Jayme Closs Abductor Pleads Guilty To Kidnapping Her & Killing Both Her Parents

According to a criminal complaint, Jake Patterson told detectives that he became fixated on Jayme after he saw her getting onto a school bus.

March 28, 2019
Jayme Closs; Jake Patterson [Barron County Sheriff's Office]

Photo by: Jayme Closs [FBI]; Jake Thomas Patterson [Barron County Sheriff’s Department]

Jayme Closs [FBI]; Jake Thomas Patterson [Barron County Sheriff’s Department]

By: Catherine Townsend

Related To:

BARRON, WI — Jake Thomas Patterson, the man who kidnapped 13-year-old Jayme Closs after brutally killing her parents, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to charges of intentional homicide and kidnapping.

The 21-year-old entered his plea in a Wisconsin courtroom on Wednesday. Patterson fatally shot Jayme’s parents, Denise Closs, 46; and James Closs, 56; on October 15 before abducting the teen.

According to a criminal complaint, Patterson told detectives that he became fixated on Jayme after he saw her getting onto a school bus. Patterson then broke into the family home and shot Jayme’s father at the front door — and then made his way to the bathroom, where he found the teen and her mother hiding.

He pulled them apart and then shot Denise before binding Jayme with tape and forcing her into the trunk of his vehicle. Patterson then held Jayme hostage for 88 days at a cabin outside of Gordon, Wisconsin, before she was able to escape on January 10. During her time with Patterson, according to the complaint, Jayme was deprived of food, water, and access to the bathroom.

The two intentional homicide charges carry a life sentence, according to People. For the kidnapping charges, Patterson faces a maximum sentence of 40 years. In return for his pleas to three charges in Barron County, Patterson will not be charged with crimes in Douglas County. He is due to be sentenced on May 24.

Patterson’s attorney Richard Jones said in court that his client has “always been consistent in his statements and his beliefs that this is exactly what he wants to do” and added that Patterson was making the plea deal voluntarily.

Read more: People

Next Up

Colorado Teen Shot And Killed While Filming A TikTok Video

On Aug. 7, 2022, Aaliyah Annalyse Ranee Sanchez, 14, was fatally shot while recording a TikTok video with two other girls.

FedEx Driver Charged With Murder After 7-Year-Old Went Missing From Outside Her Texas Home

On Nov. 30, 2022, Athena Strand went missing from her front yard. Two days later, her body was found and 31-year-old Tanner Lynn Horner was charged with her murder.

UPDATE: Fugitive Leticia Smith from ‘In Pursuit With John Walsh’ Captured In Mexico

Authorities confirm former fugitive, Leticia Smith was extradited from Mexico to California. Smith will face charges for allegedly killing her husband, Antione Smith.

True Crime News Roundup: Teen With ‘Infectiously Positive Aura’ Fatally Stabbed While Tubing Down Wisconsin River

Plus: Georgia college professor accused of killing incoming freshman; jury awards two parents of slain Sandy Hook first grader $4.1 million; South Carolina couple arrested for 2010 cold case murder in Kansas; four Kentucky officers federally charged in connection with Breonna Taylor’s death.

Amber Alert Canceled After Abducted 13-Year-Old Girl Escapes Kidnapper

A 13-year-old girl was kidnapped from her home in Reading, Pennsylvania on Aug. 31, 2022. Later that day, the girl was found over a hundred miles away.

Quebec Prisoner With 89 Convictions Charged In Young Girl’s 1994 Murder

Nearly 30 years after the body of 10-year-old Marie-Chantale Desjardins was found behind a shopping center, 61-year-old Réal Courtemanche has been charged with her murder.

Teens Arrested In Shooting Death Of Tennessee High School Class President

17-year-old Christine Michael had recently left a basketball game when someone began shooting at the car in which she was riding on Feb. 10.

Colorado Man Allegedly Kills Teen Coworker In Break Room After She Rejected His Advances

Riley Whitelaw, 17, had previously expressed concerns about her 28-year-old coworker Joshua Johnson, whom she said made her feel uncomfortable.

DNA Ties Two Virginia College Students’ Homicides To ‘Back-To-School Killer’

One victim’s mother called Jesse Matthew Jr. "a serial rapist and murderer who had been hiding in plain sight."

Navajo Nation Girl Assaulted, Killed After Man Kidnapped Her While She Was Playing

Tom Begaye Jr. left the 11-year-old child to die in the desert after “repeatedly hitting her on the head and face with a tire iron.”