Beer Can DNA leads police to catch a suspect in the Montana Tent murder

DNA from a discarded beer can has led to the arrest of a man accused of killing 35-year-old Dustin Kjersem while he was camping. Gallatin County Police identified the suspect as Daren Christopher Abbey, 41, during a news conference today.

Kjersem had set up a campsite near Butte, Mont., on Thursday, Oct. 10. According to police, Abbey planned to stay at the same campsite that evening. As he got closer, he realized that Kjersem was already located there. Kjersem welcomed Abbey to the campsite and even offered him a beer.

Police don’t know the details of what happened next, despite interviewing Abbey. But at one point he hit Kjersem with a sturdy piece of wood, stabbed him in the neck with a screwdriver, and then hit him with an axe.

Kjersem planned to drive into town on Friday to pick up his girlfriend and return to the campsite for the weekend. When he didn’t show up, she became worried. Saturday morning, she and a friend drove to the campsite and discovered Kjersem’s deceased body in the tent.

“By all accounts, this homicide appears to be a chance encounter,” Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer said at the news conference. “There does not appear to be any connection between our victim and our suspect.”

Police said Abbey removed items from the scene that he believed could link him to the crime. They said he also returned Friday to remove more items.

“This is the behavior of a guilty man who thought he could get away with murder,” Springer said.

No motives known yet

Despite Abbey’s attempts to conceal the evidence of his crime, he left the beer can from which he had been drinking at the scene. Police collected it and were able to identify him through the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).

The Butte Civil Sheriff’s Office and the Montana Department of Corrections, Rebation, and Parole Officers worked with the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office to locate Abbey. On October 26, they discovered he was still in the Butte area.

Police arrested him as he left a local establishment. He was taken into custody and interviewed by detectives, after which he confessed to Kjersem’s murder.

Yet, after interviewing Abbey, the police do not understand the motive behind this crime. Investigators said they are still trying to piece everything together to get a better picture of the events that evening.

Abbey is currently in custody in Butte, Mont.

Dustin Kjersem: ‘A Montana boy’

Kjersem was well known and loved in the Butte community where he lived. He was an avid outdoorsman and an experienced trader.

Jillian Price, Kjersem’s sister, told the story Bozeman Daily Chronicle“He loved the outdoors. He loved to fish, he loved to hunt, he was a great snowboarder. He was just a boy from Montana.”

Price said she had never seen a grown man spend so much time crafting with his children. His friends said he was easy-going, easy-going and fun to be around. When he went camping, it was not uncommon for him to leave early and prepare the campsite for everyone before they got there, his friend Chris Anderson told the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.

Kjersem’s family has set up a GoFundMe titled: “Support Dustin Kjersem’s children through this tragic loss.” The money is intended to cover funeral costs and help care for his children now and in the future.

“Born and raised in the Gallatin Valley, Dustin was deeply loved by so many in this community,” the GoFundMe page reads. “He was a loving, helpful and adoring father.”

The campaign has raised $30,000+ to date. If you would like to contribute, please visit the GoFundMe webpage.

Read more

The message Beer Can DNA leads police to catch a suspect in the Montana Tent murder appeared first on Gear junkie.