American man of New York arrested for the 1994 cold case murder of a Black-American woman in Virginia 

Niskayuna, New York resident Stephen Smerk, 51, was charged with second-degree murder over the 1994 murder of Robin Lawrence

By Edward Era Barbacena 

Fairfax County Police Department announced that they cracked a 29-year-old murder case this week, identifying the suspect that they say killed a woman in 1994.

Niskayuna, New York resident Stephen Smerk, 51, was charged with second-degree murder over the incident. Smerk – who confessed to the murder – is awaiting extradition to Fairfax County, Virginia.

Robin Lawrence, 37, was fatally stabbed in her Springfield home on November 20, 1994. Investigators developed a DNA profile in 1994, but they were not able to match a suspect to the recovered DNA.

Fairfax County Police Department says that their detectives were determined to solve the case. They eventually found a familial DNA match to Smerk, and determined that he was working in the area where Lawrence was stabbed.

"Victim specialists from our Major Crimes Bureau’s Victim Services Division have been assigned to ensure the victim’s family is receiving appropriate resources and assistance." Fairfax County Police Department said on Monday.