Son’s 911 call led to discovery of ex-Lt Gov Justin Fairfax and wife’s bodies

LocalPolitics
16 Apr 2026 • 10:28 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

Son’s 911 call led to discovery of ex-Lt Gov Justin Fairfax and wife’s bodies

  • Former Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax and his wife, Cerina Fairfax, were found dead in their Annandale home Thursday morning in what police have ruled a murder-suicide.
  • Police found the bodies after one of their teenage children called 911 shortly after midnight.
  • Fairfax, who served from 2018 to 2022, shot his wife before taking his own life. The shooting came amidst an "ongoing domestic dispute surrounding a complicated or messy divorce," with Fairfax reportedly having been served divorce paperwork recently.
  • “That may have been a spark,” the police chief said. “Detectives will figure out if that led to this tragedy here.”
  • Fairfax was a rising star in the Democratic party several years ago before his career was derailed by sexual assault allegations.

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