Upstate New York Man Makes Chilling Murder Confession from 1994
Thanks to some good police work, a 30-year-old murder case was solved last year, and the man responsible for the heinous killing may spend up to 70 years behind bars.
While in the courtroom on Friday, it was revealed that Stephen Smerk, 52, from Niskayuna, made a chilling confession, joking that if he had not gotten married, he would "probably be a serial killer."
According to sources, Stephen Smerk, 52, admitted to fatally stabbing 37-year-old Robin Lawrence while she was in her Virginia home in November 1994 with her 2-year-old daughter. Smerk, who was living in Niskayuna and working as a software engineer, was taken into custody in September 2023 after DNA evidence matched him to the murder.
"When police arrived, they found Lawrence face down next to her bed with a pillow between her legs, the detective assigned to the case testified. He recalled wounds to her head, face and neck." -NY Post
Intent on Killing Anyone he Came Across
Smerk, then 22, was stationed at Fort Myer in Arlington for his first year in the Army when he drove off from the base one night and, according to sources, became intent on killing anyone he came across.
“It wouldn’t have mattered if there were 50 people in that house,” Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Kelsey Gill said. “He set out to kill someone.”
Murderer Makes Chilling Courtroom Confession
The details of the 1994 murder are grisly. Police say that Smerk stabbed Lawrence in her Virginia home while her two-year-old daughter was home. A family friend found her lifeless four days after the killing when Lawrence’s husband asked for a wellness check while he was away on a business trip.
Shortly after seeing Lawrence's body, the friend says that the two-year-old crawled over to her in soiled diapers, looking for comfort. According to reports, Lawrence was stabbed 49 times.
While in the courtroom on Friday, prosecuting attorney Gill said that Smerk claims he stabbed her a few times, adding that she was "cut up pretty good."
Gill also informed the courtroom of another stomach-churning statement made by Smerk, who cryptically confessed that "I’ve not killed anyone else, but I could be a serial killer if I never got married," according to the prosecutor.
Per his plea deal, he could face up to 70 years in prison.
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