following the accusations, Fairfax remained in office until the end of his term.
Justin Fairfax campaigned for governor in 2021, where he once again drew scrutiny after saying his Democratic opponent, Terry McAuliffe, treated him like Emmett Till. The sexual assault allegations cast a shadow over Fairfax’s campaign, with him only receiving 3.5% of the vote in the Democratic primary for governor, effectively ending his political career.
According to AP, Cerina Fairfax ran a family dentistry practice in northern Virginia. She was an alumnus of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry, which honored her as the most outstanding alumna of the last decade in 2015.
Several Virginia politicians have released statements sharing their condolences for the Fairfax family. “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,” Virginia’s Democratic U.S. senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, said in a joint statement.
“Pam and I are devastated by this heartbreaking news,” Former Gov. Ralph Northam wrote in a statement. “I had the privilege of getting to know the Fairfaxes while our families served together. We are praying for Cameron, Carys, and the entire Fairfax family during this incredibly difficult time.”
Virginia’s current lieutenant governor, Ghazala Hashmi, called the deaths devastating. “My thoughts are with their children, loved ones, and numerous friends,” Hashmi said in a statement. “Along with so many in the Commonwealth, I am filled with sorrow; I await further insights from our law enforcement officials.”
This story is still developing…
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