Inset: Dustin Kjersem (Gallatin Sheriff's Office). Background: Daren Christopher Abbey, 41, appears in District Court on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024, in Bozeman, Mont. (Laurenz Busch/Bozeman Daily Chronicle via AP).
A 42-year-old man has been sentenced to a century in prison for killing a camper with a screwdriver and an ax after a "chance encounter" led to murder in the Montana wilderness.
Daren Abbey was sentenced Wednesday to 100 years behind bars for the death of 35-year-old Dustin Kjersem in the Big Sky area. A jury convicted him of deliberate homicide and two counts of tampering with evidence in November.
"Some people are meant to be separated from society. Daren Abbey is one of them," Gallatin County Attorney Audrey Cromwell said in a statement. "The violence he inflicted, his actions afterward, and the lifelong harm he caused demonstrate that he can never safely be allowed back into our community."
While Abbey did show remorse in an apology to the victim's family, he quickly changed his tone after he heard his fate.
"Well, I'll be appealing your crooked a— court system," the convicted murderer said, per a courtroom report by local ABC affiliate KYWB.
Kjersem had set up a tent in the Big Sky area on Oct. 10, 2024, with the intention of picking up his girlfriend the next day for a weekend together. That evening, according to police, Abbey had shown up in the same area with the intention of camping.
Abbey would later tell homicide detectives that Kjersem invited him into his tent where they had a couple of beers. Charging documents obtained by Bozeman CBS affiliate KBZK said that Abbey claimed things turned south when Abbey's dog jumped on Kjersem's air mattress, leaving behind paw prints. Abbey reportedly said he took a T-shirt to a nearby stream and got it wet to clean the air mattress.
When he returned, he reportedly claimed that Kjersem threatened to shoot him and his dog. A physical fight ensued and Abbey then "hit the victim on the head with a piece of firewood, stabbed the victim in the neck with a screwdriver, and hit the victim on the face with the blunt side of the ax," the documents reportedly said. Cops said they didn't buy his self-defense claims because the victim didn't have any defensive wounds.
At sentencing, Kjersem's girlfriend Natalie Holloway told the court how he loved being outdoors. She described his personality.
"He was calm in a way that's so rare in this world. Nothing rattled him. Nothing made him angry," Holloway said, according to KYWB. "He was sensitive, thoughtful, caring. He worked hard and took pride in making everything he touched better than he found it."
The victim's sister, Jillian Price, remembered her brother for being a helpful brother and generous uncle.
"His big hands that now made my daughter's teacups look extra small as he held them. Never too cool to not stick his pinky finger out as he attended her almost daily tea parties," she said. "The hands that were somehow able to teach my daughter to tie her shoes in just one try."
As Law&Crime previously reported, Abbey fled the scene, but returned the next day to retrieve his hat. Holloway and another friend found the victim's body in the tent on Oct. 12, 2024, after he failed to pick her up the previous night. Investigators collected several items from the tent as evidence, including beer cans. According to the affidavit, DNA matched two people: Daren Abbey and his twin, Dustin Abbey. Since Dustin Abbey was in the custody of the Montana Department of Corrections at the time, investigators had their suspect in Daren Abbey. They arrested him about two weeks after the slaying.
Detectives also highlighted a report taken a couple of days before Daren Abbey's arrest from employees at Big Sky Resort and The Rocks Tasting Room. The employees described Abbey as a "skinhead dude" who had made them uncomfortable by spewing white supremacist comments.
Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer said there was no prior connection between Abbey and Kjersem.
"By all accounts this homicide appears to be a chance encounter," said Springer.
The initial 911 call suggested that Kjersem may have been a victim of a bear attack. But when a Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks agent investigated, he saw no bear activity around the scene. Detectives determined Kjersem died of "chop wounds" and was the victim of a homicide, Springer told reporters at the time. While the area is remote, it is popular with hikers and campers, authorities said.
As investigators searched for a suspect, deputies released photos of the victim's truck, along with a Yeti cooler and an ax. After the arrest, the suspect led cops to the evidence "identified in prior press releases."
The homicide put the community on edge.
"The investigation into this homicide continues. It is believed the suspect acted alone and there is no longer a threat to the community. Further details and charges are forthcoming, but it is important for this community to know they are safe to resume their outdoor activities," deputies wrote at the time.
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