The man accused of holding a 13-year-old Wisconsin girl captive for three months after murdering her parents did not know her name until the alleged abduction, according to a criminal complaint filed on Monday.
[jwplayer Mh49qFLY]
Jake Thomas Patterson, 21, was charged yesterday in relation to the alleged kidnapping of Jayme Closs, along with the apparent slaying of her parents, James and Denise Closs, on October 15 last year.
Closs states she escaped from Patterson’s secluded cabin last Thursday before alerting a passer-by of her alleged abduction. Police arrested Patterson the same day.
NCMEC is overjoyed by the news that 13–year-old Jayme Closs from Barron, Wisconsin, has been located ALIVE after nearly 3 months, according to law enforcement
We applaud @bcsheriff and Douglas County Sheriff for their exhaustive search to bring her home! #Hope💛 pic.twitter.com/SuYwt4ePxp
— National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (@MissingKids) January 11, 2019
Patterson allegedly told investigators he planned to abduct Closs after seeing her board a school bus. He eventually returned to the Closs house with a shotgun and killed her parents, bound the girl by her hands and ankles, and put her in the trunk of his car, the complaint alleges.
Closs told authorities she was threatened to stay under a bed for extended periods of time after her abduction, and that Patterson would place items around the bed to barricade her underneath. Closs states she took the opportunity to escape from under the bed when Patterson temporarily left the premises last week.
The case garnered national headlines amid the search for the missing girl, who is now safe and staying with relatives.
Patterson was charged with two counts of first-degree intentional homicide, one count of kidnapping, and one count of armed burglary. His bail was set at nearly AUD $7 million. He’ll face court again on February 6.
