KINGSTON – A 50-year-old Town of Ulster man who was convicted of killing his best friend was sentenced in Ulster County Court on Wednesday to 25 years in state prison for manslaughter and 15 years for criminal possession of a weapon.
Both sentences imposed on Gregory Thayer are to run concurrently.
Each sentence also carries five years of post-release supervision.
A grand jury had indicted Thayer on a charge of murder, but Rounds found that he suffered extreme emotional disturbance and reduced the conviction to manslaughter instead.
The crux of the case was that Thayer was “pissed off” that Swierc was “talking trash” and “making f—-d up comments,” so he went to his bedroom, got a gun, and shot Swierc in the back of the head while he was sitting at Thayer’s kitchen table.
After shooting his friend, Thayer called his sister, Stephanie Thayer, instead of 911 or the police, removed the bullets from the gun, and took pictures of the victim with his phone.
Swierc grew up locally but was living in California with his wife and children.
He came east to console his mother, a Rhinebeck resident, who had recently lost her long-term partner.
The Ulster Town and State Police investigated the case.
