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Cops Hunt Alleged Killer at Pfizer; Didn't Show Up for Work After Neighbor Found Stabbed

By Jim Edwards

Updated on: December 1, 2009 / 12:50 PM EST / MoneyWatch

Police have launched a manhunt for a Pfizer (PFE) worker in connection with the fatal stabbing of a 32-year-old teacher. Eric Lau's 2007 Toyota Scion was found shortly after 8 a.m. this morning in New City, N.Y., according to LoHud.com. Lau (at right) did not show up to work yesterday for his contract job at Pfizer in Pearl River, which the police consider unusual. Police want to talk to Lau regarding the death of Jami Erlich, who was bludgeoned and stabbed in her Valley Cottage, N.Y. condo last Sunday.

It is the third violent incident associated with Pfizer employees in recent weeks. The incidents are unconnected. A 44-year-old man committed suicide in the parking lot of the Pfizer plant at Pearl River in late November. And a few days prior, a former Pfizer scientist in Connecticut was arrested for attempting to stab his wife to death. Pfizer is in the process of a gruelling round of job cuts. The company needs to get rid of 19,500 workers to make it merger with Wyeth work.

Erlich (at right in image), a gym teacher is a neighbor of Lau's. Police are combing the area to find him, LoHud reports:

Investigators are using helicopters and police dogs to search the area around North New City. They are going door-to-door in the New City Gardens complex and also searching crawl spaces and laundry rooms.