CBS’s 48 Hours recently aired a program about a 30-year-old cold case in Virginia. The killer was apprehended here in Niskayuna.
In 1994, Robin Lawrence was murdered in Springfield, Virginia, when she was with her two-year-old daughter.
After the killing, her daughter remained at the crime scene alone for two days until Robin’s body was discovered.
The crime remained unsolved for decades until DNA found on a towel led investigators to a suspect.
The episode discusses the case and interviews detectives from the Fairfax County Police Department.
Stephan Smerk, aged 53, was detained in Niskayuna in September 2023.
He was an army soldier living in Virginia when he left his base with the purpose to murder someone.
Robin’s sister and niece were living in Niskayuna at the time of the murder. Her niece, Lauren, grew up in the Capital Region. Lauren and I chatted in March, following her sentencing.
Emma Quinn inquired, “What was going through your mind?”
Lauren Cowan Ovans: “At first, I was like, how is this just a coincidence? Second, the thought crossed my mind, had I seen him while I was a kid, could I have bumped into him?…”I think there is one thing that finding all this out has helped our families is creating connection and being able to talk about it.”
Smerk was sentenced to 70 years in prison for the killing.
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