i had a dream about this case. I know that it doesnt mean much but i was told to come here and post this.
i was told it was a male child.
he was a little older then Chaim.
and he was very close to him like a brother. it was over envy.
he is related to the family. it will soon be found out.:(

They showed a boy sitting on a bench that they can't identify/locate. I always assumed we're supposed to suspect that the mystery boy did it...or that he knows who did.

Yeah I never quite understood what the relevance of the boy on the bench was.

Today was the first time I saw the case. Based on all of the information, I'm getting the sense that it was one of the other students there who did this.

But, I was also thrown off by this mysterious boy on the bench. What I seem to have gotten from it though was this is a private school with dormitories, and I'm assuming uniforms? And I'm going to make another reasonable assumption here that students weren't really allowed out of the school alone, or without supervision? So, perhaps this mystery boy happened to be a student from the school, in uniform, and that's why he seemed out of place. And the jogger can't identify him?

But that wouldn't really make sense, because surely if it was a student from the school that the jogger saw, he could be able to tell which student it was from their photos or just seeing them?

This is one of those stories that I think about from time to time and try to make sense of it. I just can't picture the killer being an intruder, to me it has to be someone in the school, a student. There was a lot of hate involved, and anger. And I think that more than one person out there knows who did it. I'm not using the facts of the case, just my gut feeling. It would be interesting to see what other people think.

I know they have their beliefs, but it's hard to understand not talking to the police when a murder is committed. I've seen this segment many times and I can't remember if Chaim's parents were interviewed. If not, how come? He was only 16, so you'd think his parents would be begging for help. But I can't remember seeing them on the show...

I know they have their beliefs, but it's hard to understand not talking to the police when a murder is committed. I've seen this segment many times and I can't remember if Chaim's parents were interviewed. If not, how come? He was only 16, so you'd think his parents would be begging for help. But I can't remember seeing them on the show...

This one was on today, but I missed it. However, I do remember that his father was interviewed in the segment and seemed pretty distraught.

This is one of those stories that I think about from time to time and try to make sense of it. I just can't picture the killer being an intruder, to me it has to be someone in the school, a student. There was a lot of hate involved, and anger. And I think that more than one person out there knows who did it. I'm not using the facts of the case, just my gut feeling. It would be interesting to see what other people think.

I would agree, it's hard to see why this would be an intruder... there is nothing presented to suggest Chaim had any enemies, and no reason why he would be targeted... and a yeshiva isn't exactly the kind of place you'd expect someone to break into, nor is there any evidence of hate crime aspects.

Yet, as the segment states, all the students and rabbis received polygraphs... while polygraphs aren't fool-proof, they are suggestive of innocence, and the door opening and closing, assuming it has any relevance, suggests someone looking for Chaim.

Regardless, I do think his death was religious-related; perhaps a dogmatic argument with another student, in his Yeshiva or another, or with someone in the neighborhood... people certainly kill over religious passions; perhaps a religious argument got out of hand. This seems far fetched, however, and I think has as much to do with any lack of cogent alternative being presented in UM, that is, the picture of Chaim presented is that of a studious, devout, Yeshiva student... which seemingly eliminates your normal trifecta of sex, drugs, and money.

This case is a perfect illustration of the difference in quality between the old U.M. and the new one.
The original segment was one of the most mysterious and haunting in the show's history. With the music and attention to detail, one really got a sense of the eerie solitude and secrecy of the Jewish school.
In the new U.M., the segment has been edited to shreds and completely depleted of its unique flavour and mystery.

I've always wondered if there was a sexual element to this one. Boy's boarding schools, regardless of religious affiliation, have a centuries old tradition of experimentation amongst students and exploitation by staff. If any such activity was going on, the school would certainly want to keep it quiet - that is another tradition. Chaim Weiss could have been a victim, witness, participant, whistleblower, who knows.

Egswanso, I don't think you can eliminate the whole trifecta.

I've always wondered if there was a sexual element to this one. Boy's boarding schools, regardless of religious affiliation, have a centuries old tradition of experimentation amongst students and exploitation by staff. If any such activity was going on, the school would certainly want to keep it quiet - that is another tradition. Chaim Weiss could have been a victim, witness, participant, whistleblower, who knows.

Egswanso, I don't think you can eliminate the whole trifecta.

Really? That never crossed my mind. You may have something there!

