BOZEMAN, Mont. — On Friday, a 41-year-old Montana man was initially charged with murder in a brutal killing at a remote campground. a possible bear mauling the people who found the victim’s body.
The alleged suspect told authorities he arrived at the campsite in Big Sky, Montana on October 10th to spend the night, only to find it occupied by 35-year-old Dustin Kjersem.
Kjersem, who did not know the suspect, welcomed him to the campsite and offered him a beer, according to Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer.
But sometime later, the suspect, motivated by an unknown motive, hit Kjersem with a piece of wood, stabbed him in the neck with a screwdriver and hit him with an ax, Springer said.
The victim’s girlfriend and another friend found his body on October 12 and reported it as a possible bear attack. The killing became an investigation after wildlife officers found no sign of a bear in the area.
After matching the suspect’s DNA found on a beer can at the campground, he was found and arrested this week in Butte, Montana, Springer said.
He was being held on $1.5 million bail, according to sheriff’s department records.
