NY NY - Chaim Weiss, 15, Long Beach, 1 Nov 1986

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They must have some new information or leads?! Prayers for justice!
 
Wonder if Chaim and the other yeshiva boys ever interacted much with the neighbors of the yeshiva building ? Would like to find out if the buildings on either side of the yeshiva were apartment buildings or private homes. Also, wonder if any neighbors saw anything unusual that night ?
 
I went to school in the Mesivta of Long Beach for many years and lived in that dorm at one point.
First of all, the dorm was 3 stories tall but there were no bedrooms on the first floor. Mention has been made of the fire escape - it was sometimes propped open to allow guys to go in and out. The fire escape was not accessible from his window, it was across the hall from his room.
I don't go for any of the reports of religious significance in how the body was placed. As an orthodox Jew I can tell you that those laws are simply rituals and no murderer would care to leave his victim in that position. No one who finds a dead body at a murder scene would rearrange the body for religious reasons either.
I contend that there was no specific religious significance in the body placement and that was just a coincidence.
The polish workers who work in the school do live in the same building - in the Basement with a separate entrance but they do have access to the dorms.
The reason why he was reading in the hallway is because Orthodox jews can't turn lights on or off on Sabbath. Therefore the light in his room is kept off the entire Sabbath so he can sleep and if he wanted to read he had to go to the hallway. The building linked earlier on Magnolia is the school building - not the dorm which is 3 blocks away on Beech Street.
 
Thank you so much for the information, LongBeachGuy! It's great to have an answer regarding the fire escape, as well as insight into the religious placement theories.

Welcome, too, to Websleuths! I'm sure we'd all be very glad for any further insights you might be able to share with us.

I still cannot fathom why or how a young man of good character could be so viciously murdered in his dorm room, where he had friends and guardians and was meant to be safe..

May justice come soon, Chaim.
 
I've discussed this case both with the Rabbi who was called to the scene by the student who discovered him and with the police officers who responded to the scene.
The cops told me they have several details in the case that they've never released to the public so that if someone one day comes forward claiming he did it they can verify with his knowledge of those details if it's the real guy or just a crazy attention seeking maniac.
 
Here's a google maps street view of the dorm building.
http://goo.gl/maps/StzfC
It's in a residential neighborhood and there are 3 other dorms from the same school in the area. (Across the street, around the corner, etc.)

The ages range from 14 to 22 and all the dorms had the same combo.
The whole thing about getting his own room as a reward? No such thing. Most people had roommates due to lack of space. If someone left or there happened to be enough room, whoever happened to get that single room got it.
Btw, the dorm was unused for a year. During that time they did minor construction and changed that room into a shower room with 3 shower stalls.

The doors to the rooms do not have windows on them. Also, it wouldn't be strange for him to be up at 1:00 AM. The is no curfew on Friday night since there are no formal classes on Saturday and students often stay up late studying on Friday nights. Man I used to sit outside my room reading late on Friday nights...
 
LongBeachGuy said:
Here's a google maps street view of the dorm building.
http://goo.gl/maps/StzfC
It's in a residential neighborhood and there are 3 other dorms from the same school in the area. (Across the street, around the corner, etc.)

The ages range from 14 to 22 and all the dorms had the same combo.
The whole thing about getting his own room as a reward? No such thing. Most people had roommates due to lack of space. If someone left or there happened to be enough room, whoever happened to get that single room got it.
Btw, the dorm was unused for a year. During that time they did minor construction and changed that room into a shower room with 3 shower stalls.
Click to expand...

TY did the students,incuding Chaim, interact much wuth other neighbors ?
 
liz b. said:
TY did the students,incuding Chaim, interact much wuth other neighbors ?
Click to expand...
Nah, most of the neighbors kept to themselves. Quiet sleepy area during the winter.
FYI they now have police escorting the boys on their 3 block walk to the dorm on Halloween night.
 
LBG, do you personally have a theory about who the killer might be, and why he killed Chaim?

The attack was so frenzied, with a lot of 'overkill' - I have to think a/ crazy random psycho killer or b/ somebody with a serious personal or racial grudge.

It's awesome you're here to speak with us, thanks again for the information!
 
Ausgirl said:
LBG, do you personally have a theory about who the killer might be, and why he killed Chaim?

The attack was so frenzied, with a lot of 'overkill' - I have to think a/ crazy random psycho killer or b/ somebody with a serious personal or racial grudge.

