VA VA- Robin Lawrence, 37, stabbed 49 times, @ home, Springfield, 20 Nov; '94, DNA identified suspect - Stephen Smerk, 52, of Schenectady, NY, 2024.

[dotr]

Killer's chilling confession three decades after slaying Virginia mom

Stephen Smerk, 52, pleaded guilty this month to the 1994 murder of Robin Lawrence, 37, who was found stabbed 49 times in her Virginia home while her daughter was just steps away.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Smerk's home was located in Niskayuna, a town in Schenectady, New York

Stephen Smerk, 52, a married father of two teenagers from upstate New York, pleaded guilty this month to first-degree murder
'On the night of November 20, 1994, Lawrence was alone at home with her daughter while her husband was out of the country on a business trip.
When her husband could not reach her he contacted a family friend who made the grisly discovery.
Lawrence was found near her bed with a pillow between her legs and knife wounds on her neck, head and face.
Her toddler daughter was in a dirty diaper walking through the bloody crime scene.''

''During a press conference last September, Virginia Police Deputy Chief Cory said a profile had been developed using the DNA collected from the crime scene.
He said that after three years they had managed to create a family tree that led to a familial DNA match, FoxDC5 reported.
Parabon NanoLabs created a digital composite sketch of the suspect, and detectives compared that to a yearbook photo of Smerk when he was 16 and a DMV photo of him at 26.'

The images show Smerk at different ages, including a digital composite sketch and a photograph of the killer aged 16 and 26 '
'Smerk is scheduled to be sentenced on March 7 and is facing up to 70 years in prison.'

 

[ChatteringBirds]

The world needs to know how disgusting this guy is, IMO.

Still saying things like, "I’ve not killed anyone else, but I could be a serial killer,” ... from a transcript of Smerk’s confession.

He also said he “did everything they taught me in the military” and “hand-to-hand combat.”

“I cut her up pretty good."

Sick man.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/10/04/stephan-smerk-cold-case-guilty-plea/

 

[dotr]

'I did not know who I was going to kill' | Man pleads guilty to Fairfax mom's 1994 murder

A former Army soldier has pleaded guilty to a Fairfax County mother's 1994 murder.

wjla.com

''Lawrence was born in Ithaca, grew up in Syracuse, and graduated from Nottingham High School in 1974. Her father, Robert Warr, was the first Black Common Councilor in Syracuse''.

''According to prosecutors at a preliminary hearing in April, Smerk left his barracks at what is now the Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Arlington planning to kill a stranger.

“I knew that I was going to kill somebody; I did not know who I was going to kill,” Smerk said in his confession, which was played in the courtroom.

Smerk says that then he broke into Lawrence's house in West Springfield. He stapped Lawrence 49 times, then tossed the murder weapon into a body of water afterward.

"I cut her up pretty good,” Smerk said in court.''

 

[Trebor5591]

How could a soldier murder a stranger just for the thrill of it, then get married and have a family and live a normal life? It makes no sense. Well, at least the family of Robin Lawrence can receive justice for her murder.

 

[dotr]

‘I just had to kill somebody’ | Springfield cold case killer describes desire to murder in newly released video confession

In a bizarre connection, Stephan Smerk and the victim’s family lived in the same small town in New York as the case went cold.

www.wusa9.com

rbbm imo, He should have started with himself.

''The case went cold but new DNA technology and sketch work helped Fairfax County detectives track Smerk down at his home in Niskayuna, New York in September 2023. During the interview with police, Smerk admitted to using his own knife to stab and kill Lawrence, who he remembered was begging for her life.
“Something came over me,” Smerk told detectives. “I'm not going to say there were voices in my head or hear somebody actually talking to me, but it was like this overbearing thought in my brain that I needed to kill somebody. I just had to kill somebody.”
“Something inside of me just compelled me to do it,” he said.
Smerk said he had frequent thoughts of killing someone, which is why he decided to join the military. He described being “highly influenced” by demons and later said he eventually saw a psychiatrist for about six years. When asked, Smerk claimed he still knew what he was doing was wrong.
“I've not killed anybody else, but I could be a serial killer,” he said. “I honestly believe if it wasn't for my wife and kids, I probably would be a serial killer.”

 

[rob525]

I would be shocked if this is the only victim. Possibly his only murder but how many attacks and assaults has he committed?

 

[rleigh123]

Killer's chilling confession three decades after slaying Virginia mom

Stephen Smerk, 52, pleaded guilty this month to the 1994 murder of Robin Lawrence, 37, who was found stabbed 49 times in her Virginia home while her daughter was just steps away.

www.dailymail.co.uk

View attachment 537485
View attachment 537487
Smerk's home was located in Niskayuna, a town in Schenectady, New York
View attachment 537486
Stephen Smerk, 52, a married father of two teenagers from upstate New York, pleaded guilty this month to first-degree murder
'On the night of November 20, 1994, Lawrence was alone at home with her daughter while her husband was out of the country on a business trip.
When her husband could not reach her he contacted a family friend who made the grisly discovery.
Lawrence was found near her bed with a pillow between her legs and knife wounds on her neck, head and face.
Her toddler daughter was in a dirty diaper walking through the bloody crime scene.''

''During a press conference last September, Virginia Police Deputy Chief Cory said a profile had been developed using the DNA collected from the crime scene.
He said that after three years they had managed to create a family tree that led to a familial DNA match, FoxDC5 reported.
Parabon NanoLabs created a digital composite sketch of the suspect, and detectives compared that to a yearbook photo of Smerk when he was 16 and a DMV photo of him at 26.'

The images show Smerk at different ages, including a digital composite sketch and a photograph of the killer aged 16 and 26 '
'Smerk is scheduled to be sentenced on March 7 and is facing up to 70 years in prison.'

IMO-


It never ceases to amaze me how almost all of the Parabon composites look the same (even those of different races) --- but rarely similar to the actual person.

But in other ways, Parabon does such excellent work and I applaud them!

Thank God he was caught. Rest in peace Robin Lawrence, and love to her daughter, her widower, and the rest of her family.


IMO

 

[dotr]

Mar 10, 2025

https://www.news10.com/news/crime/niskayuna-man-sentenced-to-70-years-for-1994-cold-case-murder/

''SPRINGFIELD, Va. (NEWS10) — The Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office announced on Friday that 53-year-old Stephan Smerk was sentenced to 70 years in prison for the 1994 murder of Robin Lawrence. The Niskayuna man pleaded guilty back in October, nearly 30 years after Lawrence’s death.''

“The random and senseless murder of a young mother scarred Fairfax County for more than 30 years,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano. “The pain left by Robin Lawrence’s murder can never fully heal, but I hope that today’s sentence will help her loved ones finally close this difficult chapter.”

 

[dotr]

'I am a serial killer who only killed once’: New York man gets 70 years in woman's murder

Army veteran Stephan Smerk, 53, pleaded guilty in October to the 1994 stabbing death of 37-year-old Robin Lawrence, who was home alone with her 2-year-old.

www.usatoday.com

''He told police that if he had no wife and kids, he’d probably commit more murders, saying: “I am a serial killer who only killed once."

 

[imstilla.grandma]

“Something came over me,” Smerk once told cops. “I just had to kill somebody. I can’t explain it to you.”

‘Serial killer who only killed once’ sentenced to 70 years for 1994 cold case murder

After almost three decades on the run, Stephan Smerk has been sentenced for first-degree murder in crime ‘among the worst’ Fairfax County had ever seen, James Liddell writes

www.the-independent.com