ANNANDALE, Virginia – Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax and his wife were found dead in an apparent murder-suicide at their Northern Virginia home, authorities said Thursday.

Fairfax County police said Justin Fairfax shot and killed his wife, Cerina, before turning the gun on himself. Police say the couple’s two teenagers were inside the home at the time and called 911 just after midnight.

Police said Fairfax appeared to have shot his wife several times in the basement before running upstairs to the primary bedroom, where he shot and killed himself.

Audio from emergency dispatch captured the couple’s 16-year-old son seeking help.

“Caller stating that his dad might have stabbed his mom and that she’s laying on the ground bleeding. You can see holes in her shirt,” dispatchers say.

Authorities said the couple had been separated but were still living in the same home.

“This has been an ongoing domestic dispute surrounding what seems to be a complicated or messy divorce,” said Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis.

Court filings show the couple separated nearly two years ago, and Cerina filed for divorce last summer. Records indicate financial troubles, alcohol use, and emotional and psychological issues may have played a role. Police say Fairfax was scheduled to appear in court April 21 and was ordered by a judge to move out of the home by April 30.

In January, officers responded to the home after Fairfax alleged his wife had assaulted him, but camera footage from inside the home could not corroborate his claims.

Fairfax, who served as lieutenant governor under former Gov. Ralph Northam from 2018 to 2022, was once a rising political figure.

“This will be an election that will be a battle for the heart and the soul of this country,” Fairfax told 10 News during a 2017 campaign stop in Roanoke.

In 2019, Fairfax was seen as a potential future leader of the Commonwealth during controversy surrounding Gov. Ralph Northam’s racist scandals.

However, Fairfax’s political career derailed after two women accused him of sexual assault. Fairfax said the encounters were consensual and refused calls to resign. He later lost the Democratic primary in his 2021 bid for governor.

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger said in a statement, “I am deeply saddened by the tragedy that occurred last night. I am praying for the Fairfax children, and I ask my fellow Virginians to hold them in their hearts and prayers. This tragedy reminds us that domestic violence can occur in any family and in any place.”

U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine also spoke out.

“It’s awful news,” Warner said.

“We’re very heartbroken about this,” said Kaine. “It is truly tragic.”

Police said the couple’s children, a 16-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl, are being cared for by grandparents and other family members.

Virginia’s former Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, who was a rising star in the Democratic party several years ago before his career was derailed by sexual assault allegations, fatally shot his wife before killing himself early Thursday, police said.

Both were found dead at their northern Virginia home in Annandale after the couple’s teenage son called 911 shortly after midnight, said Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis.

The couple was going through a divorce, and Fairfax was served recently with paperwork that indicated when he was next to appear in court, Davis said.

“That may have been a spark,” the chief said. “Detectives will figure out if that led to this tragedy here.”

For a brief period in 2019, Fairfax had seemed poised to become Virginia governor as Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam became engulfed in a scandal over a racist photo on his medical school yearbook that led to calls for Northam’s resignation.

But then two women came forward, accusing Fairfax of sexually assaulting them years earlier. He adamantly denied the allegations.

Vanessa Tyson said Fairfax — at the time a Columbia Law School student serving as an aide to Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards — forced her to perform oral sex in his hotel room during the Democratic National Convention in Boston in 2004. Two days after Tyson’s statement, Meredith Watson issued her own, accusing Fairfax of raping her in 2000, when they were students at Duke University.

Fairfax said the encounters were consensual and refused calls to resign.

The Associated Press generally does not name people who say they are victims of sexual assault, but both women came forward publicly.

“It’s very sad for this community,” Davis said. “A lot of people who know the Fairfax family, everybody’s shocked. We’re shocked.”

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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org

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Associated Press contributors include Sarah Brumfield in Cockeysville, Maryland, and Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington. Breed reported from Wake Forest, North Carolina.

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) – Voters will head to the polls on April 21 to decide if the state should redraw congressional districts ahead of the midterms.

Virginia’s congressional map contains 11 districts. Democrats control six districts while Republicans hold five.

If approved, the new map would likely give Democrats a 10-1 advantage heading into the fall.

The Virginia Department of Elections states the ballot will ask a yes-or-no question proposing the amendment to the state’s constitution:

“Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to allow the General Assembly to temporarily adopt new congressional districts to restore fairness in the upcoming elections, while ensuring Virginia’s standard redistricting process resumes for all future redistricting after the 2030 census?

Virginia’s current law, which is detailed by the Department of Elections:

Present Law Virginia’s eleven congressional districts are drawn once every ten years by the Virginia Redistricting Commission, a legislative body made up of eight legislators and eight citizens, with an equal number of Republicans and Democrats. Virginia’s congressional districts were last redrawn in 2021 and will next be redrawn in 2031.

Proposed law:

The proposed amendment would give the General Assembly the authority to redraw one or more of Virginia’s congressional districts before 2031 in limited circumstances. In the event that another state redraws its own congressional districts before 2031, without being ordered by a court to do so, the General Assembly would then be able to redraw Virginia’s congressional districts.

The General Assembly’s power to do so would continue until October 31, 2030, and the Virginia Redistricting Commission would reassume the responsibility of drawing the congressional districts in 2031.

If “Yes” votes win:

A “yes” vote would allow the General Assembly to redraw Virginia’s congressional districts, since other states have done so, in addition to giving effect to the proposed district map in time for the 2026 Congressional elections, and return the responsibility of drawing the congressional districts in 2031 to the Virginia Redistricting Commission.

If “No” votes win:

A “no” vote would leave the authority to draw congressional districts with the Virginia Redistricting Commission once a decade and Virginia’s current districts would remain in place.

Where to vote

Early voting for the special election ends Saturday, April 18. Then your final chance to vote is on Election Day, April 21.

Registered voters can look up their polling place on the Citizen Portal of the Department of Election’s website.

Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.

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