Pfizer Scientist Stabbed Wife After Job Loss, Police Say

(MoneyWatch)  A former Pfizer (PFE) employee who lost his job and "was convinced he could not provide for his family any further," has been charged with stabbing his wife, according to police. Pfizer is in the process of laying off 19,500 employees in its merger with Wyeth. And while the assault is not typical, it does show that these job losses involve real human beings and real consequences, and not just stats on a spreadsheet.

According to the Norwich Bulletin:

Jeffrey A. Asbill, 48, was discovered by Ledyard (Conn.) police Monday morning standing over his bleeding wife at the top of the stairs in the home they share at 31 Brewster Drive in the Gales Ferry section of Ledyard.

Asbill was charged with attempted murder and assault, and he was held on a $99,000 bond. The woman was treated for a stab wound to her upper chest, a punctured lung and lacerations to her left hand. She is in stable condition.

A Linked In profile for "Jeff Asbill" shows he was a senior associate scientist for neuroscience and assay development until recently. He had been with Pfizer R&D since at least 2007.

Asbill was also named as an author of a 2007 paper written by Pfizer staff on research into a cure for baldness. The events are the latest in a dramatic series of turns at Pfizer's New London area sites. The company has abandoned a planned campus there to consolidate operations at nearby Groton. Those plans were the subject of a U.S. Supreme Court decision, Kelo v. New London, which held that the town did have the right to seize people's homes and turn them over to Pfizer for economic development.

• Related:
• As Tax Breaks for Pfizer End, Jobs Disappear
• Pfizer's R&D Cuts Render Kelo v. New London Eminent Domain Case a Waste of Time
• Pfizer Closes Bridgewater Site; Clock Ticks on CT Tax Deal; Layoffs All Over