Police dispatch audio captured the moment Fairfax County officers said they found Justin Fairfax dead upstairs in the family’s home after first responding to what was initially described as an assault call.
The dispatch audio tracks the "very chaotic" first minutes of the response, as officers moved through the home and pieced together what police would later describe as the fatal shooting of Cerina Fairfax followed by the suicide.
“We got another subject down in the bedroom upstairs,” one officer said. “I think this is going to be our subject. He’s got a firearm with him, self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.”
In the radio traffic before that moment, officers can be heard working to clear the house while also getting one of the couple’s children to safety.
“I haven’t cleared the house out yet, but I have the son with me downstairs,” one officer said, adding that the husband’s car was still in the driveway.
The early dispatches show how unclear the situation was at first.
One alert sent units to the home for a “45-year-old female, unconscious, not breathing, bleeding from her wounds,” and described a possible male suspect whose direction of travel was unknown.
But officers on scene quickly signaled that the case appeared more serious.
“This is possibly going to be a shooting, we have shell casings on the ground,” one officer reported.
Moments later, officers indicated they had found Justin Fairfax's body upstairs.
The Fairfax County Police Department shared an official release Thursday after the murder-suicide of former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax and his wife, Dr. Cerina Fairfax.
According to authorities, detectives from their Major Crimes Bureau are investigating the incident as a domestic-related murder-suicide.
Officers responded at approximately 12:12 a.m. Thursday morning to a home in the 8100 block of Guinevere Drive in Annandale.
Authorities located Cerina Fairfax and Justin Fairfax suffering from apparent gunshot wounds inside the home, pronouncing both deceased at the scene.
According to the release, detectives believe that Justin shot his wife Cerina before shooting himself on a preliminary basis, but autopsies will be completed by the Chief Medical Examiner to confirm cause of death.
Authorities said that two teenage children were located inside the home at the time, unharmed. The release added that there are victim specialists assigned to the family to receive "appropriate resources and assistance."
Anyone with information related to the incident is urged to contact the Major Crimes Bureau with Fairfax Police or Crime Solvers via phone at 866-411-8477.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Virginia Democrat Gov. Abigail Spanberger released a statement Thursday on the murder-suicide of former Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax and his wife, Dr. Cerina Fairfax, saying she is praying over the tragedy.
“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," Spanberger said.
Spanberger went on to describe the event as a 'horrific tragedy' in her statement, without naming the former democrat lieutenant governor.
“The murder of Dr. Cerina Fairfax in an apparent murder-suicide is a horrific tragedy," Spanberger wrote. "Dr. Fairfax was a devoted mother, beloved dentist in the Fairfax County community, and engaged supporter of her alma mater, Virginia Commonwealth University. My prayers are with the Wanzer and Fairfax families as they mourn their own loss, endeavor to make sense of this tragedy, and comfort the Fairfax children.
The Virginia democrat finished her statement by reflecting on domestic violence and mental health.
“This tragedy reminds us that domestic violence can occur in any family and in any place. Resources are available to support our neighbors experiencing domestic violence and facing mental health crises.”
The governor also shared resource hotlines available for domestic violence and sexual assault, as well as a suicide and crisis lifeline in her statement.
{{#rendered}}Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said he and fellow Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., were "shocked" by the deaths tied to former Democrat Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, calling it “a huge tragedy” and saying Fairfax “was an enormous talent.”
"I was just talking with Tim Kaine: We were both shocked,” Warner told reporters Thursday on Capitol Hill, adding the news had rattled Virginia Democrats who knew and worked with Fairfax.
"I heard from Bobby Scott this morning about this unexpected shock for an awful lot of us that worked with Justin.”
Warner, who said he had worked with Fairfax for more than a decade, emphasized the toll on the family, particularly the couple’s children.
“It’s awful," he added. "I’d worked with Justin for over a decade, and obviously the idea that even his teenage kids were in the house, it’s a huge tragedy, and I’ll leave it at that."
Fairfax was a rising star in the Democratic Party, with promise and public profile before his political downfall and tragic ending.
“He was an enormous talent, and I just can’t imagine what his family’s going through,” Warner said.
“I think we’re still just processing this. I’m sure there’ll be an investigation, but let’s let it run its course.”
Former Virginia Democrat Gov. Ralph Northam said he and his wife, Pam, were “devastated” by the deaths tied to former Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, who served under Northam for four years.
"Pam and I are devastated by this heartbreaking news," Northam told WTKR News 3 in a statement Thursday, adding he "had the privilege of getting to know the Fairfaxes while our families served together."
Northam added he and his wife were "praying" for the teenage children of Justin and Cerina Fairfax "and the entire Fairfax family during this incredibly difficult time.”
Fairfax served as Virginia’s lieutenant governor during Northam’s term, from 2018 until 2022.
Northam’s statement joins a growing chorus of reaction from Virginia political figures expressing shock and grief over the deaths and concern for the Fairfax children and extended family.
Police believe cameras inside the Fairfax home might have been operating during the fatal attack, potentially capturing key evidence as former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax shot and killed his wife and himself with his teen children in the home.
