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Cold Case Confession: Area Man Admits Stabbing Woman To Death Decades Later, Cops Say
Nearly 30 years after a woman was found stabbed to death inside her home, a New York man has confessed to her murder following a DNA breakthrough.
Schenectady County resident Stephen Smerk, age 51, of Niskayuna, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder in the November 1994 killing of Robin Lawrence in Springfield, Virginia, police announced Monday, Sept. 11.
The 37-year-old mother was found dead from multiple stab wounds three days after the killing, on Nov. 20, 1994, according to police. Her 2-year-old daughter was also found in the home days later, unharmed.
Investigators devel…
Cold Case: Man From Region Confesses To Grisly 1994 Murder, Police Say
A 51-year-old man from the region has been arrested in a Virginia homicide, cracking a 29-year cold case, authorities announced.
Schenectady County resident Stephen Smerk, of Niskayuna, is facing second-degree manslaughter in the Nov. 20, 1994 death of 37-year-old Robin Lawrence, who was found dead in a Springfield, Virginia home, Fairfax County police said.
Smerk is believed to have stabbed Lawrence inside of her home, when he was 22 years old, authorities said.
In 1994, a DNA profile was developed; however, at the time there was no match in any system for the recovered DNA.
In the …
DNA Technology Leads To Arraignment Of Serial Killer For 1968 Murder Of Woman At NY Mall
A 75-year-old convicted serial killer has been charged with the 1968 murder of a woman on Long Island in the parking lot of a popular mall thanks to DNA technology.
Richard Cottingham, of the South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton, New Jersey, was arraigned virtually on Wednesday, June 22, on a grand jury indictment, charging him with one count of murder, said Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly.
According to the investigation, Diane Cusick, age 23, then a resident of New Hyde Park, was an instructor at a dancing school in Oceanside.
Diane CusickNassau County District Attorne…
