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The teenager also reportedly told dispatchers that he did not know where his father was.
When emergency crews arrived, they located Cerina Fairfax in the unfinished basement of the home. Authorities said she was unconscious and suffering from severe injuries.
A medic at the scene gave a grim update over the radio, stating, “The husband’s not gonna be here. It’s gonna look like an obvious D.O.A.,” before adding that the victim “doesn’t have a pulse.”
Investigators later found Justin Fairfax, 47, in a bedroom with a firearm nearby. Police say he appeared to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
The couple’s children, Cameron and 14-year-old Carys, were not physically injured. Officials said family members and victim assistance teams are now working closely with the surviving children following the devastating loss of both parents.
Fairfax County Police confirmed there is no danger to the public as detectives continue piecing together the timeline that led to the deadly violence.
Autopsies are expected to formally determine the causes of death.
Police Chief Kevin Davis said the couple had been married for two decades but were going through what he described as a difficult and highly contentious divorce.
“It is high profile in nature, it’s tragic in nature. Certainly a fall from grace for a relatively high profile family that seemingly had a lot of things going in their favor,” Davis said.
“So tragic for the children to lose both parents, extra tragic for them to actually be in the home when it occurred.”
Authorities said Cerina Fairfax filed for divorce last year, and additional court proceedings were scheduled for next week. Investigators also said Justin Fairfax had recently received legal paperwork connected to the case, which may have escalated tensions.
Despite the separation, the pair reportedly continued living under the same roof, though in separate bedrooms. Officials believe they had been separated since June 2024.
Police also disclosed that officers had responded to the residence earlier this year after Fairfax accused his wife of assaulting him. After reviewing the matter, investigators said no assault had occurred and no one was arrested.
Justin Fairfax served as Virginia’s lieutenant governor from 2018 through 2022 under then-Governor Ralph Northam. His political future later unraveled after two women accused him of sexual assault during his 2021 run for governor—claims he strongly denied.
Throughout that controversy, Cerina Fairfax publicly stood beside her husband.
Cerina Fairfax was an accomplished dental professional who operated a family dentistry practice in Northern Virginia. She was also honored by Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Dentistry in 2015 as its most outstanding alumna of the previous decade.
Virginia Democrat Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine released a statement saying they were praying for the family, “especially their two children.”
Current Lieutenant Governor Ghazala Hashmi also called the deaths devastating and said her thoughts were with the children and loved ones left behind.
What began as a once-prominent political family has now ended in an unspeakable tragedy—leaving two children to carry the unimaginable pain left behind.