"I believe they were" active and rolling during the "very chaotic" murder-suicide scene, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said at a Thursday news conference, saying "our detectives have gathered that certainly there's enough cameras inside the home that we're able to corroborate some" of the tragic events.
One of the children was the 911 caller just after midnight, Davis added.
"So he described some things to us as well that we've since corroborated."
The gun used to kill Cerina Fairfax, his wife, "seems to be the same gun that he used to kill himself," according to Davis.
The Fairfax County Police Department is leading the investigation under a search warrant on the home Thursday morning.
"We're going to be here for a while," Davis admitted.
{{#rendered}}Police say former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax made a false domestic assault allegation against his wife months before the fatal shooting at the couple’s Annandale home.
Justin Fairfax called police in January and claimed that Cerina Fairfax had assaulted him, but police reportedly found no evidence of that.
"We responded to that scene," Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said at a Thursday news conference. "There are several cameras set up inside the house, apparently.
"Mrs. Fairfax, at some point during these divorce proceedings, set up a lot of cameras inside the home.
"We reviewed those cameras, and we corroborated that the alleged assault never occurred.
"So there was no arrest made. There was a report written, but the allegation that Mr. Fairfax made in January that Mrs. Fairfax assaulted him was proven to be untrue."
The disclosure adds to the emerging picture of turmoil inside the home in the months before police say Justin Fairfax shot and killed Cerina Fairfax, then turned the gun on himself.
Cerina Fairfax was shot and killed early Thursday at the family’s Annandale home, where police say former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax fatally shot her before killing himself.
Fairfax, who was pursuing a divorce but living under the same roof, led Dr. Fairfax & Associates Family Dentistry.
"We know that recently, Mr. Fairfax was served some type of paperwork indicating when he was scheduled to next appear in court for the ongoing divorce proceedings," Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said Thursday during a news conference.
"That is something that we're looking at as something that may have led to whatever happened last night that led to the murder of a mother and a wife, and a suicide."
According to the family practice website, Fairfax earned a bachelor’s degree from Duke University in 1999, then received her doctor of dental surgery degree magna cum laude from Virginia Commonwealth University’s Medical College of Virginia School of Dentistry in 2005.
Fox News' Adriana Rodil-James contributed to this report.
Police said the Fairfax's two teenage children were inside the home during the fatal shooting, with one of them making the 911 call as the violence unfolded.
"Obviously, we have two teenage children who were in the house," Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis at a Thursday news conference.
"The son was the one who who called 911 during a very chaotic situation, and I can only imagine."
Police said former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax shot and killed his wife, Cerina Fairfax, before fatally shooting himself at the family’s Annandale home shortly after midnight
"Our main concern is for their well-being right now, they are interacting with us," Davis added.
Authorities said the couple had been going through a divorce.
{{#rendered}}Divorce records show Cerina Fairfax alleged that she and Justin Fairfax “separated on June 1, 2024, while residing under the same roof,” an arrangement that later became central to a court fight over whether she had properly pleaded an intent to end the marriage.
In a Jan. 16 opinion, a Fairfax County judge sustained Justin Fairfax’s demurrer, finding that the complaint did not adequately allege that intent at the time of separation.
“In the present case, Wife failed to plead her intent,” Judge David A. Oblon wrote, concluding that the complaint did not state enough facts for the court to infer she intended a permanent separation beginning in June 2024.
He also wrote that the postnuptial agreement, which included optimistic language about preserving the marriage, “tends to negate her argued intent.”
Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax had recently been served paperwork tied to the couple’s divorce proceedings before he fatally shot his wife, Cerina Fairfax, and then himself, according to Fairfax County police.
"We know that recently, Mr. Fairfax was served some type of paperwork indicating when he was scheduled to next appear in court for the ongoing divorce proceedings," Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said Thursday during a news conference.
"That is something that we're looking at as something that may have led to whatever happened last night that led to the murder of a mother and a wife, and a suicide."
Authorities also said the couple’s two children are teenagers and are now interacting with investigators as the case remains under review.
Police have described the shooting as a domestic-related murder-suicide inside the family’s Annandale home.
Court records cited by multiple outlets show the couple had been going through a divorce. Investigators have not released additional details about the teenagers’ interviews.
Former Democrat Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax was found dead in an apparent murder-suicide on Thursday morning, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.
Fairfax served as the 41st lieutenant governor under Gov. Ralph Northam between Jan. 13, 2018, to Jan. 15, 2022.
He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania before moving to Annandale.
Fairfax shared two children with his wife.
This is an Ashley J. DiMella report. Get the full story here.
{{#rendered}}Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax shot and killed his wife, Cerina Fairfax, before turning the gun on himself, according to Fairfax County Police.
Authorities said officers responded shortly after midnight Thursday to a home on the 8100 block of Guinevere Drive in Annandale, where they found both Justin Fairfax and Cerina Fairfax dead from gunshot wounds.
Police said a preliminary investigation indicates Justin Fairfax shot his wife before killing himself.
The case is being investigated as a domestic-related murder-suicide, and the investigation remains ongoing.
Justin Fairfax served as Virginia’s lieutenant governor from 2018 to 2022.
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