BARRON COUNTY -- At a hearing today, May 24, 2019, Barron County Hon. James Babler ordered Jake Patterson to serve two life prison terms without the possibility for parole in the double-homicide of James and Denise Closs.
In addition, Patterson received a sentence of 40 years for the kidnapping of Jayme Closs.
Relatives of the Closs family gave statements to the Court regarding the impact that the deaths of James & Denise and the kidnapping of Jayme had on them.
The Guardian Ad Litem for Jayme Closs read a statement from her to the Court in which Jayme stated that she is smarter than Patterson, that she will go on to do great things, and that Patterson does not have any power over her.
Barron County District Attorney Brian Wright made a lengthy argument to the Court requesting life in prison on each count of Homicide, with a maximum sentence of 40 years on the charge of kidnapping to run consecutively to the life sentences.
All those who spoke requested that the Court sentence Patterson to the maximum sentence.
Patterson previously plead guilty to these charges at a hearing on March 27, 2019.
Backstory
Charges were filed against Patterson in January 2019 following the culmination of a nearly 3 month long investigation into the disappearance of Jayme Closs and the double-homicide of her parents.
On October 15, 2018, Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald issued a press release notifying the public that Jayme Closs was missing. Jayme’s parents had found deceased at their residence. Within a matter of days, Sheriff Fitzgeraldannounced that the deaths of James and Denise Closs had been ruled homicides. The FBI quickly became involved in the investigation into Jayme’s kidnapping and the deaths of her parents.
Hundreds of tips poured in over the next 3 months as law enforcement continued the search for Jayme Closs with the FBI taking the search nationwide. On October 26, 2018, DrydenWire.com reported that the Jennio Turkey Store announced that it was offering a $50,000 reward to bring Jayme home.
On January 10, 2019 Sheriff Fitzgerald announced that Jayme Closs had been found alive and would be returning home.
Jayme managed to escape from a residence near Gordon, WI, where Patterson had taken her following the homicides of her parents. Patterson had concealed Jayme at the residence, keeping her locked inside a bedroom.
Within minutes after Jayme escaped and made contact with a neighbor who was walking outside, Patterson returned to the area of the residence and was taken into custody by law enforcement who responded to the area upon the report of Jayme being found.
According to a criminal complaint filed against Patterson, he had spotted Jayme while passing her residence when she was getting off a school bus. Patterson stated that when he saw her, he knew she was the one he would take.
Patterson told investigators that he put Gorilla brand tape over Jayme’s mouth, wrapping it entirely around her head and also bound her wrists and ankles with tape before shooting Denise in front of Jayme and then dragging Jayme to his vehicle outside. He then placed Jayme in the trunk and drove to the residence near Gordon.
Patterson also told Investigators that he was determined to take Jayme that night and that he was prepared to kill anyone in the residence because he knew he could not leave any eye witnesses.
DrydenWire.com published a release on January 28, 2019, from the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office stating that no criminal charges are to be filed in the immediate future against Patterson for the events that occurred in Douglas County pertaining to Jayme Closs’s kidnapping.
On March 27, 2019 Patterson plead guilty to two counts of Class A Felony 1st Degree Intentional Homicide, Class C Felony Kidnapping for the shooting deaths of James and Denise Closs and the kidnapping of Jayme Closs. His charge of Class E Felony Armed Burglary was dismissed but read in.
Last Update: May 27, 2019 3:11 pm CDT
