Disgraced ex-Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax killed his estranged wife in a gruesome murder-suicide just hours after she celebrated with her best friend that she was “finally going to be free,” according to a report.

Cerina Fairfax, 49, was preparing to divorce her alcoholic and alleged sex pest husband, 47, early next week and was chatting with her friend, Glennetta White, about the final steps of the couple’s separation, White told the Daily Mail.

“We had less than a week before the divorce trial.

Cerina Fairfax (left), 49, chatted with her friend about the final steps of the couple’s separation. Facebook/Justin Fairfax

As far as Cerina was concerned, she had a few more days to go and it would all be over. ‘She was finally going to be free,’” White said.

“She was not in fear of her life — she was just desperate to get some normalcy back.”

It would be less than 24 hours later that Fairfax would gun down Cerina in their $1 million home before turning the gun on himself.

Despite the derelict behavior White had come to know as part of Fairfax’s personality, she was left in shock that he carried out such violence against his wife of nearly two decades.

“It’s like an out-of-body experience. I still can’t believe that it’s true. It feels like losing Martin Luther King, to me,” White said, adding that cried for 40 minutes after receiving the heartbreaking news.

White and Cerina had been friends since meeting at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry 25 years ago, and maintained a strong connection even after White, 66, retired and emigrated to South Africa last year.

Cerina Fairfax’s friend Glenetta White said, “He was shutting Cerina down from telling the truth at this hearing.” Facebook/Glennetta White

The pair talked on the phone every day, making their final conversation nothing out of the ordinary at the time.

“We spoke on Wednesday morning. Cerina was in Giant getting some stuff for her office,” she said. “She told me about the latest things that Justin had filed in the divorce. They were ridiculous,” White said, without going into detail. 

Fairfax, however, had called the police in January over claims that Cerina had assaulted him, which were later proven to be untrue.

Cerina had recently talked with her attorney and was feeling good, said White.

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White also revealed that Fairfax had previous issues with the gun that Fairfax bought with cash earmarked for his children’s horse-riding lessons.

The pair briefly separated in 2019 — amid allegations that Fairfax sexually assaulted several women — after the former politician took a gun to the woods amid an apparent breakdown, though he never threatened to kill himself. 

Cerina thought the gun was taken away by his family after they talked him off the ledge.

Less than 24 hours after celebrating, Fairfax gunned down Cerina in their $1 million home before killing himself. Getty Images

“She would not have stayed there if she knew he had a gun in the house,” White said.

Fairfax’s concerning behavior only continued to escalate, the grieving friend said.

He would eat the kid’s food and refuse to replace it, would cheat on his wife and slowly stopped working altogether — while managing to rack up more than $750,000 in debt. 

Cerina installed cameras throughout the house to monitor her chain-smoking, layabout husband while she ran the family dental practice.

Disgraced ex-Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax killed his estranged wife in a gruesome murder-suicide just hours she celebrated with her best friend that she was “finally going to be free,” according to a report. Andrew Thomas – CNP for NY Post

The tired wife filed for divorce in March and was awarded full custody of their two children, ages 16 and 14, but continued to live in the same home until April, when a vacate order required him to move out.

The pair were due in court Tuesday for a property and support trial at Fairfax Circuit Court.

White theorizes that Fairfax murdered his wife and killed himself because he didn’t want his dirty laundry to be “exposed” in public.

“Justin had already disengaged from society. But Cerina had not. She had kids to raise, a business to run, and a family who adored her. My heart is broken that her kids have lost both parents, White continued.

“He was shutting Cerina down from telling the truth at this hearing,” she said.

“He wanted to be famous, he wanted a legacy, but I doubt this is what he had in mind.”