Former Democratic Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax and his wife were found dead early Thursday in what police say was a murder-suicide inside their Annandale home.
Officers responded shortly after midnight at the home for a reported death investigation, according to authorities and multiple reports.
Inside the home, police discovered Fairfax, 47, and his wife, Cerina Fairfax, both dead, The Washington Post reported.
“Preliminarily, it appears that the adult male shot the adult female before shooting himself in a domestic-related incident,” Fairfax police said. https://t.co/rtEOfVmjeV
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) April 16, 2026
A preliminary investigation found Fairfax shot his wife before turning the gun on himself, officials told WJLA-TV.
Investigators believe the shooting began in the basement of the home.
Police said Fairfax killed his wife and then went upstairs to a bedroom, where he shot himself.
Officers said the same weapon was used in both shootings.
The couple’s two children were inside the home at the time. One of the children placed the 911 call that brought officers to the scene for a domestic incident.
According to officials, the couple had been separated but were still living together.
Court records show they were in the process of a divorce, per WJLA.
Police confirmed they had previously responded to domestic-related calls at the residence, most recently in January.
Fairfax served as lieutenant governor of Virginia from 2018 to 2022 under former Democratic Governor Ralph Northam.
He ran his own unsuccessful campaign for governor in 2021.
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