Closs kidnapping suspect reportedly confesses in jail letter
A man accused of kidnapping 13-year-old Jayme Closs from her rural Wisconsin home in the fall after her parents were killed has purportedly written a letter from jail saying he regretted the crimes and that he committed them “mostly on impulse.”
The letter supposedly from Jake Patterson, who was arrested in January after Closs escaped from his home, was sent to KARE 11 News reporter Lou Raguse in response to questions Raguse had mailed the inmate.
Wisconsin authorities have told the news station they believe the letter, postmarked Feb. 28, is authentic. The Washington Post has not confirmed the authenticity of the letter.
Police say Patterson confessed to stalking Jayme in October and to fatally shooting her parents, James and Denise Closs, at their home in Barron, Wis., on Oct. 15. According to a police complaint, he then kidnapped Jayme and kept her captive at his cabin, about 65 miles to the north, for nearly three months — until she escaped on Jan. 10.
The letter seems to express remorse and confusion over the crimes, which set off a massive search for the missing teen and shook the state’s residents for months as they went unsolved.
“I knew when I was caught (which I thought would happen a lot sooner) I wouldn’t fight anything,” the letter says. “I tried to give [police] everything ... so they didn’t have to interview Jayme. They did anyways and hurt her more for no reason.”
The letter claims that the writer planned to plead guilty later this month so her relatives wouldn’t have to “worry about a trial.” In response to various questions about his motives for carrying out such crimes, the letter writer told Raguse it was “not black and white.”
“I can’t believe I did this,” the letter says. “... It was really stupid though looking back . ... I didn’t ‘want’ to . ... The reason I did this is complicated.”
On the back of the letter, according to an image posted by KARE 11 News, are large bubble letters: “I’m Sorry Jayme! For everything. I know it doesn’t mean much.”
Patterson has been charged with two counts of intentional homicide and one count each of kidnapping and armed burglary. He is being held at the Polk County Jail on $5 million bail.
The letter accused the police of misrepresentation.
“The cops say I planned this thoroughly, and that I said that,” the letter says. “... Trying to cover up their mistakes I guess. This was mostly on impulse. I don’t think like a serial killer.”