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A Fairfax County judge raised concerns about former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax’s mental health weeks before Fairfax killed his estranged wife, Cerina Fairfax, and himself.

The deaths occurred Thursday, days before Justin Fairfax was scheduled to appear at an April 21 hearing in the couple’s divorce case. He also faced a court-ordered April 30 deadline to leave their Annandale home.

A March 30 Fairfax County Circuit Court custody order detailed a troubling 2022 episode involving a handgun. According to the document, Fairfax used money intended for his children’s riding lessons to purchase the weapon.

He later left home with the gun during what the court described as “some kind of adverse psychological event.” Relatives found him in a nearby public park after a frantic search but could not calm him for several hours. His brother ultimately contacted a mental health professional, the order said.

Circuit Court Judge Timothy J. McEvoy also documented more recent concerns. He wrote that Fairfax’s isolation, alcohol use and withdrawal from family life appeared to reflect “a sense of fatalism and hopelessness.”

McEvoy said there was no evidence Fairfax was receiving professional help, calling that absence “very concerning to the Court.” The judge did not order him to undergo psychological therapy.

The custody order granted Justin Fairfax joint legal custody of the couple’s two teenage children. Cerina Fairfax received primary physical custody, while Justin was directed to move out by the end of April.

Although legally separated, the couple continued living with their children in the 8100 block of Guinevere Drive. McEvoy said tensions inside the home had remained “extremely high for an extended period of time” and that the living arrangement was worsening the situation.

Court records also show Fairfax had been ordered to attend an April 21 show-cause hearing in the divorce proceedings.

Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said Thursday that Justin Fairfax apparently had recently received paperwork connected to an upcoming court proceeding. Davis said investigators believed that development may have led to the shooting.

Justin Fairfax served as Virginia’s lieutenant governor from 2018 through 2022. In 2019, two women accused him of sexually assaulting them when they were students at Duke University.