NY man Stephen Smerk arrested in ‘heinous’ 1994 cold case murder

A New York man confessed to the 1994 “heinous” murder of a Virginia mother — who he brutally stabbed to death and then left her toddler to fend for herself for days.

Stephen Smerk, 51, of Niskayuna, was taken into custody after DNA evidence matched him to the murder of 37-year-old Robin Lawrence, who was knifed multiple times at her Springfield home on Nov. 20, 1994, while her 2-year-old daughter was also inside, officials told reporters Monday.

The slaying was discovered days later by a friend of the family after Lawrence’s husband asked for a wellness check while he was away on a business trip, with the friend finding the mother’s bloodied body and the toddler dehydrated and crawling in soiled diapers.

“As far as a motive, the typical motives that we normally associate with murders, disputes, domestic violence, none of that was at play here,”  Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said. 

“He chose her seemingly randomly and it was a heinous, heinous scene.”

Detectives were unable to crack the case for nearly three decades until a DNA test with the Parabon company led them to the supect’s family tree in 2019, with a three-year investigation narrowing it down to Smerk.

Smerk was an active-duty military personnel working in Fort Meyers at the time of the murder.

When police went to Smerk’s New York home to collect a DNA sample, the suspect agreed. But before the detectives even left the state, Smerk called them to confess to Lawrence’s murder.

He was charged with second-degree murder and is awaiting extradition to Virginia.

Lauren Ovans, Lawrence’s cousin, said in a brief statement that her family was grateful to finally get justice for the slain mother.

“We as the family… would like to thank the Fairfax and Niskayuna police departments for their work on this case,” she said. “We look forward to learning more about the process and next steps.”

Lawrence’s husband, Ollie, said he nearly fell over when he learned that an arrest had finally been made over his wife’s murder.  

“I was flabbergasted. You could have probably knocked me over with a feather,” he told the Washington Post while living in retirement in France.

“After all of this time, you have hope, but you also wonder: ‘Will they really find someone after 29 years?’”

While he said the breakthrough does bring back the feelings of grief and loss his family suffered all those years ago, he’s hopeful they can get the closure that’s eluded them for decades.