A man from Montana found murdered in his tent this month met his suspect in his murder, a stranger, at his campsite and offered him a beer, the Gallatin County Sheriff said Thursday.

Daren Christopher Abbey, 41, was arrested this week and charged with deliberate homicide in the slaying of Dustin Kjersem, 35, whose body was found in his tent near Big Sky on Oct. 12, officials said.

It was a “chance encounter” at the campground the night of Oct. 10, and Abbey did not know Kjersem, Sheriff Dan Springer said at a news conference.

Abbey had planned to camp at the site, but when she arrived that night, she found Kjersem was already there with a wall tent, beds and a stove, Springer said.

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

“At some point, this individual hit Dustin Kjersem with a piece of solid wood, stabbed him in the neck with a screwdriver, and finally hit him with the axe,” Springer said. “The reasons for this attack are still unknown.”

The state forensic lab matched DNA from a beer can found in the tent to Abbey, Springer said.

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

Kjersem was planning 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 night, Springer said.

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

Kjersem’s injuries were such that the person who reported discovering his body suspected he had been attacked by a bear, the sheriff’s office said. An autopsy confirmed it was a murder, not an animal attack.

Abbey has lived in several different areas, but most recently had a residence in Basin, Montana, a small community in the mountains northeast of Butte, Springer said. He has been employed in the Big Sky area several times, Springer said.

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

State Department of Corrections records show Abbey was on parole after a 2020 prison sentence for a DUI case.

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

The investigation could take several months. Springer said detectives will work to piece together more pieces of what happened, including what motive Abbey might have had.

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

Springer said that after killing Kjersem, Abbey removed items that he may have touched or that could link him to the crime, including a refrigerator and an axe. He returned the next night and took more items, Springer said.

The sheriff’s office previously said an ax, a Yeti cooler, a rifle and a revolver were missing from the campsite.

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