VALLEY COTTAGE, N.Y. (AP/ 1010 WINS) -- A neighbor sought by police in the slaying of an elementary school gym teacher in her suburban New York condominium has been taken into custody.Inset photo: Erlich in her 2005 engagement photo with Joel Rutkowski. The couple later divorced.
Clarkstown police say 32-year-old Eric Lau was captured at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday after a New City resident reported seeing a man acting suspiciously.
Detective Sgt. Tim O'Neill says Lau ran from responding police cars. A police dog found Lau hiding in tall grass in a nearby wooded area.
Lau is not under arrest but is being questioned about Jami Erlich's killing.
O'Neill says a search warrant was granted for his car and investigators also requested a warrant to search his apartment.
The 32-year-old teacher was beaten and stabbed to death Sunday at her condominium in Valley Cottage, a Rockland County hamlet about 26 miles north of New York City.