Inset: Dustin Kjersem (Gallatin Sheriff’s Office). Background: Daren Christopher Abbey, 41, appears in District Court on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024, in Bozeman, Mont. (Laurenz Busch/Bozeman Daily Chronicle via AP)
A man accused of killing a camper who had invited him into his tent to have a beer in the Montana wilderness has claimed self-defense.
Daren Christopher Abbey, 41, pleaded not guilty this week to a deliberate homicide charge along with two counts of tampering with evidence in the death of 35-year-old Dustin Kjersem.
“I definitely plead not guilty. Dustin Kjersem tried to kill me,” Abbey said in court, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported.
As Law&Crime previously reported, Abbey confessed to detectives of murdering Kjersem, who was camping Oct. 10 in the Moose Creek canyon area. Kjersem was planning to pick up his girlfriend the next day for a weekend of camping. He set up a walled tent with beds, a wood stove, lamps and other supplies.
During the evening of Oct. 10, Abbey arrived at the area with the intention of camping as well, according to Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer.
“As he approached the site he realized someone was staying there. He stated Dustin welcomed him to the campsite and offered him a beer,” Springer said. “At some point, this individual struck Dustin Kjersem with a piece of solid wood, stabbed him in the neck with a screw driver and ultimately hit him with the ax.”
Abbey allegedly then removed several items from the campsite he thought he touched, including a cooler, rifle and ax. Bozeman CBS affiliate KBZK, citing court documents, said Abbey washed off the ax and screwdriver in a nearby creek. He also reportedly returned to the scene of the crime the next day to retrieve his hat.
But one item Abbey did not remove: the beer can from which he drank, Springer said. Detectives submitted the can to the Montana State Police Crime lab. On Oct. 25, it came back as a DNA hit to Abbey. The next day, cops took Abbey into custody in the Butte area.
“By all accounts this homicide appears to be a chance encounter,” said Springer. “There does not appear to be any connection between our victim and our suspect.”
Springer said there is no known motive for the crime, though the affidavit stated Abbey told investigators it was self-defense but the sheriff believes Abbey was just trying to get away with murder.
When Kjersem failed to pick his girlfriend up the night of Oct. 11, she and another friend went looking for him.
They found the deceased man’s tent shortly after 10 a.m. on Oct. 12, about 2 ½ miles up Moose Creek Road. They looked inside and found his mutilated body, Springer said. The caller indicated that Kjersem may have been the victim of a bear attack.
But when a Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks agent investigated, he saw no bear activity around the scene. Detectives determined Kjersem died of “chop wounds” and was the victim of a homicide, Springer told reporters. While the area is remote, it is popular with hikers and campers, authorities say.
As investigators searched for a suspect, deputies released photos of the victim’s truck, along with a Yeti cooler and an ax. After the arrest, the suspect led cops to the evidence “identified in prior press releases.”
Kjersem’s sister Jillian Price said at a press conference that her brother was a hardworking and skilled tradesman who built and remodeled houses.
“We lost our brother, our son, our uncle, our best friend in the most unimaginable way,” she said. “He was a loving, helpful and adorning father who in no way deserved this.”
David Harris contributed to this report.
