Nassau County, NY – It’s been nearly three decades since 15-year-old yeshiva student Chaim Weiss was bludgeoned to death with a “hatchet-like weapon” in his Yeshiva of Long Beach dormitory on Long Island.
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Law enforcement authorities reopened the cold case three years ago and interviewed 100 former students, but still came up empty as to who was responsible for the heinous and cold blooded murder that took place on Halloween night 29 years ago.
“It’s one that has really stuck with me,” retired Detective Robert Edwards told the Daily News (http://nydn.us/1P9I6Vl). “He was sleeping in his room, a place that is supposed to be safe.” Edwards said some 140 students were initially interviewed when the crime was first committed, but they all “lawyered up” and claimed they didn’t know what happened. “We got nothing,” Edwards recalled.
Yeshiva administrators went to check on Weiss after he did not attend Sabbath morning prayers on November 1, 1986, and discovered his body. His skull was crushed from the blunt force trauma he had sustained to the head. The murder weapon was never recovered.
Weiss’ Staten Island-based parents are still distraught by the loss of their son and are hoping for answers. His father, Anton, visits Chaim’s grave every year before the anniversary of his murder. He also routinely meets with the Nassau County police captain who is assigned to the case.
Police have said there were several strange things about the way the body was discovered. His body had been moved to the floor, a window had been opened in the room, and a memorial candle was placed in the room – all rituals in accordance with Jewish tradition. Weiss was one of only two students who didn’t have a roommate, and there was no sign of a struggle or anything missing from the room.
Investigators have ruled out initial suspects, including a mentally ill man, Halloween pranksters, and a janitor. The police now believe the murder was committed by a fellow student or a faculty member.
“How could this happen and nobody hear or say anything? Somebody’s got a secret,” said Nassau County Police Capt. John Azzata.
Azzata said police still plan to interview another 100 former students again, in the hopes that maturity may have changed their minds about speaking up. “People are aware of what transpired back then and you’d hope with maturity they’d come forward now,” Azzata said. “That hasn’t happened yet.”
The weiss family has suffered so many years
And the fact that NO ONE WILL EVER come forth with what really happened just adds to frustation . This press release is also quite sad its just an attempt to grasp at straws
Nothing advanced in the last years .
המקום ינחם אתחם and never ever have to suffer again
One more thing, this assertstion that it is an inside job is nothing new rumors have been circulating to that effect since the murder.
ה ישמרנו
The strnge this that, if all these rituals were carried out in accordance with halacha why was the murderer not concerned with the fact (besides for murder which there might have been an uncontrolable impulse or sick sick justification) that it was shabbos and lighting a candle or moving a dead body not allowed unless it will rot which is a bizayon hames so coukd be it was done yo look like the murder was jewish and just a smokescreen
Search tor a molestor who silenced him – faculty or staff. We see how prevelant this has become. My random reader suggestion, I didn’t even know about this case before reading it now.
They had to rule out “Halloween pranksters”?!!! Could someone actually classify such a horrific act as a prank?
I still remember this horrific murder. Did the yeshiva administration fully cooperate with the police? Was there a cover-up? Tzedek tzedek tirdof.
Horrible. Absolutely horrible. What if G-d forbid, this murderer is still working at the Yeshivah. Oy vey is mir. The rituals mentioned regarding a mes seem to point that it was a Jew who knew Halacha. This is a disturbing story. Very disturbing. May the family of this boy find only comfort.
this investigation must stop!!! don’t u know that this will ruin somebody’s parnassa! it might even ruin his kids shiduchim!
murder? silencing a victim of pedophilia? i could undersand. but this happened on friday nite- what about CHILLUL SHABOS! what kind of mukoim teiyra is this Mesivta of Long Beach
I suggest you look up the calendar and you can see for yourself that it was friday night
If the police believe that it was a student, they should focus on the boys that where supposedly away on an off Shabbos that week .
1.Perpetrator may have chosen that week as it would provide a near perfect alibi .
2.It’s hard to believe that the perpetrator would have stayed on the rest of the day in the school premises. It would appear that it was a messy business and it would have been difficult changing clothing/showering without arousing immediate suspicion .
To live in the shadow of such a horror…. someone has to know something. Heartbreaking.
The candle was not put there on Shabbos. It was put there during the following week when the building was closed off by the police. No one admitted to putting it there.
Yeshiva wS known in those times that the hanhalla used snitches to keep track of what the guys were up to. Possibly this kid wS a snitch and got killed for it.
why didn’t they make everyone in yeshiva,including faculty, take lie detector tests when they said “I don’t know anything” since it was a homicide?
