Self-described white supremacist charged in brutal killing of camper in Montana, claiming victim ‘tried to kill me’

A self-described white supremacist charged with killing a man in a tent in southwest Montana has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, claiming self-defense, while investigators say there are inconsistencies in the defendant’s story.

Daren Christopher AbbeyThe 41-year-old told District Judge Peter Ohman on Tuesday: “I definitely plead not guilty. Dustin Kjersem tried to kill me,” the Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported. He also pleaded not guilty to tampering with evidence.

Kjersem’s death was in October It was originally reported as a bear attack after his girlfriend found his body in a tent south of Bozeman near Big Sky on Oct. 12.

Investigators found shot glasses and beer cans in the tent, indicating that someone else had been with Kjersem on October 10th. DNA testing on a beer can produced a match to two people in the state’s crime database, Daren Abbey and someone believed to be Abbey’s twin brother, court records say. The brother was excluded because he was serving a prison sentence.

Abbey told investigators that 35-year-old Kjersem threatened him and his dog with a gun and that he attacked Kjersem first with a block of wood and then with a screwdriver in the neck. Abbey initially refused to tell investigators he used an axe Also involved in the attack, court documents say. He also told officers that he found the ax both inside and outside the tent. He told officers he washed the ax and screwdriver away in the creek, court documents say.

Abbey said he didn’t report the fight because he had a criminal record. He admitted taking a cooler full of beer and guns from the crime scene and then returning the next day to look for a hat he believed he had left there. He told investigators he also took two cellphones and items from Kjersem’s truck, according to charging documents.

Investigator said previously An axe, shotgun, revolver and cooler were believed to have been removed from the scene.

An inmate information document released by Gallatin County says Abbey lists an organizational connection to white supremacists, while state Department of Corrections records say his tattoos include an Iron Cross with a swastika.

Abbey is being held on $1.5 million bail.

Kjersem’s sister, Jillian Price, said her brother was a skilled craftsman and a loving father.

A GoFundMe for Kjersem’s children has raised more than $37,000.