A self-proclaimed white supremacist accused of killing a man found in a tent in the Montana woods has pleaded not guilty, claiming he acted in self-defense.
Daren Christopher Abbey, 41, told a judge that his alleged victim Dustin Kjersen, 35, “tried to kill me” as he pleaded not guilty to charges of intentional homicide and tampering with evidence.
Kjersen’s death in Big Sky, Montana on October 10 was initially believed to be a bear attack due to the severity of his injuries.
However, an autopsy revealed he had suffered a number of ‘chopping wounds’, including to his skull, while detectives found no evidence of animal involvement.
DNA from a beer can and shot glasses left in the tent found two matches in the national criminal database: Abbey and his twin brother, who was excluded because he was already serving a prison sentence.
With no apparent link between the two men, Abbey was arrested three weeks after Kjersen’s body was found and he confessed to the murder, but claimed he did so out of fear for his own life.
He told detectives that Kjersen threatened him with a gun and attacked him, and Abbey responded by hitting him in the head with a block of wood and then stabbing him in the neck with a screwdriver.
Gallatin County records showed that Abbey mentioned after his arrest that he had ties to a white supremacist group, and officials said he had a number of far-right tattoos, including an iron cross with a swastika.
Daren Christopher Abbey, 41, a self-described white supremacist charged with murdering a camper last month, claimed in court this week that his alleged victim “tried to kill” him
Dustin Kjersen, 35, was found dead in a tent in Big Sky, Montana, on October 12, two days after he was last seen alive. The severity of his wounds initially led his girlfriend to believe he had been mauled by a bear
Investigators describe the episode between Kjersen and Abbey as a “chance encounter.”
Kjersem had arrived in the Moose Creek area on October 10 to set up a campsite, intending to pick up his girlfriend the following evening for a weekend together.
At some point on the evening of October 10, he and Abbey had a beer together, and that’s when Abbey left behind his DNA that tied him to the scene.
When Kjersem didn’t pick up his girlfriend, she drove to the site and found his lifeless body in his tent. She initially reported his death to police as a bear attack due to his horrific injuries.
According to Abbey, he violently murdered Kjersem after being threatened with a gun. Although he admitted to using a block of wood and a screwdriver, detectives said Abbey failed to mention that he also used an ax in the attack.
When questioned about the axe, police said Abbey told several stories, including that he had found the weapon inside and outside the tent. The independent.
He reportedly added that he then rinsed the ax and screwdriver in a nearby creek.
Abbey was arrested weeks after Kjersem’s death after DNA found on a beer can tied him to the scene
Kjersem, pictured with his young daughter, was described by his family as a ‘loving, helpful and adoring father who in no way deserved this’
Abbey told detectives he hit Kjersem with a log and stabbed him in the neck with a screwdriver before leaving him in a tent, claiming he did so in self-defense.
Abbey said he fled the scene and did not report it because he already has a criminal record.
He said that when he fled, he took beer and guns from the campsite and returned the next day to find a hat he thought he had lost the night of Kjersem’s death.
Police charged him with evidence tampering with his alleged actions in the days after the murder, including stealing two cellphones from Kjersem’s truck.
At a news conference after Kjersem’s body was found, his sister Jillian Price, 35, described him as a “loving, helpful and adoring father who in no way deserved this.”
The heartbroken sister reflected on the kind of person Kjersem was, as she called him “a hardworking trader.”
A GoFundMe page has since been created to raise money to support Kjersem’s children following his sudden death.