BOZEMAN — A Gallatin County jury has convicted Daren Abbey on charges of deliberate homicide and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence in the killing of Dustin Kjersem. The verdict came Monday afternoon after six days of testimony and three hours of jury deliberations.

The trial began last week at the Gallatin County Justice Center. Prosecutors accused Abbey of murdering Kjersem in October 2024 at a Moose Creek campsite near Big Sky and attempting to hide evidence afterward. According to charging documents, Kjersem had arrived in the Moose Creek area and set up camp. When he failed to return to town the next day, his girlfriend went to the campsite and found him dead in his tent. Detectives reported “chop-like” injuries to his body. His death was first thought to have been cause

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