Naman Shrestha
A devoted wife and a doting mother named Robin Lawrence was home alone when she was killed by an intruder in her West Springfield, Virginia, house in November 1994. The tragedy shook the entire community to its core, while her friends and family members were left devastated. Despite the evidence found at the scene of the crime, the detectives couldn’t do much with it due to a lack of technology. Thanks to advanced genetic genealogy, the cold case was solved after several decades. All the intricate details of the case and the decades-long investigation that ensued are covered in CBS’ ’48 Hours: Closing the Cold Case of Robin Lawrence,’ with the help of exclusive interviews with Robin’s loved ones and the officials linked to the investigation.
Robin Lawrence Was Killed in Her House in the Presence of Her Infant Daughter
Robert Warr, the first Black Common Councilor on the Syracuse Common Council, was blessed when his daughter, Robin Warr Lawrence, was born in 1957 in Ithaca, New York. Growing up in Syracuse, Robin was accompanied by her sister, Mary Warr Cowans, and a brother named Robert Ward. Having an artistic talent from a young age, she won a drawing competition at the Everson Museum and earned several prizes in the following years. After graduating from Nottingham High School in 1974, she pursued an art degree at Carnegie Mellon College of Fine Arts in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
She also used her artistic talent to create medallions and a Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Medal. Besides being a talented artist, she was passionate about dancing. Her compassionate and kind-hearted personality allowed her to make many friends. After graduating from college, Robin relocated to Washington, DC, where she met the love of her life, Ollie Lawrence. As sparks flew, they began dating and eventually moved to Virginia. After tying the knot, they welcomed a daughter named Nicole into the world. Residing on Reseca Lane in West Springfield, Virginia, Robin was employed at Merchant’s Tire and Auto Center in Manassas as the Director of Advertising. Everything seemed to be going well for the Lawrence family, but things turned upside down on the fateful day of November 20, 1994.
At the time, Ollie was on a business trip in Nassau, Bahamas. When he couldn’t get in touch with Robin for a few days, he asked one of the neighbors to check in on his wife and daughter. The neighbor found two-year-old Nicole alive, but they found her mother dead, after which they immediately informed the authorities about the situation. When the authorities arrived, they secured the perimeter and inspected the crime scene. While Nicole was treated for dehydration at Fairfax Hospital, the detectives collected DNA evidence found on a washcloth in the bathroom. The autopsy revealed that she had been dead for a couple of days, and the cause of her death was multiple stab wounds. Without wasting any time, a homicide investigation was underway.
Robin Lawrence’s Murder Remained Unsolved For Decades
As part of the investigation, the detectives interviewed the neighbors on Reseca Lane to gather information about Robin Lawrence and her life in the days leading to her demise. Since her husband, Ollie Lawrence, was out of the station for business purposes, he was eliminated as a potential suspect. Although they had DNA evidence from the crime scene, they couldn’t get any matches upon running it through CODIS. Thus, the case went cold for several decades. Thanks to advancements in technology and the development of genetic genealogy, the detectives used the process to find blood relatives of the suspect and eventually landed on a possible suspect named Stephan Smerk.
Upon digging deeper into the life of Stephan, they found out that he also resided in Virginia at the time of the murder. However, the computer programmer, who lived in Niskayuna, New York, had an entirely blank rap sheet. Still doubting his involvement in the crime, the detectives paid a visit to the suspect on September 7, 2023, to get a DNA sample from him and see if it matched the DNA evidence from the murder scene. Stephan voluntarily gave his DNA to the detectives. A few hours later, the married 52-year-old father of two called one of the detectives and said that he had turned himself in at the Niskayuna Police Department for killing Robin Lawrence.
The Killer Confessed to His Crimes When DNA Evidence Led the Police to His House
The detectives rushed to the police station, where they interrogated Stephan. He confessed to the murder and told them that he had broken into Robin’s house with the sole intention of killing someone. He said, “I knew that I was going to kill somebody. I did not know who I was going to kill. Something inside of me just compelled me to do it … It was like this overbearing thought in my brain that I needed to kill somebody.” Though he claimed that he was familiar with the neighborhood because one of his friends also resided there, he had no clue who lived in Robin’s residence. “There could have been 50 people in that house. I don’t know. They could have all had guns and shot me dead. I wasn’t even thinking about that,” he added.
During his chilling confession, he told the detectives that he had been drinking on the fateful night when he went inside Robin’s house through a sliding glass door before stabbing her dozens of times with a knife. He also admitted to cutting the phone cord when she tried to call for help. He also stated, “I honestly believe that if it wasn’t for my wife and my kids, I probably would be a serial killer. I am a serial killer who’s only killed once.” Stephan also denied feeling remorse for what he had done and the pain he caused Robin’s family and friends. “I feel bad that I did it because I knew someday my personal freedom would be affected,” he said. After the interview, he was arrested and charged with the murder.
Stephan Smerk is Currently Incarcerated at a Virginia Prison Facility
About a year later, on October 4, 2024, Stephan Smerk pleaded guilty to killing 37-year-old Robin Lawrence in 1994. A few months later, on March 7, 2025, the convict was finally sentenced to life in prison with all but 70 years suspended. During the sentencing hearing, Robin’s sister, Mary Warr Cowans, took the stand and stated, “It helped to know that a person was found and being held responsible, but it didn’t help to know what he did to (Robin) and how she suffered…it doesn’t help and it doesn’t bring her back. She would have been in our lives for the past thirty years. But that was taken from us.”
The sister expressed her relief at the 70-year sentencing of the killer and said that it finally brought a sense of closure for her and the rest of the family after three long decades. Mary’s daughter and Robin’s niece, Lauren Ovans, who was just eight years old when Robin was killed, also took the stand. Opening up about her bond with her aunt, she said, “She always made me feel so loved and helped me express myself. She was very expressive. She was an artist; she was a dancer.” As of today, 53-year-old Stephan Smerk is serving his sentence at Nottoway Correctional Center in Burkeville, Virginia, with his release date scheduled for July 2075.
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