Associated Press | April 16, 2026
“Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, a rising star in the Democratic Party until sexual assault allegations ruined his political fortunes, killed his estranged wife and then himself weeks before a judge’s deadline to move out of their family home, according to police and court records.
Justin Fairfax fatally shot his wife, a successful dentist, in the basement before going to an upstairs bedroom and killing himself. Their son called 911.
One of Justin Fairfax’s longtime friends told The Associated Press that he became increasingly despondent after his wife filed for divorce last year. The judge overseeing the divorce recently wrote that his ‘isolation, drinking, and a lack of participation in family life are manifestations of what seems to be a sense of fatalism and hopelessness.'”