Ex-Governor sh0ots wife, self after domestic dispute

Ex-Governor shoots wife, self after domestic dispute

Justin Fairfax, a former lieutenant governor of the US state of Virginia, has reportedly shot his wife before taking his own life at their residence in the Annandale area of Fairfax County.

Chief Kevin, Fairfax County police chief, said during a press briefing on Thursday that the incident followed a prolonged domestic dispute linked to a complicated divorce process.

“Former Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax shot and killed his wife inside of their home and then shot and killed himself,” Washington Post quoted Davis as saying.

“This has been an ongoing domestic dispute surrounding what seems to be a complicated or messy divorce.”

According to investigators, Fairfax, 47, had recently been served legal documents ahead of a court proceeding.

Although separated, the couple, who were married in 2006, were still living in the same home.

Fairfax reportedly shot his wife multiple times in the basement before moving upstairs, where he killed himself.

Police said the couple’s two children — a teenage boy and girl — were in the house at the time of the shooting, noting that their son subsequently alerted emergency services.

Authorities also said that in January, Fairfax had reported an alleged assault by his wife, but responding officers found no evidence to support the claim.

Fairfax, a member of the Democratic Party, was elected lieutenant governor in 2017, becoming the second Black person elected to statewide office in Virginia after L. Douglas Wilder.

He served under former Governor Ralph Northam and was once considered a potential contender for the governorship.

His wife, Cerina Fairfax, was a dentist and owner of a private practice in Fairfax County. Her clinic was closed on Thursday, citing a family emergency.

Fairfax previously built a career as a federal prosecutor in Northern Virginia and gained political prominence after contesting the Democratic primary for attorney general in 2013, where he narrowly lost to Mark Herring.