A Montana man found dead in a tent greeted the suspect at the camp and gave him a beer, officials say

A Montana man found bludgeoned to death in his tent this month greeted the suspect, a stranger, at his campsite and offered him a beer, the Gallatin County sheriff said Thursday.

Daren Christopher Abbey, 41, was arrested this week and charged with first-degree murder of 35-year-old Dustin Kjersem, whose body was found in his tent near Big Sky on Oct. 12, officials said.

It was a “chance encounter” at the campground the night of Oct. 10 and Abbey did not know Kjersem, Sheriff Dan Springer said at a news conference.

Abbey had planned to camp at the site, but when he arrived that night he found Kjersem was already there, with a wall tent, beds and a stove, Springer said.

Abbey said in a confession to investigators: “Dustin welcomed him to the campground and offered him a beer,” Springer said.

“At some point, this person hit Dustin Kjersem with a piece of solid wood, stabbed him in the neck with a screwdriver and finally hit him with the axe,” Springer said. “The motives for this attack are still unknown.”

The state crime lab matched DNA from a beer can found in the tent to Abbey, Springer said.

Abbey was arrested Saturday in Butte, about 80 miles northwest of Big Sky. He was interviewed Tuesday by sheriff's detectives and Montana Department of Justice investigators and confessed to the murder, Springer said.

Kjersem planned to spend the weekend at the campsite with his girlfriend. He set up camp on Oct. 10, a Thursday, and was going to pick up his girlfriend from work the next evening, Springer said.

Kjersem never arrived. The girlfriend and a friend drove to the campsite on Oct. 12, a Saturday, and found Kjersem dead in the tent, Springer said.

Kjersem's injuries were so extensive that the person who reported the discovery of his body suspected he had been attacked by a bear, the sheriff's office said. An autopsy confirmed it was a homicide and not an animal attack.

Abbey had lived in various areas but most recently had a residence in Basin, Montana, a small community in the mountains northeast of Butte, Springer said. Springer said he was employed in the Big Sky area at various times.

Abbey was arrested for a probation violation in Butte but is charged with voluntary manslaughter in Kjersem's death, the sheriff's office said.

State Corrections Department records show Abbey was released on conditional release after serving prison time for repeated driving under the influence in 2020.

Abbey was being held without bail Thursday evening, jail records show. It was not immediately clear whether he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

The investigation could take months. Springer said investigators are working to piece together more details about the events, including what motive Abbey may have had.

“We have part of his story, but we don’t really know what the real story is,” Springer said. “We have a story – we just don’t know if it’s true.”

Springer said that after killing Kjersem, Abbey removed items that he may have touched or that could link him to the crime, including a cooler and the axe. He returned the next evening and took more items, Springer said.

The sheriff's office previously said an axe, Yeti cooler, shotgun and revolver were missing from the campsite.