Full news conference: Virginia Ex-Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax killed wife and self, police say — NBC4 DC

[0:00] All right, folks, good morning. I'm here to confirm the identity of our shooter in this [0:07] murder-suicide that happened several hours ago as former Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax. [0:13] Former Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax shot and killed his wife inside of their home and then [0:20] shot and killed himself. I think you have the rest of the details that Captain Cosgriff gave [0:25] earlier this morning, so I'm just going to pause right here and answer any of your questions to the [0:30] best of my ability right now. I can just tell you, and then I'll go to Drew first, that this has been [0:35] an ongoing domestic dispute surrounding what seems to be a complicated or messy divorce. So, Drew? [0:43] So far, what we know is probably what you all know, and I don't think it's a secret that there's been [0:57] divorce proceedings that have been ongoing. From what I understand, at this early stage, [1:04] former Lieutenant Governor Fairfax was recently served some paperwork associated with an upcoming [1:10] court proceeding. That apparently led to this incident last night. Both of their children, [1:17] teenagers, the boys older than the girl, were in the house when it happened. So, that's horrible [1:26] news for the family. Certainly a traumatic event for those children to live through. But we know that [1:31] it all kind of culminated last night when Justin Fairfax shot and killed, shot several times, [1:40] killed his wife, ran to a different part of the home, and then killed himself with the same firearm. [1:53] So, it seems like, and I know I'm competing with some school buses here, it seems like the murder [2:01] took place in the basement. It's described to me as a finished, unfinished basement in the home. [2:08] At some point after Justin shot and killed his wife, he runs upstairs in the home and into the [2:17] primary bedroom, apparently, and shoots and kills himself. So, we checked on that. The question is, have we [2:28] had any previous domestic or calls for service to this location? In January of this year, Mr. Fairfax [2:36] calls the police and alleges that his wife assaulted him. We responded to that scene. There are several [2:44] cameras set up inside the house. Apparently, Mrs. Fairfax, at some point during these divorce [2:50] proceedings, set up a lot of cameras inside the home. We reviewed those cameras and we corroborated [2:57] that the alleged assault never occurred. So, there was no arrest made. There was a report written, [3:03] but the allegation that Mr. Fairfax made in January that Mrs. Fairfax assaulted him was proven to be [3:10] untrue. [3:11] Who's involved here? How does that play into it? [3:21] Well, certainly, this is a high-profile family. At one point in time, I think it's fair to say that [3:28] Justin Fairfax, before he was lieutenant governor, while he served as lieutenant governor, and even [3:35] afterwards, was a rising star politically, not just in northern Virginia, but in Virginia. So, [3:41] it's high profile in nature. It's tragic in nature. Certainly, a fall from grace for a relatively [3:49] high-profile family that seemingly had a lot of things going in their favor. So, tragic for the [3:57] children to lose both parents. Extra tragic for them to actually be in the home when it occurred. So, [4:05] yeah, there's a lot going on. And, you know, our victim services division, like they always do, [4:11] is leaning into the family, the surviving relatives, the children in particular, and we'll do everything [4:18] we can for them. And then I'll get there. So, our detectives have gathered that. Certainly, [4:33] there's enough cameras inside the home that we're able to corroborate some of that. But one of the [4:40] children was the 911 caller just after midnight. So, he described some things to us as well that [4:46] we've since corroborated. And I think I heard one question about, what do we know about the gun? I [4:51] don't know anything about the gun yet. The same gun that Mr. Fairfax used to kill his wife seems to be [4:58] the same gun that he used to kill himself. I don't know. Well, we're going to be here for a while. [5:05] Obviously, we have a search warrant we need to execute to recover evidence. And certainly, [5:10] included in that evidence is the primary firearm that was used in any other firearms. I don't know [5:16] that they do or don't exist. The cameras were still there? I believe they were. I believe they [5:26] were. Chief. So, what we know, I'm going back to January now. What we know is that Mrs. Fairfax, [5:41] at some point in time, they lived together while they were separated in