The former lieutenant governor of Virginia, Justin Fairfax, allegedly killed himself and 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”. He said it was an ongoing domestic-related dispute surrounding a “messy divorce.”
Who was Justin Fairfax?
Fairfax, a Democrat, served as lieutenant governor from 2018 to 2022. He was just the second Black politician elected statewide in Virginia and had a rising national profile until he faced calls to resign from his own party in 2019 after allegations of sexual assault were made against him, which he denied.
Davis said the family’s two children — teenagers — were in the house when the incident occurred. He said it seems from the scene that Fairfax shot his wife in the home’s basement and then ran upstairs to the primary bedroom, where he shot himself.
(With inputs from agencies)
