Who killed Robin Lawrence? All about the cold case shown in the latest episode of 48 Hours on ID

48 Hours season 38 episode 6 explores a case out of quiet Springfield, Virginia. On an evening in November 1994, 37-year-old artist Robin Warr Lawrence was stabbed to death within her own home, leaving behind her 2-year-old daughter alone for two days. Investigators were stumped for close to three decades on this one, with a vicious attack and no apparent motive or theft and a lone drop of the perpetrator's blood on a bathroom washcloth.

Stephan Smerk, a computer programmer and a former soldier, admitted in 2023 to the random, premeditated killing, motivated by dark forces he termed demonic urges. Smerk, now 54, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 70 years, finally bringing an end to long-denied justice for a family devastated by tragedy.

This case is shown in the new episode of 48 Hours, titled Closing the Cold Case of Robin Lawrence, released on October 25, 2025, on CBS and Investigation Discovery.

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48 Hours: The victim and the night of terror

48 Hours' season 38, episode 6 (Image via Unsplash/ @Campbell Jensen)

Robin Warr Lawrence lived a colorful life in Springfield, Virginia. She graduated in fine arts at Carnegie Mellon University and designed the first medal for the Martin Luther King Jr. Nonviolent Peace Prize, given to Rosa Parks, a moment of pride related to her parents' experiences during the Jim Crow period.

Characterized by friend Laurie Lindberg as friendly and fun-loving, Robin roomed with her in Washington, D.C., after the two met at ballet class. Robin married Ollie Lawrence, a serene airline executive, on New Year's Eve 1989. Their daughter Nicole, born in 1992, had undergone a liver transplant as an infant and required daily medication to remain healthy, according to CBS News.

Robin worked in advertising, and the family liked simple pleasures such as yard work and home improvement. At approximately 9:30 p.m. on November 18, 1994, while Ollie was on business in the Bahamas, an intruder wearing a ski mask and leather gloves entered from a back deck window. The attacker attacked Robin in the master bedroom, and stabbed her repeatedly, causing a deep neck wound, cutting her back and legs, and leaving her to defend herself with her hands.

A desperate battle was fought: the phone cord was cut, and Robin struggled from bed to floor. There were bloody tissues and bare baby bottles surrounding the scene, probably left by toddler Nicole in a desperate attempt to help her mother.

Nothing was taken, which suggests a purposeful attack over burglary. Robin's body remained undetected until November 20, when Lindberg discovered blood on the walls and Nicole loose without supervision.

Lindberg dialed 911, took Nicole to the hospital for her medication, and contacted Robin's parents. Lead detective Mark Garman referred to the scene as brutal, pointing out the killer's blood on a bathroom washcloth as primary evidence, as CBS News reported. That DNA evidence would eventually unmask the intruder decades later in a chilling case revisited and detailed on 48 Hours.

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Unraveling the DNA trail to Smerk

Robin Lawrence was stabbed to death (Image via Unsplash/ @ Akram Huseyn/ 48 Hours)

In 2019, Fairfax County cold case detectives Melissa Wallace and Jon Long revived the file, partnering with Parabon NanoLabs for genetic genealogy. Bioinformatics director Ellen Greytak analyzed the washcloth DNA, revealing European roots: half Eastern European, 25% Irish, and 25% English/Italian/Scandinavian mix.

Uploaded to GEDmatch and Family Tree DNA, it matched distant cousins, generating 1,500 leads but a zero solvability score due to complexity. Parabon phenotyped a suspect image: fair-skinned, blue-eyed, with a broad jaw refined by forensic artist Thom Shaw, as per CBS News.

Volunteer genealogist Liz, an amateur aiding the department, spent three-and-a-half years gratis, tracing trees via a Canadian marriage link to pinpoint Stephan Smerk, then 52, in Niskayuna, New York. A computer programmer with a lawyer wife, two teens, and a spotless record, Smerk's 16-year-old yearbook photo echoed the composite.

On September 7, 2023, Wallace and Long visited unannounced. Stone-faced, Smerk consented to a DNA swab in minutes, no questions asked. Hours later, he called Wallace:

"I'm turning myself in for a 1990s Virginia cold case."

He dialed 911, was arrested outside the station, and confessed in interrogation, detailing the mask, gloves, and Nicole's presence, as recounted on 48 Hours. Tests confirmed a one-in-7-million DNA match, unmasking Smerk as the intruder, according to CBS News.

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48 Hours: Confession, conviction, and a family's reckoning

Smerk was sentenced to 70 years in prison (Image via Unsplash/ @ Emiliano Bar/ 48 Hours)

Smerk's interrogation exposed his mindset: drunk on beer and ephedrine, he drove to the neighborhood gripped by "demons," urging murder, using military combat skills on a kneeling Robin who begged for her daughter. He claimed her as his sole victim, fearing serial tendencies without family anchors, and showed no remorse for the Lawrences, only regret for his freedom's end, as CBS News reported.

FBI profiler Mary Ellen O'Toole deemed it a premeditated, mission-oriented killing, not a random thrill, with Smerk possibly rechanneling urges into lesser acts like stalking. Charged on April 15, 2024, after a grand jury indictment, Smerk faced a preliminary hearing where his taped confession played, shocking Robin's family. Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano labeled him a "true danger."

Despite family pleas for a trial to expose him publicly, fading memories led to a plea: guilty to first-degree murder. On March 7, 2025, he was sentenced to 70 years, with parole possible when he's 65, according to CBS News. His lawyer cited bipolar disorder, substance abuse, and sobriety as mitigators, but the judge prioritized accountability.

Watch 48 Hours season 38 episode 6, Closing the Cold Case of Robin Lawrence, available on Investigation Discovery.

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Edited by Somava