(NEW YORK) — Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax fatally shot his wife, Cerina, in their home before taking his own life, police said Thursday.
Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis told reporters that there was an “ongoing domestic dispute surrounding a complicated, messy divorce.”
Police responded to a domestic call at the couple’s Annandale, Virginia, home in January, Davis said, but no charges were filed from that incident. The couple were separated but still living together inside the house, according to Davis.
“Former Lt Gov Fairfax was recently served some paperwork associated with an upcoming court proceeding that apparently led to this incident last night,” he said.
Davis said that the shooting took place around midnight and the couple’s two teenage children were inside the home.
Their son, the eldest child, called 911, according to Davis.
“[It’s] a traumatic event for those children to live through,” he said.
Fairfax served as the state’s lieutenant governor between 2018 and 2022.
The investigation is ongoing.
Police responded to a domestic call at the couple’s Annandale, Virginia, home in January, Davis said, but no charges were filed from that incident.
Davis said Cerina Fairfax had set up several cameras in the house prior to the January domestic call, and that footage from the cameras had evidence from Thursday’s incident.
Davis added that the camera footage previously led investigators to determine that the January 911 call, where the former lieutenant governor alleged his wife assaulted him, was uncorroborated.
The couple had been married for 19 years and had met while they both attended Duke University.
Cerina Fairfax had a private practice in Fairfax, Virginia. She graduated from VCU’s Medical College of Virginia School of Dentistry in 2005, according to the bio on her practice’s page.
“She is committed to serving not only her patients but others as well through participation in community outreach programs, volunteer and sponsorship opportunities, vocational training programs, and contributions to local charities and nonprofits intended to aid individuals and/or organizations helping those in need,” her bio read.
Justin Fairfax served as the state’s lieutenant governor between 2018 and 2022. He had served as a private attorney and assistant DA before he first ran for office in 2013 in the Virginia attorney general’s race, where he lost by 4,500 votes.
In 2017, he won his bid to be lieutenant governor and became the second Black American in the state’s history to hold the position.
During his tenure, Justin Fairfax was accused by two women of past sexual abuse. Although he denied the allegations, several prominent Virginia Democrats, including Sen. Tim Kaine, called for his resignation.
Justin Fairfax was never criminally charged for those allegations and he remained in office until his term was up.
Justin Fairfax ran for governor in 2021 but lost in the Democratic primary.
Davis reflected on the tragedy of the situation and the trauma inflected on the surviving children.
“It’s tragic in nature, certainly a fall for fall from grace for a relatively high profile family that seemingly had had a lot of things going in their favor. So tragic for the children to lose both parents, extra tragic for them to actually be in the home when it occurred,” he said.
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spencer released a message on X Thursday saying she was praying for the Fairfax children.
“Dr. Fairfax was a devoted mother, beloved dentist in the Fairfax County community, and engaged supporter of her alma mater, Virginia Commonwealth University. My prayers are with the Wanzer and Fairfax families as they mourn their own loss, endeavor to make sense of this tragedy, and comfort the Fairfax children,” she said.
If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or worried about a friend or loved one, call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 for free, confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
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