(NewsNation) — DNA from a beer can led Montana police to a suspect who later confessed to beating and killing a man whose death was first reported as a possible bear attack.

Police on Thursday announced the arrest of Daren Christopher Abbey, of Basin, Montana, in connection with the death of 35-year-old Belgrade man Dustin Mitchell Kjersem. Investigators described the situation as a “chance encounter” and said Abbey returned to the scene the next day to remove evidence.

Abbey is charged with deliberate homicide and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence of a crime. The most serious offense — deliberate homicide — is punishable by a minimum of 10 years in prison or a maximum life sentence.

He confessed to the act during police interviews Thursday, Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer said. Abbey remained in custody Friday at the Gallatin County Jail without bond, booking records show.

“This appears to be a heinous crime committed by an individual who had no regard for the life of Dustin Kjersem,” Springer said.

A camping trip and ‘chance encounter’

The investigation began Oct. 12 when Kjersem’s girlfriend found him dead inside his tent on Moose Creek Road, north of Big Sky. Witnesses at the time suggested a bear may have attacked him, Springer said.

Preliminary autopsy results revealed Kjersem suffered “multiple chop wounds,” including into his skull. With no signs that a bear was involved, police labeled the case a homicide investigation.

Kjersem had arrived in the Moose Creek area on Oct. 10 to set up camp. He planned to drive back to the valley Friday evening to pick up his girlfriend so they could spend the weekend together.

Kjersem never showed up. Concerned, his girlfriend drove to the campsite on Oct. 12 and found Kjersem’s body in a tent.

“By all accounts, this homicide appears to be a chance encounter,” Springer said. “There does not appear to be any connection between our victim and our suspect.”

Suspect’s reported confession to police

The sheriff said Abbey confessed to killing Kjersem and said he was planning on camping at the exact location where Kjersem was staying. When Abbey arrived at the site, Kjersem invited Abbey to join him and offered him a beer, Springer said.

At some point, Abbey hit Kjersem in the head with a piece of wood, stabbed him in the neck with a screwdriver and hit him with an ax, police said. A possible motivation for the attack is unclear.

Afterward, Abbey took several items from the campsite that may have tied him to the killing and returned the next day to remove more items, Springer said.

“This is the behavior of a guilty subject who thought they could get away with murder,” the sheriff said.

Abbey was on conditional release for a drunken driving conviction at the time of his arrest, according to Montana Department of Corrections records. Booking information reports that Abbey has an Iron Cross and swastika tattoo as well as SS lightning bolts.

The investigation into the killing remains ongoing as Springer said his team is working to build a better picture of the events that evening.

A father and outdoorsman

Kjersem was an avid hunter, fisherman and member of the Big Sky Youth Empowerment Project, according to his obituary. He leaves behind a young daughter.

“His home resembled an elementary classroom because he hung everything they made,” the man’s obituary read. “Dustin would send pictures of their work, as if his kids had just painted the Mona Lisa.”

A woman who identified herself as Kjersem’s mother commented on the sheriff’s department’s Facebook page, thanking them for finding her son’s killer.

“You have brought us a little bit of closure,” she wrote.