Man suspected of murder at campsite arrested after DNA evidence

On October 12, Montana resident Dustin Kjersem was found killed in his tent in what was initially believed to be an animal attack. Montana officials have since declared the incident an “intentional homicide” and have taken a suspect into custody.

Kjersem was murdered on the night of October 10, but he was only discovered when his girlfriend and boyfriend suspected he was missing. The intention was that Kjersem’s girlfriend would be picked up by Kjersem and taken to the campsite.

DNA evidence tied Daren Christopher Abbey to the scene after officials recovered a beer can at the campsite. After Abbey was arrested in Butte, Montana, about 80 miles northwest of the crime scene, he announced to officials that Kjersem welcomed him to his campsite and offered him a beer.

Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer reassured the community, noting that this was an isolated incident; Abbey acted alone. Abbey confessed to the murder, but his motives are still unknown. The autopsy revealed the gruesome nature of the murder, detailing that Kjersem was first knocked down due to blunt force trauma with a piece of wood.

The autopsy also revealed that the victim was then stabbed in the neck with a screwdriver and struck several times with an ax.

Kjersem was found in his tent about 2.5 miles down Moose Creek Road, an area fairly well populated with campers, hikers and hunters. Prior to the evidence hampering the search for a suspect, the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Department asked those who were in the area around the time of the murder to provide some context as to what may have happened.

As of Friday, Abbey is being held on $1.5 million bond. Although he was originally held for a probation violation in Butte, Montana, Abbey has now been officially charged with intentional homicide.

Springer noted that Abbey cooperated with the trial and gave detectives a list of things he took from the crime scene. The beer can had been left behind, of course, but Abbey had brought along an axe, a Yeti cooler, a revolver and a shotgun.

The investigation is still ongoing, as Sheriff Springer has announced that the department is not confident that Abbey provided an accurate story.

According to a quote collected by NBC Newssome of Springer’s final thoughts on the matter were as follows:

We have a piece of his story, but we don’t really know what the true story is.

– Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer