BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) – A self-described white man accused of killing a man in a tent in southwestern Montana has pleaded not guilty to first degree murder and self-defense, but investigators say there are inconsistencies in the defendant’s case.
Daren Christopher Abbey, 41, told District Court Judge Peter Ohman on Tuesday: “I’m absolutely innocent. Dustin Kjersem tried to kill me,” the Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported. He also said he is not guilty of tampering with evidence.
Kjersem’s death in October was first ruled a bear attack after his girlfriend found his body in a tent south of Bozeman near Big Sky on Oct. 12.
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Investigators found shot glasses and beer cans in the tent that indicated someone had been with Kjersem on Oct. 10. DNA testing on the alcohol could match two people in the state’s criminal database, Daren Abbey and a person believed to be Abbey’s twin, in court. the text says. The brother was said not to be outside because he was swearing in prison.
Abbey told investigators that Kjersem, 35, threatened her and her dog with a gun and attacked Kjersem, starting with a wooden stick and then stabbing her in the throat with a screwdriver. Abbey initially failed to tell investigators that he used the ax in the attack again, court records say. He also told the police that he found an ax inside and outside the tent. He told police he washed the ax and screwdriver in the stream, court records state.
Abbey said he didn’t announce the fight because he had a record. He admitted that he took a cooler of beer and a gun from the crime scene and then returned the next day to look for beans that he thought might have been stolen. He told investigators he also took two cellphones and items from Kjersem’s truck, charging documents say.
An inmate information document released by Gallatin County says Abbey posted a white bond, while the Department of Records records his record includes a metal cross with a swastika.
Abbey was held on $1.5 million bail.