Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, a rising star in the Democratic Party before his career was derailed by sexual assault allegations six years ago, killed his wife before killing himself, police said Thursday.
Fairfax, 47, and his wife, Dr. Cerina Fairfax, 49, were found dead in their home in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Annandale after their son called 911 shortly after midnight, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said.
The couple appeared to be going through a messy divorce but still living in the same house with their two teenage children, who were home when the deaths occurred, he said.
Cerina Fairfax said in court filings that they separated nearly two years ago and that she filed for divorce last summer.
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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org
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Justin Fairfax was recently served with paperwork telling him when next to appear in court, Davis said. In January, officers went to the home after Justin Fairfax alleged that his wife had assaulted him, he said.
“Apparently, Mrs. Fairfax, at some point during these divorce proceedings, set up a lot of cameras inside the home. We reviewed those cameras, and we corroborated that the alleged assault never occurred,” Davis said.
The couple, who met as undergraduates at Duke University, married in 2006. Cerina Fairfax ran a family dentistry practice. She also attended the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry, which honored her in 2015 as an outstanding alumna.
A profile page on her office website described her as an avid reader who liked to travel, practice yoga, go on trail runs with her Vizsla-breed dogs, and “spend time with her wonderful family.”
“It’s very sad for this community,” Davis said. “A lot of people who know the Fairfax family, everybody’s shocked. We’re shocked.”
For a brief period in 2019, Justin Fairfax seemed poised to become Virginia’s second Black governor as Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam became engulfed in a scandal over a racist photo in his medical school yearbook that led to calls for his resignation. Fairfax would have automatically become governor if Northam had stepped down.
But then two women came forward accusing Fairfax of sexually assaulting them years earlier. He adamantly denied the allegations, saying they were part of a smear campaign. He was never charged.
An aide to Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards said Fairfax sexually assaulted her during the Democratic National Convention in 2004. Two days after she came forward, another woman accused him of raping her in 2000, when they were students at Duke.
Fairfax said the encounters were consensual and refused calls to resign. He later tried to run for governor in 2021, but was largely shunned by Virginia Democrats and defeated in the Democratic primary.
Court filings show that Fairfax had financial challenges following the sexual assault allegations, which prompted his resignation as a partner at a prestigious law firm. The IRS filed a lien against the couple for more than $91,000 in unpaid taxes that was resolved in 2021.
A former federal prosecutor and civil litigator, Fairfax first unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for attorney general in 2013, then won the race for lieutenant governor in 2017.
While he was running for attorney general, he praised his wife for her support and said he had left his job to seek office with her backing. “She’s the rock upon which we have built this family and this campaign,” he said.
The deaths stunned political leaders throughout the state.
“We are keeping Cerina and Justin Fairfax’s family — especially their two children — in our prayers as we all process this shocking and horrifying news,” Virginia’s Democratic U.S. senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, said in a joint statement.
Fairfax had served as co-chair for Warner’s 2014 reelection campaign.
Virginia’s Democratic governor, Abigail Spanberger, posted on X that she was deeply saddened and praying for the couple’s children and families.
“This tragedy reminds us that domestic violence can occur in any family and in any place,” she wrote. “Resources are available to support our neighbors experiencing domestic violence and facing mental health crises.”
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Biesecker reported from Fairfax County, Virginia. Associated Press reporters Sarah Brumfield in Cockeysville, Maryland, Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tennessee, Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington, Allen G. Breed in Wake Forest, North Carolina, and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed to this report.
