As new details continue to unfold surrounding the three-month-long captivity of Wisconsin girl Jayme Closs, the father of her suspected kidnapper is letting the Closs family know he’s on their side.
‘You Gotta Help Me’: Audio from Jayme Closs 911 Call Released
Last Thursday, Jake Thomas Patterson, 21, was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping Closs and murdering her parents. Patterson, who had no prior criminal record, was charged Monday with two counts of first-degree intentional homicide as well as kidnapping and armed burglary.
The young man’s father, Patrick Patterson, appeared at his son’s arraignment on Monday, initially seating himself of the prosecution side, before a deputy requested that he move to the defense side, CNN reported.
Why did he write the letter?
On Tuesday, he arrived at the Barron County Justice Center to deliver a handwritten note to the Closs family.
“All I care about right now is Jayme’s family. I want to get them a note,” Patrick Patterson told CNN’s Jean Casarez.
After declining to provide further details on the letter, he apologized for not being able to say more.
“I’m sorry, I can’t talk,” he said multiple times, trembling with emotion, before a deputy escorted him away.
As a judge read the charges against his son Monday, Patrick Patterson sobbed aloud, according to CNN.
A neighbor, who requested anonymity, said the suspect’s mom, Deborah Frey, is “devastated.”
“She can’t wrap her head around it,” the neighbor told CNN.
Jake Patterson’s chilling confession
Court filings released this week revealed Jake Patterson orchestrated his plan to kidnap Jayme after randomly seeing her get on her school bus one day. In fact, it wasn’t until after abducting her last fall that Patterson even learned Jayme’s name.
He told police he “never would have been caught if he would have planned everything perfectly.”
But Patterson was able to elude police for quite some time — even when they crossed paths the very night of Jayme’s parents’ murder and her abduction.
According to the criminal complaint filed Monday, police drove past just one vehicle traveling in the opposite direction on their way to the Closs household, where they discovered the bodies of Jayme’s parents.
Officers crossed paths with an older red car, believed to be a Ford Taurus, which yielded to squad cars as they passed by. Jayme, with her wrists and ankles tied and tape over her mouth, was in the trunk of the car.
Police were about 20 seconds too late.
However, if he would have encountered authorities, Patterson told investigators he “most likely would have shot at the police” with the loaded shotgun sitting in the passenger seat next to him.
Where do things stand for Patterson?
Patterson is currently being held in Barron County on $5 million bail. He is scheduled to reappear in court next month.
Please continue to pray for the Closs family as Jayme begins the difficult transition to her new normal, and pray for the devastated parents of her captor.