Montana man arrested for murder wrongly labeled as bear attack

A Montana hiker who was initially reported dead in a bear attack was killed by a stranger he invited to share his campsite and offered him beer, officials said.

Police say Daren Christopher Abbey, 41, was arrested and charged with murder after his DNA was found on a beer can at the crime scene.

Dustin Kjersem, 35, was reportedly killed on October 10 and was found two days later by friends who thought he had been mauled by a bear.

The two men did not know each other before the chance meeting outdoors, and no motive has yet been identified for the attack, the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

Sheriff Dan Springer said Mr. Kjersem invited his killer to share his camp, located about 35 miles (56 kilometers) south of Bozeman.

Prosecutors say that at one point, Abbey struck Kjersem with a piece of wood, then stabbed him with a screwdriver and attacked him with an axe.

The suspect allegedly later returned to the crime scene to retrieve items from the camp that he believed could link him to the murder, but did not notice the beer can.

He confessed to the killing, telling police he attacked his victim after he discovered her at the location where he planned to camp, officials said.

Police say Mr. Abbey led them to several items he stole from the camp, including an axe, a gun and a refrigerator.

“This appears to be a horrific crime committed by a man who had no regard for the life of Dustin Kjersema,” Sheriff Springer said.

“We have part of his story, but … we don’t know what the true story is,” Springer said.

During a court appearance on Friday, Mr Abbey was ordered held on $1.5 million (£1.2 million) bail.