Justin Fairfax, who served as the 41st lieutenant governor of Virginia from 2018 to 2022, is dead following an apparent murder-suicide. He was 47 years old.
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According to Fox News, Fairfax County Police Department chief Kevin Davis confirmed Fairfax was found dead along with his wife, Cerina.
“Justin Fairfax shot and killed – shot several times,” Davis stated. “And [he] killed his wife, ran to a different part of the home, and then killed himself with the same firearm he had just gotten unseen.”
The law enforcement official further revealed that while they were no longer together, the couple was still living in the same residence. According to the court documents, Fairfax and his wife were going through a divorce and had upcoming court dates.
“We know that because when Mr. Fairfax called us to their home back in January and alleged that his wife assaulted him in the home,” Davis said. “We were able to go to those cameras and determine that that that never occurred.”
The official then noted, “So if that’s the only time that the Fairfax County Police Department has ever been at the Fairfax home.”
Davis added that Fairfax was once considered a “rising star politically.” However, his death is a “tragic fall from grace.”
Fairfax and his wife married in 2006 and had two children together. Both were home at the time of the shooting. Their son had called 911.
Fairfax Was Previously Accused of Sexual Assault
The politician’s death comes seven years after he was accused of sexually assaulting Vanessa C. Tyson.
Tyson stated the incident occurred at a hotel during the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. After years of suppressing memories of the event, Tyson said she began telling close friends about it in 2017. She pointed out that pictures of Fairfax running for lieutenant governor had triggered the memories.
She first approached The Washington Post about her accusations against Fairfax shortly after he won his election. However, the media outlet decided not to run the story.
Tyson later approached Virginia Congressman Bobby Scott. He also declined to act on it.
Fairfax continuously denied the allegations. He stated that his encounter with Tyson was consensual and that the allegations were intended to smear him.
“I wish her no harm or humiliation, nor do I seek to denigrate her or diminish her voice,” he said. “But I cannot agree with a description of events that I know is not true.”
Another woman later came forward, accusing Fairfax of assault. He refused to resign as lieutenant governor. However, he was asked to step down from the board of visitors at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy. He also left his position as chairman of the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association.