FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (7News) — A former Virginia Lieutenant Governor and past gubernatorial candidate is dead after he shot and killed his wife in their Fairfax County home before turning the gun on himself, according to police.

Shortly after midnight Thursday, officers responded to the 8100 block of Guinevere Drive for a death investigation. Detectives found Justin Fairfax and Dr. Cerina Fairfax dead inside the home from a murder-suicide. Police said this appears to be the culmination of an ongoing domestic dispute stemming from a messy divorce.

RELATED | Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax and his wife dead in murder-suicide

According to a campaign website from his run for lieutenant governor, Justin Fairfax grew up in Washington, D.C., living with his mother and grandparents. He attended DeMatha Catholic High School, according to a bio on Ballotopedia, a nonprofit nonpartisan organization that tracks US politics and politicians.

He attended Duke University, where he graduated with a degree in Public Policy Studies, according to the site. He then attended Columbia Law School.

See the full Fairfax County police news briefing below:

Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax and his wife are dead following a murder-suicide Thursday morning, April 16, 2026, in Annandale. (7News)

He married his wife on June 17, 2006, after meeting at Duke University. The couple had two children, a son and a daughter, according to his campaign site.

Prior to his time in office, he served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia and the Deputy Coordinator of the Northern Virginia Human Trafficking Task Force.

Before running for lieutenant governor, Justin Fairfax also had an unsuccessful bid for the Democratic nomination for Virginia Attorney General in 2013, according to the Virginia Department of Elections. He lost that race to Mark Rankin Herring.