It's awesome you're here to speak with us, thanks again for the information!
Click to expand...
Hmm, the story we always floated around was that it was a targeted killing to get dad. Not that there's any reason to believe someone was upset at his dad but I guess it just makes more sense than that someone hated a 15 year old boy. Definitely not a student or teacher.

It also seems like he was definitely the target by a killer, not a random occurrence because he slept alone.
 
I've always felt this was 'personal', in that either the killer knew Chaim or his family, or --felt- he knew Chaim (taking into account that sometimes stalker/killers have that sense of knowing a victim, even when they don't, so the crime looks more personal than it really was).

The sole motive, from info available, seems to have simply been Chaim's violent and immediate death.. which is strange - murders against teens are so often sexually motivated. This one seems inspired by simple, brutal rage.
 
Ausgirl said:
I've always felt this was 'personal', in that either the killer knew Chaim or his family, or --felt- he knew Chaim (taking into account that sometimes stalker/killers have that sense of knowing a victim, even when they don't, so the crime looks more personal than it really was).

The sole motive, from info available, seems to have simply been Chaim's violent and immediate death.. which is strange - murders against teens are so often sexually motivated. This one seems inspired by simple, brutal rage.
Click to expand...

BBM, Wonder if this was sexually motivated too. As in any covert homosexual activity going on among any of the students. jmo
 
gaia227 said:
This is an interesting unsolved murder. Chaim was only 15 yrs old when he was murdered. He was struck in the head and stabbed multiple times in his dorm room. The killer was familar with Jewish customs, moving the body close to the ground, burning a candle and leaving the window open so Chaim's spirit could escape.

Chaim was only one of two students who did not have a room-mate. It has been long thought that whoever killed Chaim was either a fellow student or was very familar with the school. I wonder if they janitorial staff, cleaning services or something of that nature. LE polygraphed over 40 students and teachers.

http://www.unsolved.com/unexplained.html

http://www.nytimes.com/1986/11/04/n...pics/Subjects/M/Murders and Attempted Murders

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/archive/index.php/t-40393.html
Click to expand...

RBBM. Wondering if Chaim was targeted simply because he was only one of two students without a room mate?
Did the other lone student experience anything odd that evening or was he safe because that room was harder to access?
 
Just reread a lot of the old Newsweek articles on this case. Some things I found interesting :

1. Everyone who was in that dormroom in the Yeshiva that night was supposedly polygraphed. Supposedly they all passed. But I could not find out if the occupants in the other dormitory buildings were ever polygraphed.

2. There were two very similar murders in the neighborhood, both victims were elderly.However,when I re-read the news article, I found out that the doctor who saw Chaim's head injuries said that the injuries were " nearly identical" to the injuries sustained by the other two victims. I could not find out if anyone was ever arrested,or questioned about the other two murders.

I wonder if all of the people present in that dormitory that night were fingerprinted ?

DNA testing has made some striking advances since this murder took place. I am guessing that might be the reason for re-opening the case.LE might have some other evidence they have never revealed or discussed. Doesn't every criminal leave and take something from a crime scene ? However miniscule ? I feel that LE is moving inexorably towards an arrest in Chaim's murder. Only a matter of time...jmo
 
http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/story/22216795/ex-yeshiva-teacher-faces-sex-assault-charges-in-nj
May 17 2013
""Going to law enforcement is not, at this time, common within the Orthodox Jewish community. Even when it's necessary it's considered unusual," the father testified. "Particularly with some people who might believe that the alleged molester is innocent would give the person going to law enforcement a very hard time."

Prosecutors said the family was ostracized by the Orthodox Jewish community".
 
Looking at this from another angle - there is nothing at this stage to say that the attacks on the elderly people aren't connected. Many serial killers/rapists target weaker/more vulnerable victims when they start out. Who's to say the old people weren't 'practise runs' for other crimes the killer wasn't yet bold enough to commit?

Chaim's murderer was bold as brass, entering a populated building as he did. But he still attacked a (most likely) sleeping 15-yo boy blitz-style, aiming for the head (instant control) and wasn't very sophisticated about it. Maybe he he'd had enough practise to feel confident in some ways, but wasn't yet very confident with handling live victims. So he targets the elderly/kids..

I cannot shake the feeling he was familiar with Chaim and his habits in some way, however.
 
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