According to the sheriff, it seems that the two men had a chance encounter. A man from Montana has been charged with killing another camper in such a brutal way that a 911 caller first thought it might be a bear attack. Daren Christopher Abbey, 41, from Basin, Montana, is facing charges of deliberate homicide for the death of Dustin Kjersem. Authorities shared this information during a news conference on Thursday evening. Sheriff Dan Springer explained that Abbey admitted to the murder after investigators focused on him due to DNA found on a beer can inside Kjersem’s tent. It looks like these two didn’t know each other beforehand; they just crossed paths when Abbey was looking for a campsite. There doesn’t seem to be any connection between our victim and our suspect, Springer told reporters.
Kjersem’s body was discovered in his tent on October 12 in a somewhat secluded area near Moose Creek. The sheriff mentioned that Kjersem had arrived there for camping on October 10 and had set up quite an elaborate tent with a wood stove, beds, and lamps. That same night, Abbey happened to be nearby searching for his own camping spot and saw that Kjersem had already claimed one. According to Abbey’s account to investigators, Kjersem “welcomed him to the campsite” and even offered him a beer. However, things took a dark turn when Abbey struck Kjersem with some wood, stabbed him in the neck with a screwdriver, and then hit him with an ax. The motive behind this violent act remains unclear; as Sheriff Springer put it, We have part of his story but we don’t really know what the full picture is.
Afterward, Abbey went back to the scene of the crime to take away items he thought could link him to what happened—this included things like a cooler, firearms, and the ax used in the attack. Kjersem was last heard from on October 10 when he set out for his weekend camping trip; he planned to pick up his girlfriend soon after and bring her out there too. When he didn’t show up as expected, she became worried and went with a friend to check on him—only to find his body inside his tent. Initially, someone called 911 thinking it might have been caused by bears.
So, when the investigators showed up at the crime scene, a bear attack expert from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks didn’t spot any signs of bears around. Because of that, the sheriff’s office decided to look at it as a homicide case.
An autopsy later revealed that multiple injuries were responsible for the victim’s death. Kjersem had some serious damage to his skull, as noted by Springer earlier.
On October 25, analysts from the Montana State Crime Lab found Abbey’s DNA on a beer can at the scene. They eventually tracked Abbey down in the Butte area and arrested him on October 26 for violating his probation.