How a beer can helped police solve the murder of a camper that was initially thought to be a bear attack

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A Montana man has been charged with the brutal murder of a camper that was initially reported as a bear attack after DNA evidence from a beer can alerted police to it.

Daren Christopher Abbey, 41, of Basin, Montana, has been charged with the first-degree murder of Dustin Kjersem, police announced during a news conference Thursday.

Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer said Abbey confessed to the murder as investigators zeroed in on him as their prime suspect in Kjersem's death, ABC News reports.

Investigators began zeroing in on Abbey after finding DNA that matched his on a beer can in Kjersem's tent.

Police said the killing appeared to be random.

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

He said the men had a “chance encounter” in the woods while Abbey was looking for a campsite.

One of Kjersem's friends was supposed to meet him on the night of his death. When he didn't show up, he went looking for Kjersem before making the gruesome discovery in the Moose Creek area.

When the friend called 911 to report the death, he told a dispatcher he believed his friend had been killed by a bear.

However, when investigators – including wildlife officials – searched the site, they found no evidence of bear activity at the camp, leading them to believe a human must be responsible.

Abbey was reportedly in the area that same night looking for a campsite. She discovered that Kjersem had already set up a tent on the spot he was considering.

He reportedly told investigators that Kjersem “welcomed him to the campsite” and offered him a beer.

Investigators said that sometime that evening, Abbey hit Kjersem with a piece of wood, stabbed him in the neck with a screwdriver and then chopped him up with an ax.

Police are still trying to determine a motive for the attack.

“We have some of his story, but … we don't really know what the real story is,” Springer said.

Abbey is said to have later returned to the crime scene to retrieve items from storage that he believed might link him to the murder, but overlooked the beer can.

An autopsy revealed that Kjersem's injuries included “significant damage” to his skull and that he died from multiple wounds caused by Abbey's attack.