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Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax kills his wife and then himself, police say

Then-Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax and his wife, Cerina, attend his and Gov. Ralph Northam's inauguration ceremony at the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond, Virginia, in January 2018. 

Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, a once-rising star in the Democratic Party whose tenure was marred by sexual assault allegations, shot and killed his wife, Cerina Fairfax, inside their home and then killed himself, police said.

The couple’s two teenage children were inside the home when the shootings occurred, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said, noting their son had placed the 911 call.

Fairfax County police responded to the home in Annandale, Virginia, shortly after midnight Thursday, where they found a man and woman dead inside, police said earlier.

The shooting stemmed from an ongoing domestic dispute surrounding “what seems to be a complicated or messy divorce,” Davis said. It happened just over two weeks after Cerina Fairfax was granted primary physical custody of the couple’s children, according to court records.