Justin Fairfax, a former lieutenant governor of Virginia, has been found dead alongside his wife, Cerina Fairfax, in what police described as a murder-suicide at their home in Annandale, Virginia.
The incident occurred shortly after midnight on Thursday, according to county authorities.
Police said Fairfax, 47, shot his wife before taking his own life. Their teenage children were inside the house at the time of the incident, the police chief confirmed.
Fairfax, a Democrat, served as Virginia’s lieutenant governor from 2018 to 2022. His time in office was overshadowed by allegations of sexual assault made by two women in 2019. He denied the claims and completed his term in office.
He later contested the 2021 governorship race but lost the Democratic primary to former Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe.
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Providing details on the domestic situation, the county police chief, Kevin Davis, said the couple had been involved in an “ongoing domestic dispute surrounding a complicated or messy divorce.” Court documents indicate that both parties had initiated divorce proceedings earlier this year.
Fairfax rose to prominence after his election as lieutenant governor in 2017, serving alongside Governor Ralph Northam. He remained relatively low-profile until 2019, when a wave of political scandals shook the state’s leadership.
The controversy began after the emergence of a medical school yearbook photo allegedly showing Northam in blackface, triggering widespread calls for his resignation. As pressure mounted, two women accused Fairfax of sexual assault — one allegation dated back to 2000 at Duke University, and another to 2004 at the Democratic National Convention.
Although Fairfax denied the accusations, the scandal disrupted efforts to remove Northam from office. The situation escalated further when the state attorney general, then the third-ranking Democrat, admitted to having worn blackface during his college years.
Despite the controversies, all three officials remained in office and completed their respective terms.
(New York Times)