Bruce Swierc, 48, was visiting his childhood hometown of Ulster, New York, from Torrance, California in late September 2021 to comfort his mother after the recent death of her partner. On the evening of September 28 he met up with his longtime friend Gregory Thayer at Thayer’s home on Magic Drive; the two, friends since seventh grade, spent hours drinking and reminiscing.

In the early hours of September 29, 2021, while Swierc sat at the kitchen table, Thayer retrieved a handgun and shot him once in the back of the head. Thayer did not call emergency services; he phoned a family member and said he had shot an intruder he believed was going to kill him. Police arrived around 12:30 a.m. and found Swierc deceased. Thayer, 48, was arrested and indicted on second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

At trial the defense conceded Thayer fired the fatal shot but argued he was suffering an extreme emotional disturbance and a possible psychotic episode, influenced by alcohol and Xanax, that led him to perceive Swierc as an intruder. The prosecution said the killing followed an angry exchange. The judge acquitted on the murder charge but convicted on first-degree manslaughter and the weapons charge, and Thayer was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the killing of his lifelong friend.

Did anyone who knew Bruce or Gregory notice changes in their behavior in the weeks before that visit?