Justin Fairfax's Spiraling Psychological Issues Revealed in Court Docs

Former Virginia lieutenant governor Justin Fairfax struggled with “undefined emotional and psychological issues” before shooting his wife in a murder-suicide on Thursday, according to reported court documents.

In the weeks before Fairfax killed himself and his wife, Cerina, court documents obtained by CNN and The Washington Post show that he lost custody of his two children, and that he had become increasingly erratic and isolated as the couple sought a divorce.

Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said on Thursday that the divorce proceedings were “messy,” as he confirmed that Justin Fairfax fatally shot his wife in the basement of their Annandale home, before shooting himself. The couple’s two teenage children were also in the residence at the time of the incident.

‘Undefined Emotional Issues’

In a March 30 opinion related to the divorce, Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Timothy J. McEvoy wrote that various facts “paint a vivid picture of Father as a talented man who struggles with undefined emotional and psychological issues,” according to CNN and The Washington Post.

“Yet there can be no mistake that these undefined issues are in fact defining him and limiting his ability to be the person he is capable of being, including but not limited to the role of a dad,” McEvoy wrote.

The records add that “heavy daily alcohol” use became routine for Fairfax by the end of his term in local government, and that he later “cloistered himself” in his office and home.

Cerina told the court that in 2022 Fairfax used money set aside for his children’s horse-riding lessons to buy a gun, according to the The Washington Post.

The documents also state that Fairfax once left the family home with clothes and a gun packed in a suitcase. When he was later found in a public park, he said the gun was for personal protection, according to the outlet.

Assault Allegations

Meanwhile, police were also called to the home in January after Fairfax alleged that Cerina had assaulted him. But Davis said on Thursday that footage from cameras that Cerina has set up around the home disproved the claim. No charges were filed against Fairfax for falsely reporting a crime.

Newsweek contacted the Fairfax County Circuit Court for additional information by phone and email outside of regular working hours.

The language was reported by both The Washington Post and CNN, each citing court records or a legal order in the Fairfax divorce case. Newsweek has not independently reviewed the filings.

On Thursday, Davis said: “From what I understand in this early stage, former Lieutenant Governor Fairfax was recently served some paperwork associated with an upcoming court proceeding that apparently led to this incident last night.”

Decades of Signs

He added that the upcoming proceeding could have been the “spark” that led to the murder-suicide, but that detectives would continue to investigate “if that led to this tragedy.”

Fairfax’s political career was derailed after sexual assault allegations emerged in 2019, including a report from a woman who accused him of raping her in 2000 when they both at Duke University. Fairfax denied all allegations.

The woman’s lawyer, Nancy Erika Smith, said in the wake of the shooting that "there were decades of signs of his anger and mistreatment of women and he used the court system to intimidate his victims and news outlets," in a statement to The New York Post.

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This story was originally published April 17, 2026 at 7:46 AM.