Photo: Getty Images
Newly-obtained court documents show that the late former Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax lost custody of his children and was ordered to move out of his home prior to the apparent murder-suicide involving him and his wife, Cerina Fairfax.
The two were found dead by Fairfax County Police inside their home on Thursday (April 16), after the couple’s teenage son called 911 shortly after midnight, according to The Associated Press.
Both were pronounced dead on the scene by police, who claimed Fairfax shot his wife multiple times in the basement before going upstairs and shooting himself.
Court documents obtained by NBC News 4 state that Cerina filed for divorce in 2025. A county judge reportedly granted custody of their teenage children to Cerina and ordered Fairfax to move out of their home by the end of April.
Fairfax had previously struggled with alcoholism and isolated himself from his family following sexual assault allegations made against him in 2019, while he was still in office.
“The wife testified that heavy daily alcohol consumption by the father has become the norm,” a county judge wrote in the custody opinion. The judge also stated that there was evidence Fairfax's father purchased a handgun using money intended for his horseback riding lessons for his kids in 2022, per NBC News 4.
County police claim that Cerina installed home security cameras during the divorce proceedings, which were rolling both during the shooting and when Fairfax called the police in January, claiming that Cerina was assaulting him.
“We reviewed those cameras and corroborated that the alleged [January] assault never occurred,” Fairfax County Chief of Police Kevin Davis said.
Court documents allegedly showed that Cerina was actively involved in her children's lives and maintained a healthy relationship with them, while Fairfax struggled to do the same.
Neighbors were reportedly aware of the family’s struggles during the divorce proceedings, but “shocked” by the outcome, per NBC News 4.
“[I’m] just amazed. Shocked, because I knew them,” Peter Demeo, one of Fairfax’s neighbors, said, expressing particular concern for the children. “Anything like this is upsetting and you think about the children because their futures are big-time changed.”
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