Former Army soldier Stephan Smerk was given the maximum sentence — 70 years in prison — today (Friday) for the murder of West Springfield woman Robin Lawrence in 1994.
Smerk, 53, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder on Oct. 4 for stabbing and killing Lawrence in her home in an act of random violence.
According to prosecutors, Smerk was stationed at the Army facility now known as Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Arlington in November 1994 when he “left his barracks with [the] intent to kill someone,” though he had no specific victim in mind.
After driving to a friend’s house in West Springfield, Smerk broke into a neighbor’s house and found Lawrence, who he proceeded to stab 49 times. Lawrence’s 2-year-old daughter was also in the home at the time.
“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,” the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office said in a press release.
Smerk confessed to the killing during a police interview. Prosecutors shared video of the confession in a preliminary hearing last April.
Before today’s sentencing, Lawrence’s siblings faced her killer in the courtroom and described how the murder shattered their lives.
“My world shattered,” her sister Mary Cowans said. “I went through the motions of a normal life, but it was not normal any day after she died. We moved forward, but I was not okay. I don’t think I’ve been okay any day after she died.”
Cowans said the funeral was closed casket, leaving her without the chance to see her sister one last time. For years, she struggled with the pain and hurt not only of her sister’s death, but knowing the killer was at large, Cowans said at the sentencing hearing in Fairfax County Circuit Court.
Now, while the family finally is getting closure on the case, Cowans said the court case has brought all those memories rushing back.
“I hoped to grow old with her, but that was taken from us,” Cowans said. “Some of my grief has been replaced with anger. Anger that she had been taken from us for no reason; that this man lived his life, raised a family, knowing what he did to my sister.”
Robert Warr, Lawrence’s brother, said his sister’s death devastated the family.
“We were devastated. Shattered,” Warr said. “The worst of the worst news possible. It was heartbreaking… the impact has been devastating beyond measure.”
A plea deal forbade the possibility of life in jail, leaving Smerk with between 36-70 years in prison. Circuit Court Judge David Oblon said he almost rejected the agreement.
“Mr. Smerk’s cruel impact on the family he decimated is incalculable,” said Oblon. “[Mitigating circumstances] do not warrant a sentence below the maximum. This murder is one of the worst crimes in Fairfax County history… In the court’s judgement, Smerk should receive the maximum sentence.”
Both the prosecution and defense noted that Smerk is now 53 years old, and with medical issues that include diabetes and heart problems, either a 32 or 70-year sentence would mean he’ll likely die in prison.
Smerk was ultimately sentenced to life with “all but 70 years suspended,” along with a $100,000 fine.
The crime was committed 41 days before parole was abolished in Virginia, adding the unique wrinkle that Smerk could be eligible for parole, in which case he would be required to wear a GPS monitor and take substance abuse tests.
Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano thanked the Fairfax County Police Department’s cold case unit for its work on the case, which had a breakthrough in 2023 when testing on a DNA sample sent to Reston-based Parabon NanoLabs led investigators to Smerk as a possible suspect.
In September 2023, detectives tracked Smerk to his home in Niskayuna, New York, and collected a DNA sample that Smerk voluntarily provided for further testing. Smerk was arrested hours later after he turned himself in at a local police station and confessed.
“The random and senseless murder of a young mother scarred Fairfax County for more than 30 years,” Descano said in a statement. “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.”
