Almost 30 years since a mother was killed inside her Fairfax County, Virginia, home while her toddler was in the next room, a former Army service member pleaded guilty Friday in her stabbing death.
Robin Lawrence’s body was discovered inside her home on the leafy cul-de-sac of Reseca Lane in the West Springfield area on Nov. 20, 1994. But police would take nearly three decades to arrest Stephan Smerk, 52, of New York, in her death.
“Thirty years ago, the random and brutal murder of a young mother rocked Fairfax County,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said in a statement following Smerk’s guilty plea. “While the scars of such a horrific crime can never be fully healed, I hope this conviction can provide closure to both the family of Robin Lawrence and our entire community. This conviction is a testament to our commitment to justice — no matter how long it takes to achieve it.”
Smerk faces up to 70 years for the first-degree murder charge, and a sentencing hearing has been scheduled for March 7, 2025.
Cold case
In 1994, Lawrence’s husband was out of the country on a business trip and became worried when he could not reach his wife. He asked a family friend to check in on her.
“And that family friend discovered this heinous and tragic scene,” Deputy Chief Eli Cory said last September during a news conference announcing Smerk’s arrest. “Robin was stabbed multiple times to death with her 2-year-old daughter just in another room in the house. Luckily, she was unharmed.”
Detectives collected DNA evidence at the time and uploaded it to the national CODIS database of DNA profiles — but there were no matches, and the case eventually grew cold.
‘Left the barracks with the intent to kill someone’
In 1994, Smerk was an active-duty Army soldier based at what is now Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall near Arlington National Cemetery.
That November, Descano said Smerk “left the barracks with the intent to kill someone — though he did not yet know who.”
Smerk drove to West Springfield and broke into Lawrence’s home, where she was alone with her 2-year-old daughter. Smerk stabbed Lawrence 49 times and then tossed the weapon into a body of water later that night.
In April 2024, Fairfax County prosecutors played Smerk’s confession during a probable cause hearing. Smerk told detectives he didn’t know the victim but was familiar with the neighborhood since a friend lived next door.
‘I want to talk’
In 2019, police began working with Reston-based Parabon NanoLabs, a DNA technology company that has helped police departments in the D.C. area solve several other cold cases.
Parabon investigators and detectives also began searching online genealogical databases to build a family tree, which eventually led to Smerk, who was living in Niskayuna, New York.
They went 400 miles to upstate New York to Smerk’s home. He was in his driveway taking the trash to the curb when detectives arrived. Smerk agreed to give them a DNA sample at home, police said, and they left him their business card.
As the detectives were preparing to come back to Fairfax County, they got a call at their hotel from Smerk, who said, “I want to talk, and I want to talk right now.”
At the time of his arrest in September 2023, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said Smerk had “zero criminal history whatsoever.”
WTOP’s Jack Moore and Abigail Constantino contributed to this report.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
