Jayme Closs went missing in October after her parents were found fatally shot at their home. Photo / AP
Jayme Closs went missing in October after her parents were found fatally shot at their home. Photo / AP
The man who allegedly abducted and imprisoned a girl for 88 days in his home after murdering her parents concocted the plan after spotting the girl getting on a school bus, court papers have alleged.
Jake Thomas Patterson is suspected of entering the Closs family home in the United States on October 15 last year by blowing in the front door with a shotgun.
It is alleged he then shot parents James, 56, and Denise, 46, before kidnapping 13-year-old Jayme and taking her from her home in Barron County, Wisconsin, to his home, some 120km away.
Police say Jayme was imprisoned for 88 days in Patterson's home, owned by his parents, in the isolated town of Gordon. Despite the town's small population, Patterson was known to nobody.
Jake Thomas Patterson is suspected of entering the Closs family home on October 15 last year by blowing in the front door with a shotgun. Photo / AP
After making a perilous escape from the cell-like house where Peterson allegedly kept her for 88 days in rural Wisconsin, Jamye emerged from the icy woods and flagged down a dog walker who called police.
The dog walker told the authorities Jayme's story of how Peterson had killed her parents, saying "she wants to go home," court papers allege.
They then tell of Peterson's car soon being identified by police driving nearby. Upon being pulled over by police, he is alleged to have said he knew what it was about, saying, "I did it," court papers allege.
Despite previously stating that he did not know Jayme, a criminal complaint against Mr Patterson filed on Monday has stated that "he knew that was the girl he was going to take".
Authorities have now had alleged in a criminal complaint how the 21-year-old cooked up the elaborate scheme to enter the Closs home after he spotted Jayme boarding her school bus as he drove to his first day of work at the Saputo Cheese Factory. He worked at this particular job for only two days.
"The defendant stated he had no idea who she was nor did he know who lived at the house or how many people lived at the house," read the complaint. "When he saw (Jayme Closs), he knew that was the girl he was going to take."
By coincidence, Patterson had previously worked alongside Jayme's parents, Denise and James, for a single day.
The pair worked together as supervisors at a turkey processing plant. Jake Patterson had, as it turns out, worked at the same turkey processing plant, but only for one day three years ago.
Evidence of a struggle
The complaint alleges the suspect shot James at the entrance to the house, and found Denise in the bathroom where he also killed her. It is alleged that Denise had attempted to barricade herself in the bathroom by pulling out the drawer to block the door, which opened inwards.
The door had been forced open by kicking so forcibly it had been broken into two pieces, a rectangle part of the door coming away from the door before the entire doorway was forced open.
She had eventually been shot in the head, her body left laying in the bath.
Both deceased suffered significant trauma.
In the blood left from James' body in the entry way the detective found tread patterns from what appeared to be tactical boots, court documents allege.
His lawyers have said that this case is so harrowing and severe that they would prefer if the 21-year-old waive his option of appearing in court via video link. They have said they have a "personal preference" for Patterson to appear in person to face his charges.
At this stage he is charged with two counts of first-degree intentional homicide in relation to the deaths of Jayme's parents, and one charge of kidnapping. He has also been charged with armed burglary.
The home where teenager Jayme Closs lived with her parents. Photo / AP
Images of the home where Jayme was allegedly kept imprisoned for 88 days after her parents were murdered by Patterson have emerged, obtained by theDaily Mail.
The 13-year-old was allegedly kept housed in squalid conditions, where it is claimed she slept on the floor in an unfurnished room surrounded by piles of boxes.
The room was strewn with junk, windowless, and scattered with a few plush toys.
"He killed my parents"
Jayme made a daring escape by traversing the freezing Wisconsin countryside wearing a baggy shirt and shoes that were too big for her. She was found in snowy conditions when she flagged down local Jeanne Nutter who was walking her dog.
Nutter, a former child protection worker, was alarmed that young Jayme was not wearing any boots or warm weather gear. She described the young teenager as being "skinny and dirty but outwardly OK," also saying her hair was matted.
"She told me who she was and then that's when I said this child needs to be someplace safe and you need to get her there now," Nutter said.
Nutter was terrified the kidnapper would be pursuing Jayme and called 911, telling her partner to get a gun.
Jayme described Patterson's car to law enforcement officers and they found him soon after, driving the streets, allegedly hunting her in a maroon car.
The vehicle is believed to be the same one dispatch police noted seeing driving away as they arrived to find the grisly scene at the Closs home, after receiving a 911 call where they heard screams down the receiver.
"This is the nightmare case that we all, as parents, family members … dread," FBI Special Agent Justin Tolomeo said.
"That there is a potential of somebody out there who commits acts of violence and takes your children."
