A Montana man discovered slain in his tent earlier this month welcomed his alleged killer, a stranger, to his campsite and provided him a beer, the Gallatin County sheriff stated Thursday.
Daren Christopher Abbey, 41, was arrested this week and is charged with deliberate murder within the killing of 35-year-old Dustin Kjersem, whose physique was present in his tent close to Big Sky on Oct. 12, officers stated.
It was a “likelihood encounter” on the campsite on the night time of Oct. 10 and Abbey didn’t know Kjersem, Sheriff Dan Springer stated at a information convention.
Abbey had deliberate to camp on the website, however when he arrived that night time he discovered Kjersem was already there, with a wall tent, beds and a range, Springer stated.
Abbey in a confession to detectives “said, Dustin welcomed him to the campsite and provided him a beer,” Springer stated.
“At some level, this particular person struck Dustin Kjersem with a chunk of strong wooden, stabbed him within the neck with a screwdriver, and in the end hit him with the ax,” Springer stated. “The motives of this assault are nonetheless unknown.”
DNA from a beer can discovered within the tent was matched by the state crime lab to Abbey, Springer stated.
Abbey was arrested in Butte, round 80 miles southwest of Big Sky, on Saturday. He was interviewed by sheriff’s detectives and Montana Department of Justice investigators on Tuesday and confessed to the killing, Springer stated.
Kjersem deliberate to spend the weekend on the campsite along with his girlfriend. He arrange the camp on Oct. 10, a Thursday, and he deliberate to choose his girlfriend up from work the subsequent night time, Springer stated.
Kjersem by no means arrived. The girlfriend and a buddy drove to the campsite on Oct. 12, a Saturday, and located Kjersem lifeless contained in the tent, Springer stated.
The accidents to Kjersem have been such that the one that reported the invention of his physique stated it may need been an assault from a bear, the sheriff’s workplace has stated. An post-mortem confirmed it was murder and never an animal assault.
Abbey had been residing in a few totally different areas however most just lately had a residence in Basin, Montana, a small neighborhood within the mountains northeast of Butte, Springer stated. He had been employed within the Big Sky space at numerous occasions, the sheriff stated.
Abbey was arrested on a probation violation in Butte, however is charged with deliberate murder in Kjersem’s loss of life, the sheriff’s workplace stated.
Montana Department of Corrections data present Abbey was on conditional launch after a jail sentence for a 2020 repeat driving below the affect case.
Abbey was being held in custody Thursday night time with out bond, jail data present. It was not instantly clear if he had an lawyer who might converse on his behalf.
The investigation might take months extra. Springer stated detectives will work to place collectively extra items of what occurred, together with why Abbey allegedly killed Kjersem.
“We have a little bit of his story, however we do not actually know what the true story is,” Springer stated. “We have a narrative, we simply do not know if it is correct.”
Springer stated after killing Kjersem, Abbey eliminated objects he could have touched or which might join him to the crime, together with a cooler and the ax. He returned the subsequent night time and took extra objects, the sheriff stated.
The sheriff’s workplace beforehand stated an ax, a Yeti cooler, a shotgun and a revolver have been lacking from the campsite.