A Wisconsin man was sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping 13-year-old Jayme Closs and killing her parents.
Jayme was taken and held hostage by 21-year-old #JakePatterson for 88 days in a remote cabin. The man was sentenced on Friday but pleaded guilty to the crimes back in March. Patterson admitted to abducting the girl in October. After killing the girl’s parents in their home near Barron, the man took her to his cabin in Gordon, a town about 60 miles away from her home. Jayme escaped from Patterson’s cabin in January.
In a statement read in court, Jayme said Patterson “thought that he could own me, but he’s wrong. I was smarter.” She said she wanted to see Patterson “locked up forever.” The guardian read the statement on behalf of Jayme, who was not present for the trial. The man was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release on each homicide count and 25 years in prison on the kidnapping count, The Chicago Tribune reported. The sentences will be served consecutively. The death penalty is not an option in Wisconsin.
Authorities say Patterson told them Jayme “was the girl he was going to take” after he saw her getting on a school bus near her home, according to a criminal complaint. According to what Patterson told the police, he plotted to kidnap Jayme by wearing all-black clothing, putting stolen license plates on his car and making sure he left no fingerprints. On the night of the adduction, the family’s dog woke Jayme, who went to alert her parents. As Patterson’s car came up the driveway, the father went towards the front door. When Patterson came through the door, he shot Jayme’s father, James Closs. Jayme’s mother, Denise Closs, was hiding in the bathroom tub with Jayme. Afterwards, he found Jayme and her mother, telling detectives he wrapped tape around Jayme’s mouth and head, taped her hands behind her back and taped her ankles together, then shot her mother in the head. Patterson says he dragged Jayme outside and threw her in the trunk.
While with Patterson he forced Jayme to hide underneath his bed when he had visitors and penned her in with tote boxes and weights, warning that if she moved, “bad things could happen to her,” according to the complaint. He would also turn the volume up on his radio so no one could hear her. Police were able to collect over 3,500 tips but searched for the girl for months. Jayme escaped on Jan. 10 and was able to catch the attention of a woman walking her dog. Police arrested Patterson shortly after.
