A guilty plea is expected in the cold case murder of Fairfax Co.'s mother in 1994

It's been nearly 30 years since a mother was stabbed to death in her West Springfield, Virginia, home while her 2-year-old daughter was in the next room. The man charged in the death of Robin Lawrence is expected to plead guilty on Friday.

Court records show Stephan Smerk, 52, has a hearing scheduled for Friday in Fairfax County Circuit Court. Sources tell WTOP that he is expected to plead guilty to first-degree murder.

Robin Lawrence's body was discovered on November 20, 1994, in her home on the leafy cul-de-sac of Reseca Lane in the county's West Springfield section. Her husband was abroad on a business trip and when he couldn't reach her, he became worried and asked a family friend to get in touch.

The friend alerted police to the grisly scene and found Lawrence's unattended young daughter.

Investigators collected DNA evidence at the time and uploaded it to the national CODIS database of DNA profiles – but there were no matches and the case eventually went cold.

In 2019, police began working with Reston-based Parabon NanoLabs, a DNA technology company that has helped D.C.-area police departments finally solve several other cold cases.

Parabon investigators and detectives also began searching online genealogical databases to create a family tree that eventually led to Smerk, who lived in Niskayuna, New York.

In 1994, Smerk was an active-duty Army soldier stationed at what is now Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, near Arlington National Cemetery.

Fairfax County detectives Melissa Wallace and JD Long traveled 400 miles to upstate New York.

When investigators arrived at Smerk's home, he was in the driveway taking trash to the side of the road. According to Davis, he spoke with investigators and agreed to have a DNA sample taken at his home. Investigators left a business card with a cell phone number.

When investigators returned to their hotel, Smerk called them and said he wanted to talk. Police say he confessed.

At the time of his arrest in September 2023, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said Smerk had “no criminal history at all.”

In April 2024, Fairfax County prosecutors played Smerks' confession during a probable cause hearing. Smerk told investigators that he did not know the victim but was familiar with the area because a friend lived next door.

“I knew I was going to kill someone; I didn’t know who I was going to kill,” he told police, according to News 4. As the questioning continued, Smerk said, “You know what I did, I know what I did – I cut her up pretty good.”

Smerk's public defender had previously stated that Smerk's confession differed from the details of the crime.

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