Former Virginia lieutenant governor Justin Fairfax and Cerina Fairfax had been separated at the time of their apparent murder-suicide. "This has been an ongoing domestic dispute surrounding what seems to be a complicated or messy divorce. So far what we know is what you know," police chief Kevin Davis said in an April 2026 press conference. "There seems to be divorce proceedings that have been ongoing." According to Davis, Justin was "recently served some paperwork" associated with his divorce from Cerina.