Justin Fairfax, the former lieutenant governor of Virginia, once tipped for higher office, died in an apparent murder–suicide at the family's home in Annandale on Thursday, 15 April, police in Fairfax County have said, after he allegedly shot his estranged wife, Cerina, before turning the gun on himself while their teenage children were inside the house.
For context, the news came after months of what police described as a 'complicated or messy divorce' between Justin Fairfax and his wife of two decades. Court records indicate that Cerina filed for divorce in July 2025 after the couple had separated the previous year, although they were still living under the same roof in the million‑dollar property at the time of their deaths. Nothing about the precise trigger for Thursday's violence has been independently confirmed, and some details remain based on early police briefings and media reporting, so they should be treated with caution.
