On October 12, Montana resident Dustin Kjersem was found murdered in his tent in what was first believed to be an animal attack. Montana officials have since declared the incident a “deliberate homicide” and have a suspect in custody.

Kjersem was killed on the night of October 10, but was not discovered until his girlfriend and his girlfriend suspected him missing. Kjersem’s girlfriend was to be taken by Kjersem and brought to the camp.

DNA evidence linked Daren Christopher Abbey to the scene after officials recovered a can of beer from the campsite. After Abbey was apprehended in Butte, Montana, about 80 miles northwest of the crime scene, he disclosed to officials that Kjersem welcomed him to his campsite with a beer.

Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer reassured the community that this was an isolated incident; Abbey acted alone. Abbey confessed to the murder, but his motives are still unknown. The autopsy revealed the gruesome nature of the killing, detailing that Kjersem was first felled due to violent trauma with a piece of wood.

The autopsy also revealed that the victim was then stabbed in the neck with a screwdriver and hit with an ax several times.

Kjersem was found in his tent about 1.5 miles up Moose Creek Road, an area fairly well populated with campers, hikers and hunters. Ahead of the evidence narrowing the search for a suspect, the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Department asked those who were in the area around the time of the crime to provide any context to what might have happened.

As of Friday, Abbey is being held on $1.5 million bail. Although initially held for a probation violation in Butte, Montana, Abbey has now been formally charged with first degree murder.

Springer noted that Abbey was cooperative in the process, providing detectives with a list of items she had taken from the crime scene. The beer can, of course, had been left behind, but Abbey had taken an axe, a Yeti cooler, a revolver, and a shotgun.

The investigation is still ongoing, as Sheriff Springer said the department is not sure Abbey provided an accurate story.

According to a quote collected by NBC Newssome of Springer’s final thoughts on the matter were as follows:

We have a bit of his story, but we don’t really know what the real story is.

– Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer