Sneak peek: Closing the Cold Case of Robin Lawrence | Forensic Files

[Music] When you're dealing with a 30-year-old cold case, it seems like there's not a lot of hope.
It's a great photo of Robin. Mhm. But look what happened in the Robin Lawrence case.
Something sparked it. >> That nobody ever expected. It just caught everybody off guard.
[Music] Her husband Ali had been trying to reach Robin all weekend. Ali was out of the country.
Who else was in the house? Nicole. Her baby. Well, Ali contacted me. He said, "Would
you mind going over to the house and checking on her?" I was like, "Yeah, sure."
There's no answer at the front door. So, went around to the back. So, when you go around to the back deck,
what do you notice? That the window screen is cut. That was the first time I thought, "Oh
my god, something is wrong here." I had to climb in through the window, and Nicole comes, you know, down the
hall. Her eyes were just so big, and her little face was just there's no expression on it.
I'm going down the hall, and I can see into the master bedroom, and I can see on the wall these
large splatters and swaths of blood. I was terrified, and I went and I called the police.
[Music] There was a very, very violent attack on Robin. She was stabbed 49 times.
It looks like a personal attack. It looked like Nicole had been kind of roaming around the house.
Clearly, she had been in that room with her mom. It's hard to think about. It's like a horror movie, but it's not a
movie. This is our family. This is our lives. This was Robin's life. I did think that maybe it was someone
she knew. That always kind of sat with my mind, like who did she know that could have done this?
Here's the photo of the washcloth where The key piece of evidence is a washcloth
that they find in the bathroom, and it has blood on both sides. I knew that we had a really strong DNA profile, which
obviously stood out. So, detectives just kept waiting to get that phone call from the lab saying that
we have a match. And unfortunately, that call never came. And then just another year would go by,
and another year would go by. So, you would switch tracks and try what we call genetic genealogy.
And that was becoming really big at that time. That's when we turned to the help of a
volunteer, and she said, "Genealogy is a hobby of mine. I dabble in it on the side. I'd be willing to do
this case for free when I have spare time." I knew it was going to be a needle in
the haystack, but I thought it was worth trying. >> Six, seven, eight, nine, 10 generations
away from even these people. And I think it's August of 2023. She sends me an email. She says, "I think I found
someone of interest." What happens as you start looking into him? Well, we find out computer
programmer up in New York, married to a defense attorney, two kids in high school, nice house in the suburbs, not
so much as a speeding ticket on his background. I am a serial killer who's only killed
once. [Music]

ALL NEW: A gifted artist is murdered in her home. Her toddler is left at the crime scene to fend for herself. "48 Hours" correspondent Anne-Marie Green reports Saturday, Oct. 24, at 10/9c on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.

Crime. Social justice. Impact. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

For video licensing inquiries, contact: licensing@veritone.com

Brief Summary

A cold case from 30 years ago sees new hope through genetic genealogy, revealing a suspect in Robin Lawrence's violent murder.

Key points

The Robin Lawrence Case. A cold case resurfaces with unexpected developments and shocking revelations.
A Violent Attack. Robin was brutally attacked, raising questions about the identity of the assailant.
DNA Evidence. A crucial piece of evidence emerges, but the investigation hits a dead end.
Genealogy Breakthrough. A volunteer's help leads to a potential suspect in the cold case.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

It just caught everybody off guard.

Unexpected developments in the case.

0:24WatchOct 23, 2025

More from 48 Hours

Solve the Crime

Read a real case one clue at a time, then see how your call held up against the investigators.