ANNANDALE, VA. (THECOUNT) — Former Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax and his estranged wife Cerina Fairfax were both found dead inside their Annandale home in what authorities are investigating as an apparent murder-suicide, according to police and multiple reports.
Authorities said Justin Fairfax was 50. Cerina Fairfax was also found deceased at the residence. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.
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According to law enforcement officials, officers were called to a home in the Annandale area of Fairfax County on Wednesday after reports of a domestic-related incident. Investigators later determined that Cerina Fairfax was found in the basement of the residence, while Justin Fairfax was located in a bedroom. Police said Justin Fairfax shot his wife before turning the weapon on himself.
Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis stated during a press briefing that the case appears to stem from an ongoing domestic dispute tied to divorce proceedings between the couple. Authorities have not reported any additional suspects or threats to the public.
In addition to the homicide investigation, attention has turned to recent court filings connected to the couple’s ongoing divorce proceedings. According to documents obtained by TMZ, Cerina Fairfax filed for divorce on July 18, 2025, citing marital separation dating back to June 2024 while the couple continued living in the same home.
The filing states the couple was married on June 17, 2006, and shares two children, identified as Cameron, born in 2009, and Carys, born in 2011.
In the court documents, Cerina Fairfax alleged that the couple entered into a post-nuptial agreement in December 2024 addressing division of assets and spousal support. She also stated there was no expectation of reconciliation between the parties.
Cerina Fairfax further claimed in the filing that Justin Fairfax failed to meet several financial obligations outlined in their agreements, including contributions toward private school tuition, extracurricular expenses, and household costs. She also alleged he had stopped paying his portion of the mortgage on the family residence.
The filing asserted that Cerina Fairfax had been the primary financial provider for the household and the primary caregiver for their children. She requested primary physical custody and enforcement of the existing marital agreements through the court system. The case had not been finalized at the time of the deaths.
Justin Fairfax served as Virginia’s Lieutenant Governor from 2018 to 2022 and was previously considered a rising figure in state Democratic politics. His tenure also included national attention in 2019 when he faced separate sexual assault allegations, which he denied at the time. Those allegations were not criminally charged.
Miami Herald reported that Meredith Watson claimed Justin Fairfax raped her in 2000 when they were students at Duke University.
“He knew that the year prior that I had been raped by someone and that nothing was done about it. And he was a very good friend to me,” Watson said on CBS This Morning in 2019. “Which is why I never would’ve expected anything like this from him.” When asked whether she ever tried to talk to Justin after he allegedly assaulted her, Watson replied, “I did.”
“One night after it happened … I was at a party on campus and he came and so I went to leave, like, I left. And he followed me out and was sort of following after me, calling after me,” Watson said. “And I was just running trying to get away and then I finally stopped and I turned around. And all I said to him was, ‘Why? Why would you do that to me?’ And he said, ‘I knew because of what happened to you last year that if I got you in the right situation, you would be too afraid to say or do anything about it.'”
Watson claimed that Justin “knew what he was gonna do that night when he asked [her] to come over.”
Another woman, Dr. Vanessa Tyson, accused Justin of forcing her to perform oral sex when they attended the Democratic National Convention in Boston in 2004, according to Miami Herald.
Dr. Tyson is a long-time advocate for sexual assault survivors and was a founding member of the Survivor Speakers’ Bureau at the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center.
Police have not indicated whether any additional individuals were involved in the incident at the Annandale residence. Officials have also not released information regarding the weapon used or whether it was legally registered.
The Fairfax County Police Department continues to investigate the circumstances surrounding the deaths. Authorities have described the case as an active domestic-related homicide investigation with no ongoing threat to the public.
Neighbors in the Annandale community, a suburban area located in northern Virginia within the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region, described the scene as heavily secured by law enforcement during the initial response. The neighborhood consists primarily of residential homes and is situated within Fairfax County, one of the most populous counties in Virginia.
Investigators have not released additional details regarding the timeline leading up to the incident or any prior emergency calls to the residence. The medical examiner will determine official causes and manner of death.
Authorities are expected to release further findings as the investigation progresses.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.
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