Oh yes, poor young Mr. Weiss.

All these years, I just assumed that he had been killed by a fellow student who was probably jealous that Chaim had beaten him in a contest at school, or had won some kind of an award, that caused the killer to become envious.

But now, after reading these recent posts, I'm wondering... How long was Chaim a student at that particular Yeshiva? Had he been there long enough to be sexually abused by an instructor, and intimidated to the point of keeping quiet about it, but now, at 16 years old, the perpetrator realized that Chiam was a young man who was refusing to be victimized any longer and may well have been threatening to tell.

I can see an adult instructor following the religious customs of placing the body to the lowest place in the room, opening the window, etc. as was done in Chaim's case. I don't know if a youthful offender, such as a fellow student would have cared enough to follow these orthodox beliefs upon Chaim's death.

I'm thinking it could have been someone visiting the school maybe a friend or a relative of one of the student's. Someone who obviously new Chiam or traveled in the same circle. My gut feeling is that the kid was killed because he knew something about certain goings on and the individuals involved at the school. He was singled out. And I don't think it was a student because the person wouldn't have gone around opening doors to different rooms, and would have known right away which room was Chiam's and that he didn't have a roommate sleeping in there that night. I think maybe one or two students may have seen or heard something that night and were threatened with violence if they said anything, and I think that is why everyone remains silent about that night.

I believe a relative posted a while back and said that the case was still unsolved and that Chaim's parents had strong suspicions about an individual at the school, but the poster did not go into more detail about who that was or why the parents were suspicious. I don't know why he was killed, although the molestation angle is interesting and very possible. I will say that I tend to think the killer was an adult though. I can't see a kid going through all the Jewish post death rituals after killing Chaim. There are also some aspects about the murder that make me think it was pre-meditated and not just some kids fighting that got out of hand or something along those lines.

I believe a relative posted a while back and said that the case was still unsolved and that Chaim's parents had strong suspicions about an individual at the school, but the poster did not go into more detail about who that was or why the parents were suspicious. I don't know why he was killed, although the molestation angle is interesting and very possible. I will say that I tend to think the killer was an adult though. I can't see a kid going through all the Jewish post death rituals after killing Chaim. There are also some aspects about the murder that make me think it was pre-meditated and not just some kids fighting that got out of hand or something along those lines.

One extra thought - if an adult discovered the body, they may do the ritualistic stuff.

One extra thought - if an adult discovered the body, they may do the ritualistic stuff.

After I posted that, I searched Chaim's name on here and read some other posts and someone else pointed this out. I even read that it is not known for sure who discovered the body first. It could have been a student or an administrator that made that discovery. In any event, I don't find it too difficult to believe that someone other than the murderer could have moved Chaim's body post mortem for ritualistic reasons.

How long was Chaim a student at that particular Yeshiva?
2-3 years.

Thanks for that info, Tap Dancer.

I think a fellow student did it....just my opinion.

This case is a perfect illustration of the difference in quality between the old U.M. and the new one.
The original segment was one of the most mysterious and haunting in the show's history. With the music and attention to detail, one really got a sense of the eerie solitude and secrecy of the Jewish school.
In the new U.M., the segment has been edited to shreds and completely depleted of its unique flavour and mystery.
I have several comments:

1: The portrayal of the Yeshiva World through TV
2: They system of the Yeshiva World
3: The Chaim Weiss case

1: I grew up in the Yeshiva System and was in a Yeshiva Dormitory for all of H.S. and 7 years of Post H.S. . My children have all gone through the Yeshiva system. So I have more than 30 years of living "in" that world.
Me my friends and relatives simply cackle with peals of laughter when we see how television portrays the Yeshiva life. There has not been one TV or movie episode that got it right.

2: Yeshiva living is not scary, secret or eerie. It is physically open, bright, and sunny for those who are in it. However, having said that, emotionally it is in fact very challenging. It can lead to individual students who don’t get it, are not interested in the lifestyle, are troubled, or are misfits to feel isolated and very lonely. However, that can be said of any school system in the world. The Orthodox religion is very rigid - proudly so, and thus the staff of Yeshivas try and mold the young men in a lifestyle that understands that the rejection of the western values, of the "me" generation, of a life of pursuit of pleasure and materialism is not healthy and not the way of a Torah Jew. That is the stated goal.

