A Montana man accused of killing a camper in a brutal attack initially believed to have been caused by a bear has been arrested, Gallatin County officials said Thursday at a news conference.
Daren Christopher Abbey, 41, was charged with deliberate homicide in the killing of Dustin Kjersem, 35, who was found dead inside his tent near Big Sky on Oct. 12 by his girlfriend, officials said. It was not immediately clear if Abbey had an attorney representing him.
Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer said Kjersem had planned a weekend camping trip with his girlfriend and arrived early on Oct.10 to set up the campsite. He was supposed to pick her up the following day after she finished working, but he did not show up.
Springer said Kjersem’s girlfriend went to the campsite on Oct.12 with a friend and found him dead inside his tent.
In an earlier news release by the sheriff’s office, authorities said that because of the viciousness of the attack, the caller who reported Kjersem dead said it may have been caused by a bear. However, there were no signs of bear activity at the campsite, and an autopsy determined Kjersem’s death was a homicide.
During the course of the investigation, detectives collected DNA evidence from a beer can at the scene, which led them to Abbey, Springer said.
Abbey was taken into custody in Butte on an unrelated charge on Saturday, and he allegedly confessed to killing Kjersem on Tuesday. Springer said Abbey had been employed in the Big Sky area at different times. Booking records note his tattoos include a swastika, an iron cross and SS lightning bolts.
According to Springer, Abbey told investigators he was looking for a place to camp on Oct.10 when he ran into Kjersem, who welcomed him to the campsite and offered him a beer.
However, at some point during the interaction, Abbey struck Kjersem with a piece of solid wood, stabbed him in the neck with a screwdriver and attacked him with an ax, Springer said. Abbey reportedly removed items from the campsite that he believed would link him to the killing.
Springer said the investigation could take months, adding that authorities are unsure if what Abbey has told them is completely accurate.
“We have a bit of his story, but we don’t really know what the true story is,” Springer said.
