Suspect confesses to killing Closs’ parents and abducting teen

BARRON, Wis. — The young man accused of fatally shooting Jayme Closs’ parents in their western Wisconsin home and holding their 13year-old daughter captive for nearly three months first spotted the teen by chance as she boarded her school bus one morning and “knew that was the girl he was going to take,” according to a criminal complaint filed Monday.

And yet Jake T. Patterson took extraordinary measures to plan and execute his crimes, the charges revealed, later telling police he assumed he got away with his deed.

Patterson, 21, was charged with two counts of first-degree intentional homicide, kidnapping and armed burglary in connection with the killings and abduction in the early hours of Oct. 15 at the Closs home on the outskirts of town.

A jailed Patterson appeared Monday afternoon via video hookup in Barron County District Court, where he heard the charges against him in connection with the deaths of James and Denise Closs and the abduction of Jayme, who sought help along a road near Gordon upon escape.

Judge James Babler agreed with the prosecution and set bail at $5 million for Patterson, pointing out the seriousness of the charges, the prospect of spending life in prison if convicted and the great lengths the defendant went to to conceal the crimes while a fugitive. The defense requested an unspecified lesser amount.

Decked in full jail orange, Patterson sat at a table with a member of his defense team to his right and the charging document in front of him over the nine-minute hearing and answered every question from the judge calmly and with full understanding. He sat with his hands folded at his waist, adjusting his glasses and rubbing his face.

Prosecutors also said Monday afternoon that additional charges based on unspecified allegations could be coming out of Douglas County, where the Patterson property is located, before the defendant is back in Barron County Circuit Court in Barron on Feb. 6.

The charges say Patterson confessed to the crimes under law enforcement questioning a few hours after his capture.

Jayme remained a secret captive — even as Patterson’s father and others visited — until she escaped Thursday afternoon from his home near Gordon about an hour north of Barron.

Patterson was arrested in his car shortly afterward, not far from the home where he allegedly held Jayme.

“I did it,” Patterson said as he stepped out of the car, the complaint read. Authorities say they believe he was looking for her at the time he was pulled over.

The charges say Patterson also told authorities the night of his capture that as he drove to his job at Saputo Cheese Factory in a nearby town, he stopped behind a school bus on Hwy. 8 and saw Jayme board. He didn’t know who she was, nor did he know anything about her or her family.

For some reason, “when he saw (Jayme), he knew that was the girl he was going to take,” the criminal complaint read.