How Suspect Allegedly Hid Jayme Closs’ Kidnapping and Used ‘Anger Outbursts’ to Intimidate Her
Before her rescue last Thursday, 13-year-old Wisconsin girl Jayme Closs was held captive for 88 days, the subject of an ongoing AMBER Alert.
After the arrest of a suspect, police said Jayme endured intimidating “anger outbursts” by her captor that dissuaded her from trying to escape.
The criminal complaint against Jake Thomas Patterson, 21, alleges that he fatally shot Jayme’s parents on October 15, before binding the teen with tape and dragging her into his trunk.
According to the complaint, which was obtained by PEOPLE, Patterson sometimes left Jayme under the bed for as long as 12 hours at a time — depriving her food, water or bathroom breaks. Around Christmastime, Patterson allegedly went away to visit his grandparents while the girl hid under the bed, afraid to move.
“When he left the house, the defendant stated he would tell [Jayme] that she better not leave and told her bad things would happen if she tried,” the complaint alleges. “The defendant stated she knew she shouldn’t come out from under the bed when he was not there. The defendant stated that because of his anger outbursts [Jayme] complied and did as she was told.”
RELATED: How Jayme Closs Crawled Out of Captivity After Months of Alleged Abuse and Threats
The complaint also states that Patterson allegedly told detectives he “put quite a bit of thought into the details of how he was going to abduct” Jayme after first noticing her as she boarded her school bus one morning.
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The complaint alleges Patterson told police he assumed he “had gotten away” with his crimes two weeks after the killings. He allegedly said he only learned Jayme’s name when he got her back to his home some 70 miles away in Gordon, and only learned the names of her parents from local news coverage of their murders.
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“The defendant states he never would have been caught if he would have planned everything perfectly,” the complaint alleges.
At his court arraignment on Monday, Patterson was not asked to enter a plea and his bail was set at $5 million.
RELATED: How Jayme Closs Crawled Out of Captivity After Months of Alleged Abuse and Threats
“This is a very tragic situation,” Patterson’s lawyers said in a joint statement, according to local media reports. “There is a substantial amount of information, interest, and emotion involved in this case. Mr. Patterson’s legal team will be relying on the integrity of our judicial system to ensure that everyone’s rights are protected and respected.”
RELATED: Jayme Closs Had ‘Good Night’ of Sleep After Escape: ‘She Was Next to Me All Night,’ Says Aunt
PEOPLE has reached out to the two lawyers for additional comment.
Patterson is being held in the Barron County Jail. He is charged with two counts of first-degree homicide, one count of kidnapping and one count of armed burglary, according to the complaint.
