Date: 10-26-2025

Case Style: State of Virginia v. Stephen Smerk

Case Number:

Judge: Not Aavailable

Court: Circuit Court, Fairfax County, Virginia

Plaintiff's Attorney: Fairfax County, Virginia, District Attorney's Office

Defendant's Attorney:

Description: Alexandria, Virginia, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with first-degree murder.

Stephen Smerk, age 53, was accused of killing Robin Lawrence, age 27, who was killed in 1994.

Detectives using DNA from the crime scene were able to identify Smerk as the killer.

Investigators turned to Ellen Greytak, director of bioinformatics at Parabon NanoLabs, a DNA technology company, hoping genetic genealogy could identify Robin's killer. Greytak uploaded the DNA to GED Match and Family Tree DNA, but did not find a good match. The analysis identified 1,500 possible cousins. The investigators asked Parabon to produce a phenotyping sketch of Robin's killer. Eventually, an investigator was able to identify a couple in Canada who were ancestors of the killer, which led them to Smerk. When confronted, he confessed.

The defense argued that Smerk's confession didn't match up with the actual details of the crime.

In November of 1994, Smerk, then an Army soldier stationed at what is now Joint Base Myer-
Henderson Hall in Arlington, left his barracks with intent to kill someone – though he did not
yet know who, according to his confession video. Smerk drove to West Springfield and forced
entry into the home of Robin Lawrence, 37, who was not previously known to him. After finding
Ms. Lawrence alone in the home with her then 2-year-old daughter, Smerk stabbed her 49
times. Ms. Lawrence’s body was discovered by friends on November 20, 1994, after her
husband, who was out of the country at the time, asked them to check on her, as he’d not
heard from her in several days.

Though blood samples were collected at the scene, the case remained unsolved for nearly
three decades, until Fairfax County Police detectives were able to identify a possible DNA link to
Smerk using improved forensic genealogy methods. FCPD detectives approached Smerk in
September of 2023 at his Niskayuna, New York home to request a voluntary DNA sample for
further investigation. Just a few hours after he provided a sample, Smerk turned himself in and
confessed to the crime. On October 4, 2024, Smerk pled guilty to first-degree murder.
“The random and senseless murder of a young mother scarred Fairfax County for more than 30
years. 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,” said CA Descano. “I also
want to thank the Fairfax County cold case unit for their work on this case. While prosecutors
always depend on our investigative partners to put together strong cases, older cases have
unique challenges, especially if memories have faded and key witnesses are not available.”
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Outcome: Guilty and sentenced to 70 years in prison, with the possibility of parole

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

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