The murder of Chaim Weiss, a student in the

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are s ...

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New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, United States, took place on November 1, 1986. His murder remains unsolved, though investigators believe the murderer was a student or faculty member of the yeshiva. The '' Daily News'' called it "one of New York’s most baffling unsolved mysteries".

Murder and crime scene

Chaim Weiss was killed in his sleep by a

hatchet A hatchet (from the Old French , a diminutive form of ''hache'', 'axe' of Germanic origin) is a single-handed striking tool with a sharp blade on one side used to cut and split wood, and a hammerhead on the other side. Hatchets may also be use ...

-like weapon between the hours of 1:20 and 6:00 AM on Saturday, November 1, 1986. He was sleeping alone in his third-floor dorm room at 63 East Beech St. in

. He was one of only two students in the

dormitory to have his own room. There was no back door to the room. Weiss was hit in the head so hard that his skull was crushed. He was struck twice in the head in what a detective described as "an extremely brutal murder". The murder weapon was never recovered. The body had been moved to the floor and the window was opened. Weiss was last seen alive at approximately 12:45 AM Saturday morning by a study partner. Weiss’ parents Anton and Pessy were living in

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

and only received word of his death towards the end of Shabbat, when notified by local police. 1,000 mourners attended Weiss' funeral service at the Shomrei Hadas Chapel in the Borough Park section of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

Peculiarities

There were multiple peculiarities that led police to believe that the murderer was knowledgeable in Jewish rituals dealing with the dead. The window was found open even though the outside temperature was in the 40s. Weiss was taking antibiotics for a sore throat making it unlikely that he would have opened it. The body was found on the floor, clad in pajamas and with the feet propped on the bed. Police determined that the body was in the bed for several hours after the attack. The open window according to police may be a Jewish custom to allow the deceased's soul to depart, though the theory that the window may have been in an attempt to combat the smell of the body should enough time elapse between the murder and the discovery has not been extensively addressed. A few months before the murder, while Chaim was spending the summer away from home, the principal of the Yeshiva school called Chaim's home twice, seeking to set up a meeting with Chaim. The parents said Chaim didn't want to talk about what was discussed in his private meeting with the principal at a Brooklyn home.

Investigation

Yeshiva officials refused to discuss the case extensively until after Shabbat. Investigators looked into a janitor and a mentally ill man and also considered the possibility that the murder was committed by a Halloween thrill-seeker. The suspects and the thrill-seeker theory were since ruled out. School administrators told the media that they had no previous issues with anti-semitism. 25 detectives worked on the case full time for months. A police mobile command center was situated outside the yeshiva for a week open for anyone to share information. A single strand of hair not belonging to Weiss was found near his body. The police are waiting for a suspect before running a DNA test on the sample, for fear of ruining it. An FBI profile suggested the killer was someone Weiss knew and around his age. There was no sign of forced entry or sexual assault and no students reported hearing sounds of a struggle. Weiss’ father Anton was disappointed with the Nassau police's handling of the case and requested the naming of a special prosecutor though that never happened.

Reopening of case

In May 2013 Nassau police reopened the case and increased the reward to $25,000 for information leading to an arrest. Weiss' father Anton appeared at the press conference alongside police urging former students to come forward with any information. After a

PIX 11 WPIX (channel 11) is a television station in New York City. Owned by Mission Broadcasting, it is operated under a local marketing agreement (LMA) by Nexstar Media Group, making it a ''de facto'' owned-and-operated station and flagship of The CW ...

interview with Weiss' father in 2017, the outlet reported that a former student came forward alleging physical abuse at the yeshiva a decade before the murder. They also reported on a suicide by hanging in the yeshiva dorm shower several years before the murder.

Media

Weiss' murder was the subject of episode 4.30 of ''

Unsolved Mysteries ''Unsolved Mysteries'' is an American mystery documentary television show, created by John Cosgrove and Terry Dunn Meurer. Documenting cold cases and paranormal phenomena, it began as a series of seven specials, presented by Raymond Burr, Karl ...

'' and was featured on the

true crime True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events. The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 per ...

podcast Killer Instincts.

External links

Chaim Weiss - Unsolved Mysteries

Crimestoppers

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weiss, Chaim 1986 in Judaism 1986 in New York (state) 1986 murders in the United States Axe murder November 1986 events in the United States 1986 crimes People murdered in New York (state) Long Beach, New York Murdered American Jews Child murder in the United States Incidents of violence against boys Murdered American students School killings in the United States Unsolved murders in the United States