A man arrested in Niskayuna who evaded capture in a Virginia homicide investigation for nearly 30 years will spend the rest of his life in prison.

Stephan Smerk was sentenced Friday in Fairfax, Virginia, for the 1994 killing of Robin Lawrence.

Smerk was stationed at an Army base in Arlington at the time.

He admitted that he left the base intent on finding someone to kill. That someone became Robin Lawrence, a woman he did not know.

Smerk stabbed her 49 times, while her 2-year-old daughter was in the home.

The case remained unsolved for nearly three decades, until police found a possible DNA link to Smerk.

Just hours after agents arrived at his Niskayuna home, Smerk turned himself in and confessed, pleading guilty to first-degree murder.