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Former Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax and his wife were found dead inside their home on April 16, according to a statement from the Fairfax County Police Department.
Police Chief Ken Davis confirmed the death to reporters.
Davis said the incident is being investigated as a possible murder-suicide and that Justin Fairfax appears to have shot and killed his wife, Serena Fairfax, before taking his own life.
“This is an ongoing domestic dispute over what appears to be a complicated and messy divorce,” Davis said at a news conference outside her home.
Police Chief Chris Cosgriff said officers were called to a home on Guinevere Drive just after midnight for a death investigation report, and when officers arrived they found the couple dead inside.
Davis said the couple’s teenage son and daughter were home at the time of the shooting but were not harmed.
“This is terrible news for the family and definitely a traumatic event for the children,” Davis said.
Who is Justin Fairfax?
Justin Fairfax was the 41st Lieutenant Governor of Virginia.
He served as a Democratic congressman from 2018 to 2022, becoming the second African-American elected in the state after Douglas Wilder.
He was 47 years old at the time of his death and was a former federal prosecutor.
This is a developing story.
