Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, once a political rising star and a gubernatorial favorite whose career was derailed by sexual assault allegations, shot and killed himself and his wife Thursday amid an ongoing divorce.
Then-Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of Virginia speaks during a rally on the National Mall on May 31, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
Getty Images
Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis confirmed the deaths during a press conference Thursday morning, describing the couple’s marital situation as “an ongoing domestic dispute surrounding what seems to be a complicated or messy divorce.”
Davis said Fairfax, 47, shot his wife, Cerina Fairfax, a dentist, then himself, shortly after midnight Thursday at their home in Annandale, Va.
The couple’s two teenage children were home at the time of the incident, Davis said.
Fairfax, Davis said, “was recently served some paperwork associated with an upcoming court proceeding that apparently led to this incident last night.”
Fairfax, a Democrat, served as lieutenant governor under former Gov. Ralph Northam between 2018 and 2022.
Davis said police were also called to the couple’s home in January when Fairfax accused his wife of assault. Police assessed video camera footage in the home and determined the allegations were “untrue,” Davis said.
Fairfax was accused of sexual assault by two women in 2019, but vehemently denied the allegations, claiming the encounters were consensual and rebuffing calls for his resignation. Both women came forward by name, with a California professor accusing Fairfax of forcing her to perform oral sex at the Democratic National Convention in Boston in 2004, and a second woman, accusing Fairfax of raping her while they were classmates at Duke in 2000. Fairfax controversially compared the allegations against him to a lynching while speaking to the state Senate in 2019. At the time, Northam was also facing calls for his resignation after yearbook photos of him wearing blackface during his time in medical school surfaced. Fairfax lost a bid for governor in the 2021 Democratic primary, coming in fourth place with only 3.6% of the vote. Democratic nominee, former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, ended up losing the general election to Republican Glenn Youngkin that year. Fairfax was succeeded by Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears.
Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax kills wife, self in murder-suicide, police say (Politico)
Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax kills his wife and then himself, police say (CNN)
Virginia Ex-Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax Kills Wife and Self, Police Say (New York Times)
此内容由惯性聚合(RSS阅读器)自动聚合整理，仅供阅读参考。 原文来自 — 版权归原作者所有。