Man with white supremacist ties convicted in campground killing first reported as bear attack

BOZEMAN, Mont. (TCN) — A man with ties to white supremacist groups has been found guilty of deliberate homicide and tampering with evidence in the 2024 killing of another man at a remote campsite.

A jury found Daren Christopher Abbey guilty in the 2024 death of Dustin Kjersem, the Gallatin County Attorney’s Office said in statement Nov. 12.

Investigators say Abbey, then 41, met Kjersem at a campground near Big Sky, Montana, on Oct. 10, 2024, according to the statement. 

Abbey told authorities he arrived to find the site he planned to use was occupied by someone else, The Associated Press reported at the time. Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer said Kjersem was welcoming toward Abbey and offered to share a beer with him, the outlet said.

After reportedly having drinks in Kjersem’s tent, Abbey attacked Kjersem with a block of wood, an ax, and a screwdriver before fleeing with Kjersem’s firearms, cooler, and cellphone, prosecutors said.

The Associated Press reports Kjersem’s girlfriend and a friend found his body and reported his death as a bear attack. When no sign of a bear was found, it became a homicide investigation. Abbey’s DNA was recovered from a beer can at the scene, according to the county attorney’s office.

Abbey initially claimed he had acted in self-defense, but there were allegedly inconsistencies in his story, the AP says. 

The AP also reports that an inmate said Abbey was affiliated with white supremacist groups and allegedly has a tattoo of a swastika, according to records from State Department of Corrections.

Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 30. Abbey will remain in custody pending the hearing.

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