BOZEMAN — A jury has convicted Daren Christopher Abbey on charges of deliberate homicide and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence in the killing of Dustin Kjersem. The verdict came Monday afternoon after six days of testimony and three hours of jury deliberations.
Prosecutors accused Abbey of murdering Kjersem in October 2024 at a Moose Creek campsite near Big Sky and attempting to hide evidence afterward. According to charging documents, Kjersem had arrived in the Moose Creek area and set up camp. When he failed to return to town the next day, his girlfriend went to the campsite and found him dead in his tent.
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Detectives reported “chop-like” injuries to his body. His death was first thought to have been caused by a bear attack, but an autopsy performed days later determined it was homicide.
Investigators collected items from the scene, including beer cans and shot glasses, and sent them to the Montana Crime Lab.
DNA testing tied the evidence to Abbey and his twin brother Dustin, who was incarcerated at the time. After identifying Daren as a suspect, Butte police detained him on a probation violation.
Court documents say he confessed to killing Kjersem, but claimed it was in self-defense.
Abbey allegedly said he struck Kjersem on the head with a piece of firewood, stabbed him in the neck with a screwdriver, and hit him on the face with the blunt side of an axe.
Charging documents also say Abbey admitted to taking multiple items that had his fingerprints on them, including two coolers, a .44 magnum pistol and holster, a shotgun, and a shotgun ammunition sleeve. He reportedly admitted to washing the axe and screwdriver in the creek.
On the final day of the trial, the courtroom filled early as attorneys delivered closing arguments. Prosecutors told jurors Abbey should be found guilty because he tried to hide evidence, showing photos of Abbey posing with firearms they said were stolen from Kjersem after the killing.
Prosecutors also argued Abbey used excessive force.
“He said in his interview he was aiming for his head,” the prosecutor said. “You may find in deliberation that it was spot on. It was accurate and it was hard and it was powerful.”
The prosecutor added that November 10, the day of the verdict, would have been Kjersem’s 37th birthday.
Abbey’s defense attorney argued that he acted in self-defense after being threatened at gunpoint, saying, “Fear hit and adrenaline surged as Daren Abbey faced a gun threatening him and his dog.”
The defense also criticized the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office, telling jurors the investigation and handling of evidence was flawed, asking, “When can we, the people, trust law enforcement?”
The jury began deliberating at 11:30 a.m. Monday and returned a guilty verdict shortly after 2:30 p.m. Abbey’s sentencing is scheduled for December 30.
