There’s a ghost of Halloweens past in Long Island that investigators are hoping to lay to rest after 29 years.
Chaim Weiss, 15, was killed by a hatchet-like weapon as he slept in his Long Beach yeshiva dormitory bed nearly three decades ago on Halloween night, and police are still searching for the murderer.
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Detectives reopened the investigation three years ago but have made little progress, despite interviewing over 100 former students. It remains one of New York’s most baffling unsolved mysteries.
“It’s one that has really stuck with me,” said retired Detective Robert Edwards, who was part of the investigation from the start. “He was sleeping in his room, a place that is supposed to be safe.”
Weiss’ body was found by a Yeshiva of Long Beach administrator after he was late to Sabbath prayers the morning of Nov. 1, 1986. Police said Weiss was hit in the head so hard, his skull was crushed. The murder weapon was never found.
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Weiss’ parents, who live in Staten Island, remain devastated.
His father, Anton, visited the gravesite days before the 29th anniversary of the killing. He also meets with the Nassau County police captain overseeing the case every few weeks.
The murder scene had several peculiarities.
Weiss’ body was moved to the floor and a window in the room was opened, as per Jewish tradition. And detectives found a memorial candle placed in the room.
Investigators initially looked into two suspects: a janitor and a mentally ill man who had randomly attacked several seniors inside their homes at the time. They also thought the murder could have been committed by a Halloween thrillseeker.
Those suspects and the thrillseeker theory were eventually ruled out.
Detectives now believe the murderer was a student or a faculty member, multiple sources said.
“How could this happen and nobody hear or say anything? Somebody’s got a secret,” said Nassau County Police Capt. John Azzata.
Detectives point out Weiss slept on the third floor of the nondescript dorm and was one of only two students who did not have a roommate. There was no sign of a struggle or anything being taken from the room.
Edwards and his colleagues interviewed the nearly 140 students at the school. But they all lawyered up and no one claimed to have a clue what happened.
“We got nothing,” he recalled.
In 2013, they held a news conference urging former students, who are now in their 40s, to come forward.
They still plan to speak with about 100 more people.
“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.”
