A beer can left at a murder scene helped officials hunt down a man accused of bludgeoning a Montana father and avid outdoorsman to death in his camping tent, police said.
Gallatin County detectives were able to identify Daren Christopher Abbey based on a DNA sample collected from a beer can inside the tent where Dustin Kjersem was found dead. The can was sent to the Montana State Crime Lab.
Abbey, 41, allegedly killed Kjersem, 35, after a “chance encounter” while camping near Big Sky, Montana, in October.
Abbey is in custody in Butte, Montana, where he was picked up on an unrelated probation violation. He is expected to be transferred to Gallatin County to face charges of deliberate homicide and two counts of tampering with evidence.
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“This appears to be a heinous crime committed by an individual who had no regard for the life of Dustin Kjersem,” Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer said in a press conference Thursday.
Abbey confessed to the murder on Tuesday after being interviewed by detectives, Springer added.
The suspect has tattoos all over his body, including an “iron cross w/ swastika” and another “swastika, SS lightning bolts,” symbols used by Germany’s Nazi Party, according to his profile on the Montana Department of Correction website.
“This individual removed items from the campsite he believed had evidence that could tie him to the crime. He removed the items he had touched, to include the cooler, the firearms and the ax, and to return to the crime the following night, and removed further items,” Springer added. “This is the behavior of a guilty subject who thought they could get away with murder.”
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Springer said Kjersem arrived in the Moose Creek area on Thursday Oct. 10 and set up camp, including “a wall tent complete with wood stove, beds, lamps and multiple other items.” During Abbey’s confession, police learned that the suspect was looking for a place to camp that Thursday night and had planned on this particular site.
“As he approached the site, he realized someone was staying there, [Abbey] stated, Dustin welcomed him to the campsite and offered him a beer,” Springer added. “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 the ax.”
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Kjersem had planned to leave the campsite and pick up his girlfriend on Friday evening, Oct. 11 so they could spend the weekend together, but when he did not show up as planned, his girlfriend became worried.
On Saturday morning, Oct. 12, she and a friend drove to the campsite, where they found Kjersem deceased in the tent.
It was initially believed that Kjersem had suffered from a bear attack, until authorities determined it was a homicide.
“By all accounts, this homicide appears to be a chance encounter,” Springer said. “There does not appear to be any connection between our victim and our suspect.”
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The suspect was living in Basin, Montana, and working in the Big Sky area, Springer noted, adding that he was in the construction business. “He was living kind of, I won’t say transient, but was kind of in multiple different areas.”
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“To the family and friends of Dustin Kjersem, you are all in our thoughts and prayers. No one deserves to have this happen to them,” Springer said. “I hope this can bring a little bit of peace to all of you, and I’m sorry you’re having to go through this.”
Kjersem’s sister, Jillian Price, previously told Fox News Digital that Kjersem has a daughter and a stepson.
When asked what she hopes others will remember about her brother, she said, “I wish they could have heard his laugh, but I just hope they know just how caring he was.”
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“To the other criminals out there, the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office and its partners will not stand for this type of behavior. You will not get away with it in our community,” Springer said. “If you have some need to commit these types of crimes, let it be known, we will hunt you down, and we will make sure that you never see the light of day again.”
“Although a suspect has been arrested and charged, there is still months of work to be done,” he added. “The motives of this attack are still unknown, and the investigators will continue to piece together everything they can to build a better picture of the events that evening.”
