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By Doha Madani
The man accused of kidnapping Wisconsin teenager Jayme Closs and holding her for nearly three months has apologized to Jayme in a letter he wrote to a NBC-affiliate station. Jake Patterson, 21, also indicated in his letter that he planned to plead guilty.
Kare 11 reporter Lou Raguse in Minneapolis received a letter from Patterson postmarked Feb. 28. In it, Patterson answered questions Raguse had previously sent about Jayme’s kidnapping from her family’s home in Barron, Wisconsin, on Oct. 15.
Patterson is also accused of killing the teen’s parents.
He wrote that he provided police as much detail as he did “so they didn’t have to interview Jayme. They did anyways and hurt her more for no reason.”
“I knew when I was caught (which I thought would happen a lot sooner) I wouldn’t fight anything,” Patterson wrote.
Jayme, 13, was declared missing after police found her parents shot to death while responding to a 911 call. She was found 88 days later after escaping Patterson’s home in Douglas County, Wisconsin, about an hour north from where she went missing.
Patterson has been charged with her kidnapping and the deaths of James Closs, 56, and his wife Denise, 46.
The news station reported that Patterson’s attorney, Charles Glynn, could not confirm or deny the letter. The lawyer said he not spoken with Patterson directly about the letter, Kare 11 reported.
The reporter asked about Patterson’ motivation for wanting to kidnap the teen, his response: “It’s not black and white.”
Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald said in January after Jayme was found that Patterson, “had specific intentions to kidnap Jayme, and went to great lengths to prepare to take her.”
“The cops say I planned this thoroughly, and that I said that,” Patterson wrote. “They’re really good at twisting your words around, put them in different spots, straight up lie. Little mad about that. Trying to cover up their mistakes I guess. This was mostly on impulse. I don’t think like a serial killer.”
Fitzgerald told KARE 11 that he was aware of Patterson’s letter to the station and that outgoing correspondence from inmates is reviewed before it is mailed.
Though Patterson said he intends to enter a guilty plea at his next court appearance, he has not yet been convicted of the charges against him. He wrote that he doesn’t want Jayme or her family “to worry about a trial.”
His arraignment date is set for March 27.
“The reason I did this is complicated,” Patterson wrote. “No one will believe or can even imagine how sorry I am for hurting Jayme this much. Can’t express it.”
Patterson wrote on the back of his letter, “I’m Sorry Jayme! For everything. I know it doesn’t mean much.
KARE 11 informed Jayme’s aunt and legal guardian, Jennifer Smith, who said the family did not wish to speak on camera.
The full transcript of Patterson’s letter can be read on KARE 11.