Montana ax murder victim welcomes suspect to camp and offers him beer

A man from Montana was found murdered in his tent earlier this month welcomed his alleged killer, a stranger, to his camp and offered him a beer, the Gallatin County Sheriff said Thursday.

Darren Christopher Abbey, 41, was arrested this week and is charged with the intentional homicide of Dustin Kiersem, 35, whose body was found in his tent near Big Sky on Oct. 12, officials said.

It was a “chance encounter” at a campsite on the night of Oct. 10, and Abby didn’t know Kiersem, Sheriff Dan Springer said at a news conference.

Abby planned to set up camp there, but when he arrived that night, he found Kjersem already there with a wall tent, beds and a stove, Springer said.

Abbey, in a statement to detectives, “stated that Dustin welcomed him to the campsite and offered him a beer,” Springer said.

“At some point, this individual hit Dustin Kiersem with a piece of hardwood, hit him in the neck with a screwdriver and ultimately hit him with an ax,” Springer said. “The motives of this attack are still unknown.”

DNA from a beer can found in the tent was matched by the state crime lab to Abby, Springer said.

Abby was arrested in Butte, about 80 miles southwest of Big Sky, on Saturday. He was questioned Tuesday by sheriff’s detectives and Montana Department of Justice investigators and confessed to the killing, Springer said.

Kjersem planned to spend the weekend camping with his girlfriend. He set up camp on Oct. 10, a Thursday, and planned to pick up his girlfriend from work the next evening, Springer said.

Kjersem never arrived. The girl and a friend arrived at the campground on Oct. 12, a Saturday, and found Kjersem dead in a tent, Springer said.

Kjersem’s injuries were such that the person who reported finding his body said it may have been a bear attack, the sheriff’s office said. An autopsy confirmed it was a homicide, not an animal attack.

According to Springer, Abby has lived in several different areas, but most recently lived in Basin, Montana, a small community in the mountains northeast of Butte. He worked in the Big Sky area at various times, the sheriff said.

Abby was arrested on a probation violation in Butte, but has been charged with first degree murder in Kjersem’s death, the sheriff’s office said.

Montana Department of Corrections records show Abby was on parole after serving a second DUI conviction in 2020.

Abby was being held without bond Thursday night, jail records show. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

The investigation may continue for months. Springer said detectives will work to piece together more pieces of what happened, including why Abby allegedly killed Kjersam.

“We have some of his story, but we don’t know the real story,” Springer said. “We have a story, but we just don’t know if it’s accurate.”

Springer said that after Kjersem’s murder, Abbey removed items that he might have touched or that might have linked him to the crime, including a cooler and an axe. He returned the next night and took more items, the sheriff said.

Earlier, the sheriff’s office said an ax, a Yeti cooler, a shotgun and a revolver were missing from the campsite.