Killer Of Best Friend Gets Manslaughter Sentence

KINGSTON, NY — An Ulster man who convicted of killing his best friend who was visiting from California will be going to prison.

Gregory Thayer, 50, of the town of Ulster, was sentenced Wednesday in Ulster County Court to 25 years and 15 years in state prison for first-degree manslaughter and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, respectively.

The sentences, which each carry an additional five years of post-release supervision, will run concurrently.

Thayer was convicted May 10 following a non-jury trial for the killing of Bruce Swierc, 48, of California and Rhinebeck.

The Ulster County Coffice of the District Attorney said the conviction meant that Thayer committed second-degree murder as charged by an Ulster County grand jury in 2021, but the judge found he suffered extreme emotional disturbance and reduced the conviction to first-degree manslaughter.

The subject of extreme emotional disturbance was recently revealed by one of the defense attorneys to have been the subject of back-channel discussions between the court and the defense and it was not raised until ater the district attorney had finished presenting his case.

Prosecutors said the crux of the case included evidence that Thayer was “pissed off” that Swierc was “talking trash” and “making f****d up comments,” so he went upstairs to his bedroom, got a gun, returned downstairs to the kitchen and shot Swierc in the back of the head while he was sitting at the Thayer’s kitchen table.

After shooting Swierc, Thayer called his sister, Stephanie Thayer, instead of 911 or the police, removed the bullets from the gun and took pictures of Swierc with his phone, authorities said.

Swierc grew up in the area but was living in California with his wife and children. He came to the Hudson Valley to console his mother, a Rhinebeck resident, who had recently lost her long-term partner. He had planned to spend a few days more to see relatives and Thayer, with whom he had been close since childhood, before returning to California.

Chief Assistant District Attorney Emmanuel Nneji, who prosecuted the case, said the revelation of back-channel discussions of the case, which were behind his back, was “offensive, grossly improper and unethical.”

The district attorney’s office said it was concerned about the “serious development.”