DNA on beer can helped lead to suspect in brutal campsite killing: Sheriff

(BIG SKY, Mont.) — A Montana man has been charged in the killing of a fellow camper that was so brutal it was initially reported by a 911 caller as a possible bear attack.

Daren Christopher Abbey, 41, of Basin, Montana, has been charged with deliberate homicide in the killing of Dustin Kjersem, authorities announced at a news conference Thursday evening.

Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer said Abbey confessed to the killing after investigators zeroed in on him based on DNA collected from a beer can inside the slain man’s tent.

The sheriff said it does not appear the two men knew each other and that they met in a “chance encounter” as Abbey searched for a campsite.

“There does not appear to be any connection between our victim and our suspect,” Springer told reporters Thursday.

Kjersem’s body was found dead in a tent on Oct. 12 in a fairly remote camping area in the Moose Creek area.

The sheriff said Kjersem arrived in the Moose Creek area on Oct. 10 for a camping trip and had set up a wall tent, complete with a wood stove, beds and lamps.

That same night, Abbey was also in the area looking for a place to camp and noticed Kjersem had already taken the campsite, the sheriff said.

Abbey told investigators Kjersem “welcomed him to the campsite” and offered him a beer, the sheriff said.

Then at some point Abbey hit Kjersem with a piece of wood, stabbed him in the neck with a screwdriver and then hit him with an ax, the sheriff said.

The motive for the attack is still unknown, the sheriff said.

“We have a bit of his story, but … we don’t really know what the true story is,” Springer said.

The sheriff said Abbey later returned to the crime scene to remove items from the campsite that he believed might have evidence to tie him to the killing, including a cooler, firearms and the ax.

Kjersem was last heard from on Oct. 10 as he was leaving to go camping for the weekend. He had plans to pick up his girlfriend on the following day and take her out to the campsite, the sheriff said. When he didn’t show, she grew concerned and went with a friend to the campsite and found his body inside his tent.

The initial 911 call reported it as a possible bear attack.

When investigators responded to the scene of the crime, a Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks agent with expertise in bear attacks did not find any signs of bear activity at the scene, prompting investigators to treat the incident as a homicide, according to the sheriff’s office.

An autopsy determined multiple wounds led to his death. Kjersem’s injuries included “significant damage” to his skull, Springer previously said.

Abbey’s DNA was identified on the beer can by analysts with the Montana State Crime Lab on Oct. 25, authorities said. Abbey was located in the Butte area. He was initially arrested on Oct. 26 on a probation violation.

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