In the early hours of November 1, 1986 — as Halloween festivities wound down on the streets of Long Beach, New York — 15-year-old yeshiva student Chaim Weiss was bludgeoned to death in his dormitory room while he slept [citation:1][citation:2]. More than 35 years later, his murder remains one of New York's most baffling unsolved mysteries [citation:2][citation:5].
Chaim was a student at the Torah High School of Long Beach (also known as Mesivta of Long Island), an Orthodox Jewish yeshiva located at 63 East Beech Street [citation:2][citation:4]. The son of Anton and Pessy Weiss, he was described by his father as "always full of jokes, a great sense of humor" [citation:1].
**The Crime Scene**
Between approximately 1:20 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 1, Chaim was struck twice in the head with a hatchet-like weapon — possibly a fireman's axe — with such force that his skull was crushed and his spinal column severed [citation:2][citation:3]. A detective described it as "an extremely brutal murder" [citation:2].
Chaim was sleeping alone in a third-floor dorm room, one of only two students in the building to have his own room [citation:2][citation:3]. There was no back door to the room — only one way in and one way out [citation:1][citation:2].
When his body was discovered by a dormitory supervisor around 8:00 a.m., investigators noted several peculiarities [citation:4]:
- Chaim's body had been moved from the bed to the floor, with his feet propped on the bed
- The window was open, despite outside temperatures in the low 40s°F (4°C)
- A memorial candle had been placed in the room [citation:5]
- He was clad in his pajamas
Police determined the body remained in the bed for several hours after the attack before being moved [citation:2][citation:3]. The open window may be consistent with a Jewish custom to allow the deceased's soul to depart [citation:2][citation:7]. There was no sign of forced entry, robbery, or sexual assault [citation:4][citation:5].
**Physical Evidence**
The murder weapon was never recovered [citation:2]. A single strand of hair not belonging to Chaim was found near his body. Police have preserved this DNA evidence but are waiting for a suspect before testing it, fearing contamination or destruction of the sample [citation:2][citation:3].
**The Investigation**
Twenty-five detectives worked the case full-time for months. A police mobile command center was stationed outside the yeshiva for over a week, open to anyone with information [citation:2][citation:4]. The FBI developed a criminal profile suggesting the killer was someone Chaim knew and around his age [citation:2][citation:3].
Investigators initially looked into several possibilities:
- A janitor who quit working at the dorm not long after the murder (ruled out) [citation:1][citation:2]
- A mentally ill man who had randomly attacked seniors in their homes (ruled out) [citation:1][citation:2]
- A Halloween thrill-seeker (ruled out) [citation:2][citation:5]
Detectives now believe the murderer was likely a student or faculty member of the yeshiva [citation:2][citation:5]. The insular nature of the Orthodox Jewish community has been a challenge, with witnesses historically reluctant to speak directly to law enforcement [citation:7]. All students lawyered up, and no one claimed to have any knowledge of the crime [citation:5].
**The Mysterious Summer of 1986**
In July 1986, Chaim called his father from the school's summer camp, crying and saying he wanted to come home — something he had never done in previous years [citation:1][citation:8]. Anton Weiss was on vacation and told his son to wait until he returned. When his father visited him shortly after, Chaim "seemed fine" [citation:1].
Later that summer, after Chaim returned from visiting grandparents in Europe, the yeshiva's principal, Rabbi Avrom Cooper, called the family home twice, seeking to set up a private meeting with Chaim [citation:1][citation:2]. The parents drove Chaim to Rabbi Cooper's home in Borough Park, Brooklyn. The principal instructed the parents to wait outside. Chaim spent about ten minutes inside but refused to discuss what was discussed when he returned to the car [citation:1].
When asked about this meeting decades later, Rabbi Cooper told a reporter, "I have no answers," then "I said I don't know anything about it," before refusing further questions and closing his front door [citation:1].
**Additional Disturbing Details**
A serial arsonist was active in Long Beach from March 31 to the first week of November 1986, with 13 fires in October alone. The arsonist operated within a 10x8 block radius that included the yeshiva. He was never caught, and no connection to Chaim's murder has been established [citation:3].
In 1994 — eight years after the murder — a letter addressed to Chaim was sent to his parents' home in Staten Island. Inside was a humorous Easter card reading: "What do Easter bunnies do when they are too old to lay eggs? They dye" [citation:3]. Around the same time, a stone slab at Chaim's gravesite was vandalized with three Hebrew letters. The message appears to be Hebrew for "murder," but with the last letter incorrect [citation:3].
**Reopened Investigation**
In May 2013, Nassau County police reopened the case and increased the reward to $25,000 for information leading to an arrest [citation:4][citation:7]. Anton Weiss appeared at the press conference alongside police, urging former students — now adults in their 40s — to come forward [citation:7][citation:10].
After a 2017 PIX11 interview with Chaim's father, a former student came forward alleging physical abuse at the yeshiva a decade before the murder. Additionally, it was revealed that a student had hanged himself in a dorm shower several years before Chaim was killed [citation:2][citation:8].
As of 2018, tips were still coming in, and homicide commander Lt. Stephen Fitzpatrick stated that "everybody is considered 'open' right now" regarding potential suspects, both inside and outside the yeshiva community [citation:8].
Chaim's father, Anton Weiss, has said: "His soul's not resting, until we know what happened. My heart cries for Chaim constantly" [citation:1].