separate bedrooms. At some [5:47] point in time, we know Mrs. Fairfax installed several cameras inside the home. And we know [5:53] that because when Mr. Fairfax called us to their home back in January and alleged that his wife [5:58] assaulted him in the home, we were able to go to those cameras and determine that that never occurred. [6:05] So, that's the only time that the Fairfax County Police Department has ever been at the Fairfax home. [6:11] Yes. So, there's grandparents involved, other family members involved. Our victim services [6:20] division is involved. But, you know, their well-being is a primary concern. [6:27] Yeah, I don't want to go too far down the rabbit hole. I know that they were separated living [6:44] together. I know that there are divorce proceedings that are underway and court appearances that are [6:50] scheduled and pending in the very near future. I know he was served some paperwork recently. Apparently, [6:57] the paperwork indicated when he was next to appear in court. That may have been a spark. You know, [7:03] detectives will figure that out that led to this tragedy here. Again, a mother shot and killed, [7:10] taken from her children, and then he takes his own life. So, I think family, friends will probably look at [7:23] this and look at, you know, chaos and trauma that people go through, and probably any separation or [7:31] divorce proceedings, and likely determined that there were red flags along the way in retrospect. But, [7:37] certainly, half of America probably goes through divorce proceedings at some point in time, and very, [7:43] very rarely, thankfully, does it ever end up like this. So, very sad for this community and the school buses [7:53] here, and, you know, a lot of people who know the Fairfax family, everybody's shocked. We're shocked. I [8:06] don't know. We'll determine that. The only thing I'm going to surmise before I get myself in trouble [8:25] with detectives is that we know that recently Mr. Fairfax will serve some type of paperwork indicating when [8:33] he was scheduled to next appear in court for the ongoing divorce proceedings. So, I guess that is, [8:39] well, that is something that we're looking at as something that may have led to whatever happened last [8:46] night that led to the murder of a mother and a wife and a suicide. Under investigation, obviously, we have [8:57] two teenage children who were in the house, but our main concern is for their well-being right now. They are [9:03] interacting with us, and certainly, the son was the one who called 911 during a very chaotic situation, [9:12] and I can only imagine. I know Mr. Fairfax is and was an attorney. I know he returned to practice law [9:26] after he served as lieutenant governor for Virginia. I otherwise don't know exactly what he was doing with [9:32] his employment or his law practice, just after midnight, just a few minutes after midnight. If [9:48] there was a window, Drew, it was a very short window, so I think it all kind of happened at once. [9:53] Obviously, the wife is shot and killed before Mr. Fairfax takes his own life. I think it was all at [9:59] once. There wasn't a pause. There was never a moment where someone was holed up in a room or cops were here, [10:06] and it all happened pretty spontaneously. No, he wasn't. There's a high bar to charge someone [10:21] making a false report, but our police officers, patrol officers investigated. They were able to [10:26] corroborate that it didn't occur back in January, so no files were charges, but a police report was [10:32] written. Yeah, I don't know about mental health or behavioral crisis. I do know, and I'm sorry to [10:50] compete with the noise that the family was going through seemingly a very tough time with the [10:56] with the separation, with the divorce, etc. I can only imagine the stress that the parents felt, [11:03] the kids felt, and the other family members as well. Yes, Serena Fairfax is our victim. Mrs. [11:12] Fairfax was a dentist. Mr. Fairfax, obviously, the former lieutenant governor and a lawyer and two [11:19] teenage children in high school. Yes, both pronounced on the scene. Okay, to the best of my knowledge, [11:41] it was January of this year, 2026, but we'll obviously dig into that and confirm it. Within [11:51] minutes of the 911 call, we can get the exact time frame for you. Both teams were home. The son called [11:59] 911. One boy and a girl. Yes, everything shortly after midnight, and folks, that's all I got. It's kind [12:15] of one of my practices never to say no more questions. So I'm not saying no more questions. [12:20] But that's all I have right now. When we get more information, we'll be sure to share it with you. [12:27] But right now, the focus is on the crime scene investigation and the kids. Thank you all.