Having said that, 90% of right wing yeshiva educators have zero formal training in curriculum, education, child psychology or anything else for that matter. It is a system where the teachers are chosen by giving those who have come up through the system and excelled at Talmud a job. In almost all cases he is a young man in his early 20s who is recently married with one or two children and he needs a job. He is plugged into a class of 14 yr olds (9th graders) to teach Talmud. As this teacher gets older he may or may not get moved up the chain to teach higher grades. This inevitably depends on if the Rosh Hayeshiva (The head Rabbi of the Yeshiva or "Dean") has any sons or sons in laws that need a job. The system of who gets hired and which students get admitted into the best Yeshivas is based on 1) nepotism and 2) if the family has money or not. Those are the only two criteria. The first criteria is not denied by anyone, the second criteria is only admitted off the record as wry self deprecating humor amongst those who at least have the decency to be somewhat embarrassed by the realities of trying to manage a budget solely on the charitable donations of others. (As high as Yeshiva tuition is, it never covers even 50% of the budget and every yeshiva has to raise the rest of the budget on their own).

The older I got and the more exposed to the outside world I became the more it became clear to me that while the teachers are for the most part very well meaning and want to do what is right, they have no business being educators. Most of them are very nice people who do care but simply lack any training. It is analogous to any one of us who is not trained in medicine going to a foreign country and trying to help sick people. We know a little bit, we want to help, we mean well and we would genuinely care, but we would fail in a lot of cases because we simply don’t know what we are doing.

3: The case of Chaim Weiss: There is not much more to say on a case that is 23 years old - I think everything that can be said has been said. I just want to point out that the chances of any student actually knowing the laws of how to handle a dead body is almost zero. The laws of Jewish death and mourning are very complicated and even seasoned Yeshiva Rabbis and teachers do not alwys know these laws well. Learning Jewish Law takes a lifetime and there are different fields and specialties. The laws of Death and Mourning fall under what we call "practical rabbinics" - it is something a congregational Rabbi who is less learned in Talmud - would have a better grasp on than most yeshiva rabbis as they deal with it as part of their job.

Thus only some of the teachers would have known these rules and not many of them either. It would have had to be the older and more scholarly ones. But there is almost zero chance that any student knew these rules. (Unless he had actually lost a family member and during the time of mourning was exposed to these laws, - easy for the authorities to check which student lost a direct family member - or he actually studied up on them because he knew he would be coming across a dead body - pretty sick - but in that case someone would have known and seen what he was learning and it would have stuck out as very odd).

There have been claims that the Yeshiva stonewalled the investigation because of religious reasons. I’d like to make it clear that Religious Jews who cover up crimes of this nature (or assault or sexual molestation) are not fulfilling any religious laws, they are fulfilling self preservation. The Jewish law forbidding reporting another Jew to non Jewish authorities does not apply - anywhere - in any shape or form - when it comes to crimes that endanger the community. The law of not going to non Jewish authorities only applies to monetary disputes. Jews are "supposed" to be able to settle their monetary differences through Jewish arbitration. This works only because the law of the land allows arbitration to work. It is in fact sanctioned by the government. (The government welcomes any form of arbitration as it relieves the court system which is overwhelmed). However, the notion by so many of my fellow orthodox Jews that hiding violent crimes falls under this rubric is nonsense. I would say it is misguided, but there is no one in the Orthodox world who does not know the truth. The community must be protected, that is paramount. Human life is sacrosanct and suspends all Jewish law. Every Jewish child knows the law that to save a life one MUST desecrate the Sabbath.

If the Yeshiva did in fact stonewall the investigation as the deceased's father alleged in a suit that he filed against them back then, then they have committed the ultimate act of desecrating G-d's name and shaming their own people and religion.

Thanks for the insight into the Yeshiva life. This case always bothered me, because it was one that should have been solved long ago. If the motive was more clear, it would make the suspect more apparent.

Trevenien, thanks so much for that information. It's definitely helpful when trying to understand what happened in this case.

Excellent insight into the Yeshiva lifestyle and culture. I have rather limited knowledge of this so that was appreciated!

I think it was a fellow student, not a teacher, and quite likely someone right around his age. I see jealousy or competitiveness as a motivator. It is someone on the periphery of the group, not a central player. This person would be likely to be a "wannabe", for lack of a better term. Chaim seemed well-liked by others, so I would have checked someone who wanted to be his friend...but wasn't, for whatever reason.