While Jake Patterson was driving, he saw a girl get off a school bus and walk towards her house. At that very moment, he made the upsetting choice to take her. On that day in Barron, Wisconsin, the girl was only 13 years old and her name was Jayme Closs. There were three times that Jake went to the Closs house. He changed his mind the first two times because he was scared. But on the third visit, he brought a shotgun with him, which made him feel sure that he could carry out his terrible plan.
At 1 a.m. on October 15, 2018, Jake parked his car away from the Closs house. Putting on a ski mask, he walked up to the front door. James, Jayme’s dad, walked up to the door and peered through the glass side panel. Jake was asked about his name and the reason for his visit.
Jake screamed, “Open the fu*king door!”
Before James could answer, Jake shot him through the glass and k*illed him. He then broke into the house and took everything.
Jake carefully looked through every room to make sure no one was there to see what happened. He got to the toilet, but it was locked. Jayme and her mom, Denise, were inside. Denise was calling 911 while Jayme was crying. When Jake fired his gun, the bathroom door broke.
Once that was over, the call ended quickly.
Jake shot Denise and k*illed her, then he bound Jayme’s wrists and ankles with duct tape. Then he picked her up, carried her, and dragged her out of the house, where he put her in the trunk of his car.
The police got to the scene in just four minutes. They didn’t know it, but Jake had just driven by in his maroon car with Jayme hidden inside.
They were locked up in his dad’s cabin 70 miles away in Gordon, Wisconsin, for 88 days. Jake kept Jayme there.
Jake made Jayme hide under his bed and used laundry hampers, dumbbells, and tote bags to block all the exits. He made threats against Jayme, telling her that she would be punished if she tried to move any of those things.
That year, Jake had a Christmas dinner at his house that his whole family came to. He told Jayme that if she did anything, he would kill her. She was seriously beaten by him all the time, which made her really fear him.
Jake Thomas Patterson
After three months, Jake began to believe that Jayme would never be brave enough to run away. He became less careful, locking the doors less often and letting Jayme take short walks around the neighbourhood as long as she checked to see if anyone else was there.
Jake has become less strict, and he thinks that Jayme is too scared to disobey him. This will soon work out well for Jayme.
The Escape
Jake told Jayme on January 10, 2019, that he had to run some errands. As he always did, he put things under the bed to block her before he left. This time, Jayme saw it as her chance. She moved the things out of the way and crawled out from under the bed.
Jayme quickly put on Jake’s sneakers, wore only a t-shirt and leggings, and ran out the front door, desperately looking for someone to help her. She was lucky to find a woman named Jeanne Nutter who was out walking her dog at the time.
Jayme ran up to Jeanne and told her who she was. She knew Jayme’s name because of all the news stories about her parents’ mu*rder and her subsequent kidnapping that had been going on for months.
Jeanne quickly took Jayme to her house, which is only a few houses away from Jake’s. She called 911 right away for help. Jayme told Jake what kind of car Jake had, as well as what colour it was. Not long after, the police saw the same car driving by Jeanne’s house and stopped it. When Jake got out of the car, he looked at the police and admitted, “I did it.”
When asked what he did with Jayme during those 88 days, a delusional Jake stated, “We were just like watching TV, playing board games, talking about stuff. We cooked a lot, everything we made was homemade, you know.”
Jake admitted that he ki*lled two people and kidnapped one. He pleaded guilty to all three charges. Afterward, on May 24, 2020, he was given two consecutive life sentences with no chance of release, along with an extra 40 years for kidnapping.
Jayme’s aunt and godmother were so happy to see her again and glad to take care of her. Because Jayme escaped so bravely, she was given $25,000 of the $50,000 reward that was being offered for information that led to her safe return. She pretty much saved herself.
