The man accused of murdering a camper at a campsite near Big Sky, Montana, has been officially charged.
On Friday, Daren Christopher Abbey, 41, appeared in a Gallatin County court where he was charged with one count of deliberate homicide and two counts of tampering with or fabricating evidence,according to KBZK,
Abbey is accused of murdering Dustin Kjersem, 35, at his campsite in early October.
As Crime Online previously reported, Abbey was identified from a DNA sample found on a beer can at the campsite, Sheriff Dan Springer said at a news conference Thursday afternoon. He was located in Butte and initially arrested on unrelated charges before being transferred to Gallatin County to face charges in Kjersem’s death.
Kjersem traveled to Gallatin County on October 10 to set up camp, planning to return to town the following day to pick up his girlfriend after work so they could spend the weekend camping. When he didn’t arrive on Friday, Springer said, the girlfriend became worried, and she and a friend drove to the campsite on Saturday morning, where they found Kjersem dead.
Springer stated that Abbey ultimately confessed to the murder. He said he had planned to camp at the same site but found Kjersem already there. Kjersem, he said, “welcomed” him and even offered him a beer.
“At some point, this individual struck Dustin Kjersem with a piece of solid wood, stabbed him in the neck with a screwdriver, and ultimately hit him with an axe,” Springer said.
The sheriff added that Abbey took items from the campsite that he had touched and then returned on Friday to take more items. “This is the behavior of a guilty subject who thought they could get away with murder,” Springer said.
Springer indicated that there was no known connection between Abbey and Kjersem, suggesting that the incident stemmed from a “chance encounter.”
Abbey’s bail was set at $1.5 million in court on Friday, with his next hearing scheduled for November 15.
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[Feature Photo: Handout]
