An upstate New York man was sentenced on Wednesday to five to 15 years in prison for his role in the death of a Ticonderoga entertainer during what prosecutors described as sexual role-play involving homemade chloroform.
Ronald Rayher, a 71-year-old retired chiropractor from Milton, was convicted earlier this year of manslaughter and tampering with evidence in the April 2024 death of Thomas Krider, 40.
Krider, who performed under the stage name “TJ Greene,” is described by local media as a popular Elvis tribute artist and a well-known guide at the Star Trek Set Tour in Ticonderoga.
He was reported missing by his wife on April 6, 2024, after failing to return home.
Rayher was arrested a few days later, with prosecutors saying he gave Krider a lethal dose of chloroform during the sexual encounter, then left the body in his basement for four days while attempting to discard the victim’s belongings before calling police.
During the May 2025 trial, Rayher claimed that Krider had administered the chloroform dose that killed him, but the jury rejected the argument and found him guilty on both counts, according to CBS Albany.
On Wednesday, Rayher’s attorney repeated his defense, telling the judge that his client did not contact police immediately because he panicked and had been lacking sleep.
But Acting District Attorney Jennifer Buckley said that, since he’s a medical professional, he knew chloroform was a dangerous substance and that care was needed.
Visiting Saratoga County Judge Lorraine C. Diamond agreed, calling Krider’s death “tragic and wholly preventable,” Syracuse.com reported.
“It was a profound abuse of trust and medical scientific knowledge,” Diamond said. “You are not an uninformed bystander. You took an oath to do no harm. You knew the risks and took them for your own recreation, amusement and sexual gratification.”
Rayher was sentenced to the maximum sentence of five to 15 years for the manslaughter charge and one-and-one-third to four years in prison for evidence tampering, to be served concurrently, the Albany Times Union reported.
According to Saratoga County Undersheriff Jeffrey Brown, the two men had been in a secret relationship for about a decade.
