Camper admits killing stranger in heinous crime initially thought to be a deadly bear attack: sheriff

A camper has allegedly confessed to murdering a stranger who was initially assumed to have been mauled to death by a bear, according to authorities.Daren Christopher Abbey, 41, admitted viciously hacking to death Dustin Mitchell Kjersem, a 35-year-old stranger who had welcomed him into his campsite — even offering him a beer, Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer told a press conference on Thursday.Abbey allegedly bashed Kjersem in the head with a piece of wood, stabbed him in the neck with a screwdriver and hacked him with an ax, the sheriff said.“He was brutally killed at his campsite,” Springer said.“This appears to be a heinous crime committed by an individual who had no regard for the life of Dustin Kjersem.”When Kjersem’s girlfriend found his bloodied body in a makeshift campground in a remote area near Big Sky on Oct.

12, she told 911 dispatchers it appeared to have been a deadly bear attack.However, officials could not find any bears in the area — and Kjersem’s death was eventually ruled a homicide after an autopsy.Abbey, who was in custody on unrelated charges, became a suspect through DNA tests on a beer can found at the campsite — and allegedly confessed when questioned.However, the motive appears unknown.“By all accounts, this homicide appears to be a chance encounter.There does not appear to be any connection between our victim and our suspect,” Springer said.The suspect allegedly removed possible evidence from the campsite — including an ax, a shotgun, a revolver and a cooler — and even returned again later to remove other items, Springer said.“Investigators will continue to piece together everything they can to build a better picture of the events that evening,” the sheriff said.

...