Closs suspect bound for trial
Jake Patterson waives preliminary hearing in homicides, kidnapping.
BARRON - Jake Patterson, accused of kidnapping Jayme Closs after murdering her parents, appeared in person Wednesday in Barron County Circuit Court. He waived his preliminary hearing and was bound over for trial.
Patterson, in orange Barron County Jail coveralls, responded to Circuit Judge James Babler’s questions Wednesday with one-word answers. He said, “uh, yes” when the judge asked if he understood that he is charged with felonies, that he had a right to a hearing, and whether he still wanted to waive it.
Fidgeting slightly in his chair, he responded “no” when Babler asked if he wanted a preliminary hearing.
Otherwise, the 21-year-old Patterson said little. A family member in the courtroom’s front row said what sounded like “I love you” as sheriff’s officials escorted him into the courtroom; Patterson nodded in response.
Babler set a March 27 date for Patterson to return to court for arraignment, and adjourned the hearing 3 minutes, 18 seconds after Patterson entered the courtroom.
It was the first time Patterson had appeared in person in the room. During his initial court hearing Jan. 14 he appeared via video from the county jail.
Neither prosecutor Brian Wright nor Patterson’s defense lawyers, assistant state public defenders Charles Glynn and Richard Jones, answered questions from reporters after Wednesday’s hearing.
Nor did members of Patterson’s family, nor more than a dozen relatives and supporters of Jayme Closs who attended. She has been staying with relatives since the day after she escaped Jan. 10 following 88 days in captivity, during which she said Patterson forced her to stay quiet beneath a bed when he had visitors.
Reached by telephone later, Jayme’s uncle said the family remains upbeat.
“The family is doing fine,” said Michael Closs, the brother of Jayme’s father, James. “Jayme is doing real well. We are really confident in the court system.”
Family friend Michelle Saffert told CBS News this week that the teenager is spending time with loved ones, receiving therapy and is healing.
By waiting the preliminary hearing, Patterson acknowledged that there is enough evidence for a case to go to trial without admitting guilt. Patterson faces four charges:
❚ Two counts of first-degree intentional homicide: He’s accused of killing Jayme’s 56-year-old father, James, and her mother, Denise, 46, with a 12-gauge shotgun on Oct. 15. Denise and Jayme had taken refuge in a bathroom after James Closs was mortally wounded by a blast fired through the front door.
❚ Kidnapping: Prosecutors say Patterson took 13-year-old Jayme from her house without her consent, then confined her against her will at his house, 70 miles north of Barron in rural Douglas County, for nearly three months.
❚ Armed burglary of the Closs house.