Justin Fairfax, a former lieutenant governor of Virginia, and his wife, Cerina, were found dead inside their Annandale home early Thursday morning in an apparent murder-suicide, according to reports.
Authorities were called shortly after midnight to a residence on the 8100 block of Guinevere Drive, where they discovered the couple dead inside, WSET reported, citing the Fairfax County Police Department.
Per a preliminary investigation, authorities believe Fairfax shot his wife, and then turned the firearm on himself.
Fairfax was the lieutenant governor under Democrat Ralph Northam, who served at the 73rd governor of Virginia from 2018 to 2022, becoming the second African American elected statewide in Virginia.
In 2019, he was accused of sexual assault by two women, triggering calls for his resignation, which he resisted. Fairfax went on to finish his term and later ran an unsuccessful campaign for the governor’s mansion in 2021. He finished fourth for the Democratic Party.