Credit: Fairfax County Police Department
In a series of unusual happenings, cold case detectives from the Fairfax County Police Department (Virginia) have obtained a full confession from the prime suspect in the brutal 1994 murder of a 37-year-old mother.
Stephen Smerk, 51, is now being extradited from New York to Virginia for the murder of Robin Lawrence on Nov. 20, 1994.
That day, a neighbor was sent to do a wellness check on Lawrence as her husband was out of the country for work and had not been able to get in touch with her. The neighbor found a bloody crime scene in the house, with Lawrence stabbed to death multiple times in what Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis described as “a particularly gruesome scene.” Lawrence’s 2-year-old daughter was in another room of the house, unharmed.
During the initial investigation, detectives interviewed suspects and witnesses, and were careful to recover all evidence from the scene. At the time, a DNA profile was developed; however, no matches were found. Years later, the unknown DNA profile was uploaded to CODIS once that database became available, but again, there were no matches.
Then, in 2019, cold case detectives submitted the DNA to Parabon Nanolabs. Parabon then developed a profile to utilize for forensic genetic genealogy, creating a family tree based on the submitted DNA.
Fairfax detectives and consultants worked on the family tree for three years, searching for leads. Eventually, their research and data led them to a Stephen Smerk, who was stationed at nearby Ft. Myer on active duty in 1994.
The cold case detectives tracked down a 1988 yearbook photo of Smerk as well as a 1998 DMV photo and compared them with the digital image created by Parabon’s phenotyping-based technology, Snapshot. Intrigued by the visual results and DNA evidence, two detectives set off for New York with the intention to further their investigation.
This is where the unusual circumstances come into play.
When the detectives arrived at Smerk’s house, he happened to be outside already, taking out his trash. After engaging in conversation with the detectives, Smerk willingly submitted to a DNA swab. The detectives then left their business cards with their cell numbers, before retreating back to the hotel intending to return to Virginia.
But before they could leave the hotel on their way home, their cell phone rang. It was Smerk saying he wanted to confess to the 1994 murder of Lawerence. The detectives directed Smerk to the local police department, where he provided a full confession.
Smerk has been charged with 2nd degree murder and is currently awaiting extradition to Virginia from New York.
Davis said he couldn’t go into motive during the press conference announcing the charges, but he did confirm that there was no relationship whatsoever between Smerk and Lawrence. He said the crime was “seemingly random.”
The police chief also confirmed that, before this arrest, Smerk has “zero criminal history.” At this time, the police do not suspect him in any additional crimes in Virginia or New York.
“No matter how far we have to go, how much work we have to do, how long it takes, the Fairfax Country Police Department is going to bring those response for crime to justice,” said Davis.