Man who kidnapped Jayme Closs and murdered her parents faces sentencing in Wisconsin

Breaking News Emails

Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.

SUBSCRIBE

 / Updated 

By David K. Li

The Wisconsin man who admitted to kidnapping Jayme Closs and holding captive for nearly three months after murdering her parents is scheduled to be sentenced Friday afternoon when he could be ordered to spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Jake Patterson, 21 is set to appear before Barron County Circuit Court Judge James Babler at 1:30 p.m. local time.

Patterson pleaded guilty in March to two counts of intentional homicide and one charge of kidnapping. As he left the courtroom, Patterson uttered, “Bye Jayme.”

Patterson has admitted to murdering James, 56, and Denise Closs, 46, in the early morning hours of Oct. 15 at the family’s home near Barron, about 90 miles northeast of Minneapolis.

He kidnapped Jayme, then 13, and held her at his cabin in the small, isolated Town of Gordon, about 60 miles from the Closs home. Jayme was forced to live under a bed, which Patterson barricaded with storage boxes and other weights to discourage her from escaping.

But the girl finally broke free from the house on Jan. 10 after 88 days and flagged down Patterson’s neighbor Jeanne Nutter, who was out walking her dog.

Jayme Closs and her maternal aunt Sue Allard on Jan. 12, 2019.

Nutter then took Jayme to the nearby home of Kristin and Peter Kasinskas, pounded on their door, and told them: “This is Jayme Closs! Call 911!”

When he was pulled over by police, Patterson immediately gave up. He told arresting police officers: “I know what this is about. I did it.”

The killer wrote a letter to NBC Minneapolis affiliate KARE, telling a reporter he’s been cooperative with police so to spare Jayme Closs from any more questioning. He didn’t, however, fully explain why committed the grisly crime, only saying of his motive: “It’s not black and white.”

The home where 13-year-old Jayme Closs lived with her parents, James and Denise, in Barron, Wisconsin.Jerry Holt / AP

He’s told investigators that he targeted Jayme as “the girl he was going to take” after spotting her getting on a school bus near her home, according to a criminal complaint.

Patterson admitted to that he planned his crime meticulously, wearing all-black clothing, putting stolen license plates on his car and making sure he left no fingerprints on the shotgun he used to kill Jayme’s parents.

Jayme told investigators she woke up the early morning of Oct. 15 because the family’s dog was barking.

As James Closs went to investigate the car which had rolled up to their driveway, Jayme and her mom hid in the bathtub. James Closs was then killed moments later by a shotgun blast, fired by Patterson, prosecutors said.

Patterson found Jayme and her mom, and taped the girl’s mouth shut and bound her behind her back before gunning down Denise Closs, the teen has said.

He faces up to life in prison without the possibility of parole on each homicide count, and up to 25 years behind bars for kidnapping. The sentences could be served concurrently or consecutively.

Wisconsin does not have capital punishment.

source: nbcnews.com