Who was Justin Fairfax? Democrat who killed wife, self over 'messy divorce'

The former lieutenant governor of Virginia, Justin Fairfax, took his own life and killed his wife, Cerina Fairfax, at their home just after midnight on Thursday, police said.

According to Bloomberg, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis described it as a “murder-suicide”. Authorities said the case appears to stem from an ongoing domestic dispute tied to a “messy divorce”.

Justin Fairfax and his wife, Cerina Fairfax, were found dead at their home in Annandale, northern Virginia, after their teenage son called 911 shortly after midnight, Davis said, reported AP.

Davis said the couple, who were separated and in the process of divorcing, were still residing in the same house with their two children, both of whom were present when the shootings took place.

Justin Fairfax was recently served with court documents informing him of his next scheduled appearance, Davis noted. “Detectives will figure out if that led to this tragedy here. It’s very sad for this community. A lot of people who know the Fairfax family, everybody’s shocked. We’re shocked," Davis stated.

Who was Justin Fairfax?

Justin Fairfax, a Democrat, served as Virginia’s lieutenant governor from 2018 to 2022. He was the second Black politician elected to a statewide office in Virginia and once had a growing national profile. However, his career faced a setback in 2019 when members of his own party called for his resignation following sexual assault allegations, which he rejected.

According to Davis, the couple’s two teenage children were inside the house at the time of the incident. Preliminary findings suggest that Fairfax shot his wife in the basement before moving upstairs to the main bedroom, where he then fatally shot himself.

A former federal prosecutor and civil litigator, Justin Fairfax initially ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for attorney general in 2013 before winning the election for lieutenant governor in 2017.

For a short time in 2019, Justin Fairfax appeared likely to become governor as then-Governor Ralph Northam faced intense criticism over a racist photograph from his medical school yearbook, prompting calls for his resignation. However, Fairfax’s prospects were derailed when two women accused him of sexual assault dating back several years. He strongly dismissed the allegations.

Vanessa Tyson alleged that Fairfax, then a Columbia Law School student and aide to Democratic vice-presidential nominee John Edwards, forced her to perform oral sex in a hotel room during the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. Two days later, Meredith Watson accused him of raping her in 2000 when they were both students at Duke University.

Fairfax denied the claims, maintaining the encounters were consensual, and resisted calls to resign. He later ran for governor in 2021, with some suggesting the bid was an attempt to restore his reputation, but he received little support from Virginia Democrats. He expressed confidence that voters would recognise what he described as a smear campaign against him, but he ultimately lost in the Democratic primary.

Meanwhile, Cerina Fairfax operated a family dentistry practice in northern Virginia. She was an alumna of Duke University and the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry, which recognised her in 2015 as its most outstanding alumna of the previous decade.

(The story contains content related to suicide. If you or someone you know requires assistance, one can either call or text 988 to the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the US. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org)

(With inputs from agencies)