The shocking murder-suicide at the Annandale home of former Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax has taken a more disturbing turn. Fairfax County Police said that Justin who was 47, shot and killed his estranged wife Cerina Fairfax before shooting himself in the early hours of April 16. Now, 911 dispatch audio from that night has come out, showing what happened inside the home and it was their teenage son who made the call.
What the 911 audio shows
The dispatch audio, shared by TMZ shows that the incident was first reported as a stabbing. In the recording, the dispatcher describes Cerina lying on the ground with holes in her shirt. At that time, the son did not know where his father was but said that Justin’s car was still outside.
As emergency responders searched the house, one of them told the dispatcher that Justin had been found with no pulse, calling him an “obvious D.O.A.” Police also said that cameras inside the home support the murder-suicide account. Cerina was found in the basement, while Justin was found in a bedroom.
According to the reports of TMZ, Fairfax County Police told them that Justin shot his wife dead before turning the gun on himself.
Also Read: Justin Fairfax family: Who is wife Cerina Fairfax and children? Gruesome murder details out
Why Justin killed his wife
Justin Fairfax and Cerina Fairfax had been married since 2006 but were going through a “complicated” divorce at the time of the tragedy. Both of their teenage children were at home when the incident happened.
Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said during a press conference on April 16 that the divorce may have played a role. He shared that Justin had recently received legal papers about an upcoming court date related to the divorce and police are looking at this as a possible trigger. He also mentioned an earlier incident in January 2026 when police were called to the homebut no charges were filed. “No files or charges, but a police report was written,” he said.
Also Read: ‘Deeply grateful…’: What Ex-Virginia Lt Gov Justin Fairfax said about wife Cerina before filing for divorce
Davis also explained how quickly everything happened. “There wasn’t a pause, there was never a moment where someone was holed up in a room,” he said. “It all happened pretty spontaneously.”
Justin served as Virginia’s Lieutenant Governor from 2018 to 2022 and later worked as an attorney. Cerina was a dentist. They leave behind two teenage children. “Everybody’s shocked, we’re shocked,” Chief Davis told reporters.
