Justin Fairfax's Friend Breaks Down How Sex Allegations ‘Changed' Him
A friend of Justin Fairfax has said the former Virginia lieutenant governor “changed” in 2019 when sexual assault allegations against him emerged.
Sophia Nelson released her statement in the wake of Fairfax’s death after he fatally shot his wife Cerina and himself in a murder-suicide in his Annandale, Virginia, home on Thursday. The couple’s two teenage children were in the residence at the time.
Nelson said in a statement shared on the social media platform X that Fairfax was a “guy full of hope and promise and gifts and possibilities for his future,” but that “all of that changed in 2019 when Justin was lieutenant governor.” That year, two women accused Fairfax of sexual assault, dating back to 2000. He denied the allegations.
Fairfax-Virginia’s lieutenant governor from 2018 to 2022-had been seen as a rising star of the Democratic Party, with some even believing he had to the potential to make it all the way to the White House.
When the allegations emerged, they derailed his political career and his run for Virginia governor, where he finished fourth in the 2021 Democratic election primaries.
Nelson, who is an award-winning author and journalist, said that she had spoken to Fairfax two days before his death, and that those who knew him were aware that he was “depressed, knew that he was in darkness, knew he was dealing with everything he had lost, feeling that there was no hope.”
“And all of us tried to encourage him to get help, to get back in the arena, to not give in, and to do something good through all of this,” she said. “He wasn’t able to turn that corner.”
She added that some of those close to Fairfax thought he “could hurt himself because he was so depressed and down,” and that on Tuesday, one of the last things Fairfax had said to her was: “I need somebody to help me to prove my innocence. I can’t get my life back until somebody stands up for me.”
Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis told reporters during a news conference on Thursday that the death of Fairfax and his wife followed what had been “messy” divorce proceedings between the couple, and reports have said that Fairfax lost custody of his children in the weeks leading up to the murder-suicide.
Court documents obtained by CNN and The Washington Post show that Fairfax came to rely on “heavy daily alcohol” use at the end of his term in 2022, and that he also spent money saved for his children’s horse riding lessons to purchase a gun that same year.
In her video statement, Nelson also said that, while she knew Fairfax was struggling with his mental health, “none of that justifies murdering his wife while their children slept in the home,” adding that it is “unthinkable and unimaginable for someone in their 30s, 40s, 50s to handle, much less two teenagers who now don’t have parents.”
“I’m angry at Justin. I’m in shock. I’m appalled,” she said. “I keep asking: what more could I have done? How did I not see this coming? We’re all asking ourselves that. We’re never gonna get an answer.”
DeMatha Catholic High School, the school that Fairfax attended, issued a statement on Instagram about him, which has since been deleted.
The statement, obtained by news outlet TMZ, read: “The DeMatha community would like to express our sympathies and prayerful support to the family of Justin and Cerina Fairfax…upon the news from this morning. This tragedy causes us to stop and think about the kind of man Justin Fairfax was and what he has meant to DeMatha.”
It continued that Fairfax was a “model student” and listed his achievements at the school, but as it made no reference to the murder-suicide or the sexual assault allegations surrounding the former Virginia lieutenant governor, it drew criticism.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text “988” to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org
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This story was originally published April 17, 2026 at 12:16 PM.