The suspect in the slaying of a Montana father and outdoorsman claimed self-defense in his confession, while police say the victim offered her the alleged criminal a beer.

Daren Christopher Abbey told police he killed Dustin Kjersem, 35, in “self-defense” on Thursday, October 10, adding that he “hit the victim in the head with a piece of firewood, stabbed the victim in the neck . with a screwdriver and hit the victim in the face with the blunt end of the axe,” according to charging documents obtained by Fox News Digital.

However, the lack of defensive injuries on Abbey was not consistent with self-defense, the documents add.

Kjersem arrived in the Moose Creek area near Big Sky, Montana, on October 10 and set up camp, including “a wall tent complete with wood stove, beds, lamps, and many other items.”

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Daren Christopher Abbey has been charged with the murder of Montana father Dustin Kjersem. (Montana Department of Corrections)

During Abbey’s confession, police learned the suspect was looking for a place to camp and had planned on this particular spot, Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer said in a statement. press conference.

“When he approached the site, he realized someone was sitting there,” (Abbey) said, Dustin welcomed him to the campsite and offered him a beer,” Springer added. “By all accounts, this homicide appears to be a chance encounter. There does not appear to be any connection between our victim and our suspect..”

Abbey, 41, was charged with first degree murder and tampering with evidence, records show. The manslaughter charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.

“I will probably never be able to express the gratitude I have for all the people who worked tirelessly on this case,” Kjersem’s sister Jillian Price told Fox News Digital. “I know so many experts put in long hours, determined to find who was responsible.”

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Dustin Kjersem was found dead in his tent while camping in Montana. Police described it as a “vicious attack”. (Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office)

Gallatin County detectives were able to identify Abbey, who lived in it Basin, Montana, and working in the Big Sky area based on a DNA sample taken from a beer can in the tent where Kjersem was found dead. The box was sent to the Montana State Crime Lab.

Authorities discovered “two shot glasses, both with a slice of lime in them” at the crime scene, indicating that a second person may have been present in Kjersem’s tent. They also found three cans of beer on the floor of the tent, the documents say.

It was initially believed that Kjersem had suffered a bear attack, until authorities determined that he had a homicide.

Detectives observed multiple injuries to the victim’s head, neck and face, including what appeared to be “cut wounds.”

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Lone Peak and Moonlight Basin Ski Resorts near Big Sky, Montana. (TMI / Alamy Stock Photo)

Kjersem’s girlfriend told police he was supposed to pick her up that Friday night after she finished work, but when he didn’t show up and didn’t respond to her texts, she became concerned and went looking for him together with a friend on Saturday morning. , Oct. 12 At the campsite, they found him dead in the tent.

Kjersem has a daughter and stepson, her sister previously told Fox News Digital.

“To the family and friends of Dustin Kjersem, you are all in our thoughts and prayers. No one deserves this to happen to them,” Springer said. “I hope this can bring some peace to you all and I’m sorry you have to go through this.”

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Dustin Kjersem and his daughter. Kjersem was brutally murdered while camping near Big Sky, Montana. (GoFundMe)

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The suspect admitted to taking several items from Kjersem’s campsite, including “two coolers, an axe, a .44 magnum pistol and holster, a rifle and a sleeve of shotgun ammunition” because they had his fingerprints on them and admitted that he was forbidden. from possession of firearms, according to the charging documents.

He also confessed to washing the ax and screwdriver he used to kill Kjersem in the creek and burning the shoes he was wearing during the killing in a wood stove, records show.

He told police he returned to the campground the day after the murder to retrieve a hat he had left behind and stole binoculars and a headlamp from the victim’s truck, documents say.

CRIME SCENE TIP COULD HELP SOLVE MURDER OF YOUNG FATHER ON CAMPING TRIP, AS MURDER REMAINS UNCLOSED

Authorities asked the public for help locating an ax they believed was missing from the crime scene. (Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office)

Abbey was charged in 2018 and 2020 with two separate counts of driving under the influence, according to his profile on the Montana Department of Correction website. He has tattoos all over his body, including an “iron cross with swastika” and another “swastika, SS lightning bolts”, symbols used by the Nazi Party of Germany.

The suspect was previously convicted of malicious harassment after he was beaten by a man he was harassing in North Idaho, according to a 2012 Spokesperson Report.

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“This appears to be a heinous crime by an individual who had no regard for the life of Dustin Kjersem,” Springer said. “The motive for this attack is still unknown and investigators will continue to piece together everything they can to build a better picture of the events of that evening.”

Abbey’s bail was set in court Friday at $1.5 million. He is being held at the Gallatin County Jail in Bozeman, Montana, according to the Montana Department of Corrections. It was not immediately clear if Abbey had retained an attorney.

“There’s still a lot of work to be done,” Price told Fox News Digital. “It feels like just the beginning of a very long road.”