Jake Patterson has confessed to murdering James and Denise Closs and kidnapping their 13-year-old daughter Jayme according to a criminal complaint released Monday.
The complaint states that Patterson, 21, told police he first saw Closs while driving to his job at the Saputo Cheese Factory. He watched her get on a school bus and told detectives that while he didn’t know who she was or how many people lived at her house, he knew “she was the girl he was going to take.”
Military records show that Patterson received an early discharge from the Marines in 2015. A Marine spokesperson said his discharge papers indicate and indicate “the character of his service was incongruent with Marine Corps’ expectations and standards." Patterson appeared in court via video conference from the Barron County Jail. He was ordered held on $5 million bail on charges of first degree intentional homicide, kidnapping, and armed burglary. If convicted, he faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
The complaint includes testimony from Closs herself, who describes the night she was kidnapped.
Closs states that on October 15, she was woken by her dog when Patterson drove into their driveway. When her father went to the door he was shot. She and her mother hid in the bathtub where her mother called 911. Dressed in black from head to toe, including a mask, hat, and gloves, Patterson instructed Denise Closs to tape her daughter’s mouth shut. After she did, he shot her to death.
He then bound Jayme Closs' wrists and ankles and put her into the trunk of his car and drove her to his home about two hours away, where she was held captive for nearly three months before escaping. Closs told detectives that Patterson made her hide under his bed when friends or relatives visited, stacking baskets and totes filled with weights around the bed so he would hear her if she tried to escape. He would make her stay under the bed for up to 12 hours at a time without food, water, or bathroom access and on at least one occasion hit her "really hard."
On January 10, when Patterson left the house, Closs crawled out from underneath the bed, put on a pair of her captor's shoes and made her way to the road where she saw Jeanne Nutter walking her dog, and asked for help. They went to the closest house and called 911.
Patterson was arrested shortly after – police have stated they believe he was searching for Jayme when he was apprehended.
This is an ongoing story and will be updated.