Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, his wife dead in murder-suicide, police say

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. — Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, a rising star in the Democratic Party before his career was derailed by sexual assault allegations several years ago, killed his wife before killing himself, police said Thursday.

Fairfax, 47, and his wife, Dr. Cerina Fairfax, 49, were found dead in their home in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Annandale after their teenage son called 911 shortly after midnight, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said.

The couple were separated and going through a divorce but living in the same house with their two children, who were home when the shootings occurred, he said. A court filing said the couple separated in 2024 and filed for divorce last year.

Justin Fairfax was served recently with paperwork telling him when next to appear in court, Davis said. In January, officers went to the home after Justin Fairfax alleged that his wife had assaulted him, he said.

“Apparently, Mrs. Fairfax, at some point during these divorce proceedings, set up a lot of cameras inside the home. We reviewed those cameras, and we corroborated that the alleged assault never occurred,” Davis said.

The couple, who met as undergraduates at Duke University, had been married since 2006. Cerina Fairfax ran a family dentistry practice. After graduating from Duke, she attended the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry, which honored her in 2015 as its most outstanding alumna of the last decade.

A profile page on her dental practice’s website described her as an avid reader who liked to travel, practice yoga, go on trail runs with her Vizsla-breed dogs, and “spend time with her wonderful family.”

“It’s very sad for this community,” Davis said. “A lot of people who know the Fairfax family, everybody’s shocked. We’re shocked.”

For a brief period in 2019, Justin Fairfax seemed poised to become Virginia’s second Black governor as Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam became engulfed in a scandal over a racist photo in his medical school yearbook that led to calls for his resignation.

But then two women came forward accusing Fairfax of sexually assaulting them years earlier. He adamantly denied the allegations and was never charged.

Vanessa Tyson said Fairfax – at the time a Columbia Law School student serving as an aide to Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards – forced her to perform oral sex in his hotel room during the Democratic National Convention in Boston in 2004. Two days after Tyson’s statement, Meredith Watson issued her own, accusing Fairfax of raping her in 2000, when they were students at Duke University.

The Associated Press generally doesn’t name people who say they are victims of sexual assault, but both women came forward publicly. Fairfax said the encounters were consensual and refused calls to resign. Fairfax later tried to run for governor in 2021, some said to clear his name, but was largely shunned by Virginia Democrats.

Fairfax said he believed voters would see through what he described as a smear campaign against him. But he was defeated in the Democratic primary.

Court filings show that Fairfax had financial challenges following the sexual assault allegations, which prompted his resignation as a partner at a prestigious law firm. The IRS filed a lien against the couple for more than $91,000 in unpaid taxes that was resolved in 2021.

A former federal prosecutor and civil litigator, Fairfax first unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for attorney general in 2013, then won the race for lieutenant governor in 2017.

The deaths stunned political leaders throughout the state.

“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.

Fairfax had served as co-chair for Warner’s 2014 reelection campaign.

Ghazala Hashmi, Virginia’s current lieutenant governor, 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 includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org.