Police have issued an update after former deputy governor of Virginia Justin Fairfax was found dead alongside his wife.
Fairfax and his wife Cerina were both found dead together at their home on Thursday morning.
Local authorities have now released details of the 911 call and what they believe to have taken place.
The former deputy governor had a turbulent few years after leaving office, after his career was upended in 2019, following multiple s**ual assault allegations made against him.
It is suggested that this tragic incident may have stemmed from the ‘messy’ divorce that the couple was going through.
Fairfax’s fall from grace
When Fairfax became deputy governor in 2018, under Ralph Northam, he was the second African American to hold statewide office in Virginia.
At the time, he was considered to be a rising star of the state’s politics and a hope for Democrats in the area.
This hopeful career was upended in 2019 when there were calls for him to resign after two women made allegations of sexual assault against him.
He denied both of these allegations.
The calls for him to resign only added to a wider misconduct scandal that engulfed Northam’s tenure as governor.
Northam released a statement on Fairfax’s death yesterday.
“Pam and I are devastated by this heartbreaking news,” Northam said.
“I had the privilege of getting to know the Fairfaxes while our families served together. We are praying for Cameron, Carys, and the entire Fairfax family during this incredibly difficult time.”
In 2021, Fairfax hoped to revive his hopeful career by running for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in Virginia.
However, these hopes were short-lived as he finished in fourth place with only 3.54% of the vote.
His time as deputy governor ended in 2022, and since then, he had a turbulent few years.
His turbulent life since leaving office
Since leaving office in 2022, court documents acquired by the Washington Post reveal that Fairfax faced many issues.
The backlash following the allegations against prompted him to resign as partner at a prestigious law firm, leaving him with financial problems.
This led to him consuming large amounts of alcohol daily and growing more and more disconnected from his family.
The Washington Post learnt that Fairfax had purchased a gun in 2022, with he said was for personal security.
One on occasion, it is reported, that he left his house with a packed suitcase and the gun.
He was later found in a park by relatives including his wife Cerina.
The couple then separated in 2024.
Court documents have revealed that Cerina filed for divorce in July 2025.
In documents from the divorce proceedings, Judge Timothy J McEvoy described Fairfax as a ‘talented man who struggles with undefined emotional and psychological issues.’
“Yet there can be no mistake that these undefined issues are in fact defining him and limiting his ability to be the person he is capable of being, including but not limited to the role of a dad,” he added.
The couple continued to live together during their separation, along with their two children.
In January 2026, amidst their separation, Justin had accused his wife of assault, but interior cameras in their home proved this to be a false claim.
It is confirmed that he had lost custody of his children.
Fairfax was scheduled to appear in court on April 21, and had been ordered to move out of the family home by the end of the month.
Police issue an update
Local authorities received an emergency call from Fairfax’s son just after midnight local time, and the caller said he thought his mother had been stabbed.
Both of the couple’s two children were at home at the time of the incident.
Police found bullet casings next to Cerina’s body and confirmed that there was no prolonged confrontation before the shooting took place.
In a police briefing on Thursday morning, county police chief Kevin Davis confirmed that they are treating the deaths as a murder-suicide.
He added that the incident appears to stem from marital issues around an ongoing divorce.
Davis said: “This has been an ongoing domestic dispute surrounding what seems to be a complicated or messy divorce.”
“I think it all kind of happened at once,” he added.
“There wasn’t a pause… it all happened pretty spontaneously.”
Police confirmed that the couple was separated, but had still been living together.
“This is certainly a fall from grace for a relatively high-profile family that seemingly had a lot of things going for them,” Davis said.
“Tragic for the children to lose both parents. Extra tragic for them to actually be in the home when it occurred.”
