On November 20, 1994, 37-year-old artist and Carnegie Mellon graduate Robin Lawrence was found murdered in her Fairfax County, Virginia, home. A friend, Laurie Lindberg, had gone to check on Robin after Robin’s husband, Ollie, could not reach her while traveling abroad. Laurie entered through a back window and discovered Robin’s two-year-old daughter, Nicole, wandering the house and large splatters of blood on the bedroom walls. Nicole, who had fragile health and required medication, apparently tried to help her mother; investigators later found bloody tissues and empty bottles near the body. Detectives concluded Robin had suffered a very violent attack that included dozens of stab wounds.
Early investigators recovered a crucial piece of evidence: a bathroom washcloth stained with blood on both sides. Detectives extracted DNA from the cloth and uploaded the profile to CODIS, but there was no match. The case remained unsolved for decades. Detectives reviewed family and social circles and investigated Robin’s marriage; Robin’s husband was cleared after providing an alibi that placed him in the Bahamas at the time.
In 2019 Fairfax County turned to Parabon NanoLabs for genetic genealogy and phenotyping. Parabon’s analysis suggested the suspect likely had European ancestry and produced a DNA-based facial composite. The initial genetic matches were distant — roughly fourth to sixth cousins — and Parabon gave the case a low solvability score, warning that progress would require substantial time and resources.
A volunteer genealogist identified only as Liz took those distant matches and spent more than three years building extended family trees. She followed leads across generations, tracing ancestors to Canada and identifying two family trees that converged at a single couple. From that connection she focused on a descendant of interest: Stephan Smerk, then living in Niskayuna, New York, a computer programmer with no prior criminal record. Parabon’s phenotyping composite and a yearbook photo of Smerk at 16 increased investigators’ interest.
In September 2023 Fairfax detectives Melissa Wallace and Jon Long traveled to Smerk’s home and conducted a brief interview, obtaining a cheek swab. Later that day Wallace received a call from Smerk saying he was at the police station to “turn himself in” for the 1994 murder. Local officers took him into custody. On September 7, 2023, Smerk gave a videotaped statement in which he confessed, saying he had gone to Robin’s house in November 1994 wearing a ski mask and gloves, surprised her in the bedroom, and killed her. He told investigators he had been drinking and using ephedrine, and described the attack as “100% intentional.” He also told them he was “a serial killer who has only killed once.” Detectives corroborated elements of his account with details only the killer would know.
Forensic testing linked Smerk’s DNA to the blood on the washcloth. Prosecutors described the DNA match as producing overwhelmingly strong statistical support. Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano called Smerk “a true danger to the community.” Based on the confession and the DNA evidence, detectives established probable cause at a preliminary hearing, and a grand jury later indicted Smerk in 2024.
Smerk ultimately accepted a plea agreement to first-degree murder rather than go to trial. Prosecutors and investigators said the passage of time, the deaths of witnesses, and fading memories influenced the decision to secure a guaranteed conviction. On March 7, 2025, Smerk was sentenced under the plea deal to a 70-year prison term, with the possibility of parole at the statutory maximum allowed by the agreement.
Family members told reporters they were relieved to have someone held accountable but disappointed there was no public trial. Robin’s sister and extended family remembered Robin as a powerful, creative artist whose work — including molding an early medal for a Martin Luther King Jr. prize — was a source of pride. Nicole, the child who had been found in the house in 1994, stood with family at sentencing; they said the resolution brought some measure of closure, though the trauma and loss persist.
Investigators credited a combination of traditional detective work, advances in DNA technology, persistent genetic genealogy, and volunteer effort for breaking the case. The washcloth originally yielded a strong DNA profile but produced no database match; years later, improvements in genetic genealogy and the efforts of Parabon and the volunteer genealogist produced the family connections that led investigators to a suspect. Detectives emphasized the patience required in cold-case work and the growing role of genetic genealogy when conventional database searches do not produce answers.
Defense counsel later described Smerk as having struggled with substance abuse and undiagnosed mental illness in his youth, saying he was later diagnosed with bipolar II disorder and had sought treatment; his attorney also noted the effects of alcohol and ephedrine on his behavior in 1994. Prosecutors and victims’ family members rejected portrayals of the killing as random or purely impulsive. Behavioral analysts who reviewed the case characterized the attack as mission-oriented and pointed to signs of planning — bringing a mask and gloves, targeting a night when Robin’s husband was away, and entering through the back — as evidence the killing was purposeful rather than accidental.
After sentencing, family members said the conviction and the lengthy sentence brought a degree of justice. Ollie Lawrence released a statement expressing gratitude that the case had been resolved. Robin’s relatives and friends continue to remember her through her art and the life she built before the murder, describing her as creative, exuberant, and a loving mother whose presence remains felt in her work and in her daughter’s life.