The man who confessed to Dustin Kjersem‘s vicious murder in the Montana wilderness in October says Kjersem invited him into his campsite. When his body was discovered, Kjersem’s condition led the person who reported him dead to think a bear had attacked him.
Daren Christopher Abbey, 41, was in custody for a probation violation when he admitted he killed Kjersem. At a press briefing Thursday, Montana police said they identified Abbey based on DNA evidence gathered from a beer can discovered at Kjersem’s campsite. Abbey took other items, like an axe, cooler, a revolver, and a shotgun, but missed the beer can, police said.
Abbey’s motive has not yet been determined, and there is no known connection between him and Kjersem. Abbey told the police he intended to camp in the spot where Kjersem was, and when Abbey arrived, Kjersem welcomed him and 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 the axe,” Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer said. According to charging documents, Abbey said it was self-defense.
Abbey said he returned to Kjersem’s campsite the next day because he forgot his hat and took several other items, including a headlamp, binoculars, and two phones. The phones were later recovered. Abbey also said he washed the clothes and burned the shoes he wore the night Kjersem died.
At the Thursday press briefing, Springer added, “This appears to be a heinous crime committed by an individual who had no regard for the life of Dustin Kjersem.”
DUI arrests and Nazi tattoos
Abbey, whose abdomen is covered in tattoos including swastikas and Viking symbols, has been charged with deliberate homicide and tampering with evidence stemming from Kjersem’s murder. Abbey has reportedly cooperated with the authorities and led them to the evidence he took from Kjersem’s campsite.
Though Abbey confessed, Montana police said they are still investigating Kjersem’s murder to make sure he has told the truth. “Investigators will continue to piece together everything they can to build a better picture of the events that evening,” Sheriff Springer said.
Abbey, originally from California with ties to Idaho and Montana, has a lengthy criminal record, including several DUI arrests. In 2011, Spokane, WA news outlet The Spokesman-Review called him “a self-proclaimed skinhead,” and a 2012 SPLC report described Abbey as a “racist skinhead.”
Also in 2011, Abbey shouted racial epithets and assaulted Marion L. Baker, a Black man in Bayview, ID, because he was Black. The man was reportedly a trained boxer, and Abbey suffered facial fractures. While in custody related to that attack, Abbey used racial epithets while assaulting a Latino prison security guard.
“Abbey came walking toward me swinging both arms and shoulders in an aggressive manner with a stern look on his face as if he wanted to fight,” the prison guard said. In a plea deal, Abbey pleaded guilty to the Black man’s assault in Idaho and was released on bond.
“I probably did make the wrong decision, and the result of that is I got beat up pretty bad,” Abbey told the judge in the Baker case. “If anything, this was a huge learning lesson,” Abbey added. In the Kjersem case, Abbey appeared in court Friday, and his bail was set at 1.5 million. He was expected back in court in November.