Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, wife dead in apparent murder-suicide

Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax shot and killed his wife and then turned the gun on himself in an apparent murder-suicide in their home in Annandale, Virginia, police said Thursday.

Fairfax’s son called 911 just after midnight from the home, according to two sources with knowledge of the investigation. The caller said he thought his mother, Cerina Fairfax, had been stabbed. When police arrived at the home, they found bullet casings near her body. Later they found Justin Fairfax upstairs with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Law enforcement in Fairfax conducted the investigation overnight. 

Fairfax County Police Department Capt. Chris Cosgriff said that shortly after midnight officers found an adult male and an adult female deceased inside the residence. 

“Preliminarily, it appears that the adult male shot the adult female before shooting himself in a domestic-related incident,” Cosgriff said in a briefing.

This is a developing story and will be updated.