From now on, Valentine's Day will always be tinged with sadness for Fairfax County Sheriff Stan Barry. Early last Friday, Feb. 14, his wife of just three months, Megan, 30, apparently took her own life.
Fairfax County police responded to the couple's home in Centreville's Compton Village community, around 12:30 a.m. There, they say, she "was found deceased of an apparent, self-inflicted gunshot wound."
The police investigation into her death is still ongoing and, so far, scant information has been released about the tragedy. That — and the family's desire to keep everything as private as possible — leaves the whole incident shrouded in mystery.
Barry declined to provide any details about his wife's life, except to say that she was a lawyer and a lobbyist for various entities. And he did not wish to give any possible reasons or motivations she might have had for committing suicide.
Police say Barry found his new bride downstairs in their home, but they don't know if he was home at the time of her death, or if he discovered her body after returning home from elsewhere. Police will also not reveal any details about the caliber of the weapon, how she obtained it or what part of her body sustained the fatal injury.
Meanwhile, Sheriff Barry — the son of former Sen. Warren E. Barry (R-37th) — is devastated. "I'm really at a loss — this was so sudden," he said. "She was absolutely the light of my life. She was very vibrant and alive, and we're sure going to miss her."
His office issued a statement saying that its members were "deeply saddened" by Megan Barry's death: "Collectively, our thoughts and prayers are with the families involved ... We will assist those affected by this incident in any way possible. Thank you for your compassion in this time of grief."
Barry has two daughters, Rachel, 13, and Caroline, 11, from a previous marriage, and they, too, are mourning her loss. Rachel, an eighth-grader at Liberty Middle School and a page during the current session of the General Assembly, wrote the following about her stepmother:
"All of my life, I have learned many things, but the most important thing I have ever learned is that bad things will happen — and, as much as you wish you could go back and change the past, you can't. No matter what, you always need to focus on all the good things in your life and look towards good things in the future.
"I very recently lost someone very close to me who I loved very much, and she is the one who told me that. Megan Barry was one of my favorite people and one of my best friends. I am very sad that she is gone, and I wish that she had followed her own advice. She will always be missed."