Okay, it was a Friday night…fine Did the actual murder take place on Friday night or before then? This is a horrible disturbing story. Nebach. It points to some very very horrible secrets at this Yeshivah. Obviously this was an educated Yid who committed the crime. Who else would know about these very obscure rituals associated with a mes. To think that this murderer is running around free is absolutely appalling. I had never heard of this story before today. Someone at the Yeshivah knows something. Is it mosirus to turn a murderer in for justice? I think not nor would any other Torah authority in this world or the next. horrible horrible horrible.
I believe that there was a cover up in this murder, but not by frum Jews. To the contrary, the Jews would have no problem bringing the murderer to justice!
Reading through various discussions of the case, I suspect that the murderer the Polish janitor at the yeshiva that was fired some time before the murder. He was furious about this, and he suspected that Chaim hy”d had complained about him to the yeshiva, which caused his termination. He therefore sought to take revenge from him.
The fired janitor knew the combination how to get in to the building, and also knew the layout of the dorm very well. Moreover, he knew exactly which room Chaim slept in. This fits in very well with media reports that the murderer evidently was well acquainted with the dormitory and its routine.
In my opinion, the investigation into the janitor hasn’t been exhausted, and should be reopened. I don’t believe that he was even questioned using a lie detector! At the time he did fall under suspicion, but he presented an alibi which has been shown to be possibly quite weak, which is why I suggest reopening the investigation into him.
I remember the story well. I learnt in a different yeshiva, far away, yet the bucherim were all up for nights afterwards. No one could sleep…
The mashgiach told us then that the pol;ice suspect an inside job. This was their first suspicion and it seems that’s still being pursued. I recall that the feeling was among the yeshiva world that it could not possibly had been an inside job.
The Long Beach yeshiva would have closed down after this and in my opinion deserved to. If not for the Meddling of R.E. Svei.It would have. He called all the other yeshiva heads and told them not to accept any boys from Long Beach in order to prevent parents from pulling their kids out. Anyone with half a brain can see that it was either a Rebbi or fellow student who murdered him to keep him quiet about either molestation or Homosexual activity. One has to wonder if there was any connection to the earlier suicide several years before. The rumors at the time were that the yeshiva was not cooperative with the investigation and the father had to sue them in an attempt to get information. If that is true that alone is grounds to throw them out of Klal Yisroel let alone allow them to exist as a “Makom Torah” What a colossal Chilul Hashem. The stench of cover-up in this case is so putrid that it is nauseating. Shame on every faculty member and former student who contributed to this fiasco. Shame on any enabler and Askan who helped support the evil doers. Shame on those who know something and keep silent. Shame on the yeshiva and its leaders – you should have closed yourself down.
To: #15 , 26, and others who refuse to believe that it could have been a Jew, either a student or a faculty member:- I can’t understand the galut mentality, which seems to be prevalent in these kinds of heinous crimes. Yidden just can’t seem to accept the fact, that there are other Yidden who commit heinous crimes, against other Yidden. If one looks at the records of the 6,000 Jews locked up in federal and state prisons, not all of them are in jail for white collar crimes. There are Yidden who have been imprisoned for murder, manslaughter, and violent assaults. In the last thirty years, 5 Jews have been executed for homicide in the USA. I hope that the parents of the deceased Yeshivah student sued the Yeshivah, and received a large sum for his untimely death.
it pains me to read so many are willing to believe that a student or a Rebbe could be capable of murder. What does it say about us?
Does anyone have a list of the names of the students who were there at the time and the names of the faculty members. Perhaps if the public had that information someone might have an insight into suspicious behavior and personality of the person who might have committed such a crime.For example do they have tendencies such as pedophilia,homosexuality,homicide,psychopathy. Do they display any nervousness or strange body language when the topic comes up. I would say that anyone who lawyer-ed up would be a prime suspect and I would like to know who lawyer-ed up. Did all the students and faculty actually lawyer up or just certain people? This would seem to be an easy case to solve if the Nassau Police would solicit help from the community and the internet should help facilitate that. All of the people who were there at the time are still living in the frum world and whoever did this is still out there and I have difficulty believing that they could control their evil impulses to such an extent that people would not notice something strange about them. Even if they are psychopathic, that kind of behavior would show up in other areas of life as well.
Can someone please clarify. Im assuming shacharis started on shabbos morning not earlier than 730 or even 8 oclock. why would you go check on someone by 750 when your not even up to Boruch Sheamar???