What Campsite Murder Suspect Claims Set Off Grisly Killing That Looked Like a Bear Attack

Daren Christopher Abbey, 41, (above left) was previously arrested for the slaying of Dustin Kjersem, 35, (above right) who was found dead in a tent while camping in Big Sky, Montana. He was charged with one count of deliberate homicide and two counts of tampering with evidence.

With police previously alleging Abbey “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 axe,” Abbey’s side of the story has emerged, thanks to court docs via Fox News Digital.

Per the docs, Abbey set up a campsite near Kjersem on October 10 and the pair began to talk over some beers. Abbey claimed his dog, at one point, jumped onto Kjersem’s air mattress and left muddy paw prints all over it — something he says set Kjersem off.

“Kjersem stated he was going to shoot his dog and then was going to kill him,” claimed Abbey, who said Kjersem came at him, before the pair “tangled.”

During the fight, Abbey said he hit Kjersem three times with a block of wood. While he reportedly didn’t mention the axe at first, when police said his story didn’t match up with the injuries, he allegedly then admitted to hitting him with an axe.

He allegedly said that he also then stabbed Kjersem with a screwdriver he picked up from the ground, claiming the victim was still moving. That’s when the fight ended, he said. Abbey allegedly also told police he washed the screwdriver and axe in a creek nearby, before taking Kjersem’s phones and axe with him when he left the site.

The docs claim he also told police he returned to the campsite a day later, believing he left a beanie behind and didn’t want to leave any “loose ends.”

Abbey reportedly told police he was acting in “self-defense,” though authorities pointed out a lack of defensive wounds on the suspect.

Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer said Kjersem “arrived in the Moose Creek area” on October 10, and “set up camp,” which featured “a wall tent complete with wood stove, beds, lamps and multiple other items.”

According to Springer, Kjersem had planned on picking up his girlfriend on Friday night. When he didn’t show up, he said Kjersem’s girlfriend “became worried” — and, on Saturday morning, she drove to the campsite with a friend and found Kjersem’s body.

After Kjersem’s body was discovered, his death was initially thought to have been the result of a bear attack. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, however, found no signs of bear activity in the area and a homicide investigation began.