Former Virginia Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax fatally shot his wife, Cerina Fairfax, before turning the gun on himself in their Annandale, Virginia home on Thursday.
Cerina was shot multiple times in the basement of the house. Then Justin ran upstairs to a bedroom where he fatally shot himself.
Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said the couple’s two teenage children were inside the house when the shootings occurred. Neither child was harmed.
“Obviously, we have two teenage children who were in the house,” Davis told reporters on Thursday during a news conference outside the home. He said the son called 911.
“The son was the one who who called 911 during a very chaotic situation, and I can only imagine,” Davis told reporters.
The son of former Virginia Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax called 911 after Justin allegedly shot his wife and then himself. https://t.co/ksDx8eVPQr
?: Broadcastify pic.twitter.com/UYkb12zC5s
— TMZ (@TMZ) April 16, 2026
“Our main concern is for their well-being right now, they are interacting with us,” Davis added.
Cerina had served Justin with divorce papers, according to court records.
They separated on June 1, 2024, but continued living together in the same home with their children.
Police said there were numerous domestic incidents inside the home.
“We know that recently, Mr. Fairfax was served some type of paperwork indicating when he was scheduled to next appear in court for the ongoing divorce proceedings,” Davis said.
He said Justin made a false domestic assault report against his wife in the months before the murder-suicide.
Justin called police in January and claimed that Cerina had assaulted him, but police found no evidence to support his claim.
“We responded to that scene. There are several cameras set up inside the house,” Chief Davis said.
“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. So there was no arrest made. There was a report written, but the allegation that Mr. Fairfax made in January that Mrs. Fairfax assaulted him was proven to be untrue.”
Cerina was an oral surgeon who operated Dr. Fairfax & Associates Family Dentistry.
On January 16, 2026, a Fairfax County judge said Cerina Fairfax didn’t state her intent to end her marriage to Justin. The judge sustained Justin’s objection to the divorce action.
“In the present case, Wife failed to plead her intent,” Judge David A. Oblon wrote.
The judge added that the postnuptial agreement, which included language about preserving their marriage, “tends to negate her argued intent.”
Justin Fairfax served as Virginia’s 41st lieutenant governor under Gov. Ralph Northam between Jan. 13, 2018, to Jan. 15, 2022.
