Ticonderoga man killed by chloroform, records show

Ronald G. Rayher is accused of smothering Thomas Krider, who used the stage name TJ Greene

By H. Rose Schneider, Mike Goodwin, Patrick Tine

A Ticonderoga man known for his devotion to impersonations of Elvis Presley and work at Ticonderoga’s “Star Trek” museum was killed — and a retired chiropractor was charged with manslaughter after smothering him with chloroform in what investigators described as a sexual encounter.

Ronald G. Rayher faces counts of second-degree manslaughter and evidence tampering after Thomas Krider’s body was found Tuesday morning at Rayher’s Middle Line Road home in Milton, according to the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office.

Court documents state Rayher recklessly caused Krider’s death after restraining and binding him and administering “chloroform more than one time.” Investigators said Krider was killed on Friday, the day his wife, Heidi Greene, said she last spoke to her husband. Chloroform was once used as an anesthetic but concerns about its safety prompted the federal government to outlaw its medical use decades ago.

The charging documents also say that Rayher tampered with and hid some of Krider’s personal belongings by moving them “from the scene” of his death. 

Saratoga County Undersheriff Jeffrey Brown said Krider and Rayher knew each other for years, and the investigation determined the chloroform was used consensually during a sexual encounter. Brown said Rayher went to the sheriff’s Milton offices Tuesday morning to report there was a dead man in his basement.

The documents state Rayher tampered with and hid Krider’s personal belongings, removing them from the scene of the killing. Brown said deputies are investigating how he obtained chloroform, but noted “it is not difficult to make.”

Krider, 40, had been missing since Friday and friends used social media posts to try to spread the word of his disappearance. Ticonderoga police confirmed Krider was reported missing by his wife around 10 a.m. Saturday, after he had traveled south about 24 hours earlier.

Greene and Krider’s close friend James Cawley feared his trusting nature put him in harm’s way after he agreed to help a man move furniture.

“He was always so trusting that, even if he met someone one time, they were a friend,” said Greene, 42, of Ticonderoga.

 Cawley, 56, of Ticonderoga, said the same.

“He just didn’t see bad in anybody,” he said.

Krider, who worked under the stage name TJ Greene, spoke of his love of Elvis Presley in a 2017 interview with the Times Union. He was one of many Elvis impersonators who crowded the annual Elvis Festival, helping to transform the Lake George Forum into a mini-Graceland.

“There are so many things that this festival does so well,” said Krider, who was 33 at the time and dressed as Elvis in the Army. “It’s electric.”

Krider also had ties to the Star Trek Tour in Ticonderoga, a destination for Trekkers that features a lovingly recreated set of the USS Enterprise spaceship’s bridge from the original series. Cawley said Krider started as a tour guide there in October. In January, Greene and Krider settled into a local apartment for his new job.

“We were all looking forward to the summer season and the fun things we had planned,” Cawley said.

Greene and Cawley said Krider left Friday afternoon to pick up a free box spring from someone — in return, he would help move some furniture. Greene expected him to come home later. He was due to work at Star Trek Tour that weekend and Monday for a special event during the solar eclipse. He loved his job too much to ever miss a shift, she said.

“I tried to contact him so many times,” Greene said. “I can’t even wrap my head around why someone would be so malicious to such a great-hearted man.”

The operation is preparing for its annual fan celebration May 17-19, when “Star Trek” fans are anticipated to flock to the Essex County village to visit the recreated sets from the beloved series’ 79 original episodes. The sets are sanctioned by CBS. Walter Koenig, who played Ensign Pavel Chekov, is among the “Star Trek” stars expected to participate in this year’s celebration.

William Shatner, aka Captain James T. Kirk, is expected to visit the space from July 12-14. Greene said her husband had been looking forward to the event.

“He was a sci-fi geek and nerd,” she said affectionately. “He was into so many things. … He even got a (tattoo) sleeve on his arm of just He-Man and She-Ra characters.”

The two would have been married for 16 years in July, but Greene said they’d been together almost 20. They met while working at the Rutland, Vt., Walmart. Both lived in nearby Poultney. Eventually, they moved to the Glens Falls area where Krider worked for years as a costumed character at Six Flags Great Escape. Whether he was dressed as the park’s moose mascot, one of its Fright Fest characters, or as Elvis, his goal was to make people happy, Cawley said.

“He had a smile that would light the room up, and that’s no joke,” he said.

Greene got Krider into Elvis impersonators, as she followed many of them. His mother was also a fan, and even went to his local shows, Greene said. He loved all his songs, but was most often requested to perform “Wooden Heart,” she said.

“He was my whole world, my heart, my soul,” Greene said. “I don’t know what I’m going to without him.”

Rayher was arraigned in Milton Town Court and booked early Wednesday at the Saratoga County jail, where his bail is set at $250,000. He is due to return to court May 21.

Correction: An earlier version of this article gave an incorrect amount for Ronald G. Rayher’s bail.