Tracy Johnke | tracy.johnke@wtop.com
April 17, 2026, 9:17 AM
Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax purchased a handgun in 2022, and had it with him during “some kind of adverse psychological event” that year, court documents show.
Fairfax killed his estranged wife Cerina Fairfax and himself on Thursday, days before an April 21 hearing in his divorce case and a court-ordered April 30 deadline to move out of their home in Annandale.
The 2022 events were detailed in a March 30 Fairfax County Circuit Court order on the custody of their two teenage children.
According to the document, Justin Fairfax purchased a handgun with money intended for his children’s riding lessons. At some point later, he left home with the gun and was found by relatives in a nearby public park “after frantic searching.”
They were “unable to calm him down over the course of several hours,” and Justin’s brother had to call in a mental health professional, according to the document.
Justin Fairfax served as lieutenant governor from 2018 to 2022. In 2019, two women accused him of sexually assaulting them while they were all students at Duke University.
Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Timothy J. McEvoy also expressed concerns about Justin’s recent mental state, writing in the order that his “isolation, drinking and lack of participation in family life are manifestations of what seems to be a sense of fatalism and hopelessness.”
There was no evidence, the judge wrote, that Justin was seeking professional help, “and this is very concerning to the Court,” but he did not order psychological therapy.
McEvoy also granted Justin joint legal custody of his children, but gave primary physical custody to Cerina and ordered Justin to vacate their home by the end of April, court documents show.
Justin and Cerina Fairfax were legally separated but still lived together with their children on the 8100 block of Guinevere Drive.
McEvoy described tensions in their home as “extremely high for an extended period of time,” and said their living arrangements were making matters worse.
Fairfax County Circuit Court records also show Justin Fairfax was ordered to appear at an April 21 show cause hearing in their divorce case.
Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis told reporters at a briefing Thursday that Justin was apparently served paperwork “associated with an upcoming court proceeding,” which may have led to the shooting.
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Tracy Johnke rejoined the WTOP News family in 2026 as a reporter.
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