Suspect accused in dad’s camping murder ‘cut off’ from self-defense claim after backtracking on confession

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Sister of Montana homicide victim speaks about her brother

Jillian Price, sister of Montana homicide victim Dustin Kjersem, spoke to Fox News Digital about the loss of her brother, the ongoing homicide investigation and her plea to help investigators find a suspect.

The suspect in the murder of a Montana dad and avid outdoorsman pleaded not guilty in court on Tuesday after allegedly claiming self-defense in his confession to police, which both the Gallatin County Attorney’s Office and the suspect’s defense team confirmed with Fox News Digital.  

Daren Christopher Abbey appeared in court in the “heinous” killing of 35-year-old Dustin Kjersem, who was found bludgeoned in his tent near Big Sky, Montana, in October. 

During Tuesday’s hearing, Abbey “attempted to speak on the self-defense claim” he previously made, but he “was cut off by the counsel in court,” his newly appointed attorneys told Fox News Digital. They did not provide further information on what Abbey tried to say during the hearing. 

CAMPING MURDER SUSPECT CLAIMED DOG LED TO TENT KILLING: DOCS

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

Abbey, 41, was charged with deliberate homicide and tampering with evidence, records show. The Gallatin County Attorney’s Office does not intend on pursuing the death penalty, the County Attorney’s Office confirmed. 

The suspect told police that he killed Kjersem in “self-defense” on Oct. 10 after Kjersem had offered him a beer, according to charging documents. 

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

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Kjersem arrived in the Moose Creek area, near Big Sky, on Thursday, Oct. 10, and set up camp. His girlfriend told police that he was supposed to pick her up on Friday evening, Oct. 11, after she finished work, but when he didn’t show up or respond to her text messages, she got worried and went to search for him with a friend on Saturday morning, Oct. 12. 

At the campsite, she found him dead in the tent. It was initially believed that Kjersem died from a bear attack until authorities determined it was a homicide. 

In talking with law enforcement, Kjersem’s girlfriend told police that “he’s not the type of person that gets into confrontations,” according to documents.

CAMPING MURDER SUSPECT CLAIMED SELF-DEFENSE THOUGH VICTIM OFFERED HIM BEER

Daren Christopher Abbey has been charged with killing Montana dad Dustin Kjersem. (Montana Department of Corrections)

Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer previously described the homicide as a “chance encounter,” adding that Kjersem welcomed his alleged killer to the campsite and offered him a beer.  

During his confession, Abbey told authorities that at one point his dog jumped onto Kjersem’s air mattress, leaving muddy paw prints all over it. He said he apologized to Kjersem and cleaned the paw prints off the mattress. 

The suspect alleged “Kjersem stated he was going to shoot his dog and then was going to kill him,” according to court documents. Abbey claimed Kjersem came at him, so he “tangled” with him.

BEER CAN USED TO TRACK SUSPECT IN DAD’S CAMPING TRIP MURDER: POLICE

Condos and housing are seen in the mountains around the Big Sky Ski Resort in south central Montana, where homicide suspect Daren Abbey allegedly made employees feel “uncomfortable.” (Don & Melinda Crawford/Education Images/Universal Images Group)

Abbey allegedly “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,” according to charging documents. 

Abbey confessed that he washed the axe and screwdriver in a creek, court records show. He also allegedly admitted to taking two cellphones that belonged to Kjersem, along with his axe, adding that he wiped the phones because he was worried his fingerprints may be on them. He told authorities that he returned to the crime scene the day after the killing to retrieve his beanie he left behind and make sure there “were no loose ends.” 

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“This is the behavior of a guilty subject who thought they could get away with murder,” Springer previously said. 

During their investigation, authorities learned that Abbey made employees at the popular Big Sky Resort and a nearby restaurant feel “uncomfortable” for talking about his past prison time and making “white supremacist comments,” according to court records.

Dustin Kjersem, shown here with his daughter, was killed while camping near Big Sky, Mont. (GoFundMe)

Kjersem leaves behind a grieving family, including his daughter, stepson and three older sisters who “adored him,” according to an online obituary. 

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

When asked what she hopes others will remember about her brother, Price said, “I wish they could have heard his laugh, but I just hope they know just how caring he was.”

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Daren Abbey reserved a bond hearing for a later date during his arraignment hearing on Tuesday, his attorneys told Fox News Digital. 

Mollie Markowitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Email tips to mollie.markowitz@fox.com. She joined Fox in 2019 and made her way from producing live news coverage to true-crime documentaries at Fox Nation. She has interviewed Ted Bundy survivors, the children of notorious serial killers, survivor Lisa McVey, members of law enforcement and families impacted by traumatic crime.Currently, she covers national crime stories for Fox News Digital. You can follow Mollie on LinkedIn.