Jake Thomas Patterson, 21, pictured, is set to appear in court today suspected of kidnapping teenager Jayme Closs, 13, and killing her parents in Wisconsin
A man suspected of kidnapping Wisconsin teenager Jayme Closs and killing her parents is expected to appear in court this afternoon – but his attorneys have refused to comment on his condition.
Prosecutors are set to formally charge Jake Thomas Patterson, 21, with two counts of intentional homicide and one count of kidnapping before the court begins.
The charging documents could shed light on what investigators believe the young man knew about his victims, his motives and tactics.
Investigators believe Patterson broke into James and Denise Closs’ home near Barron on October 15, blowing the front door open with a shotgun blast.
They say he then gunned the couple down and made off with their 13-year-old daughter, Jayme.
Jayme was missing for nearly three months and police collected more than 3,500 tips but no hard leads emerged.
Then, on Thursday, a woman walking her dog in the town of Gordon, about an hour north of Barron, spotted Jayme on the street.
Jayme Closs, 13, right in an undated photo, was missing for 88 days before she escaped a nearby cabin on Thursday. Pictured left is Jayme with her aunt after they were reunited
Her parents, James Closs, 56, and Denise Closs, 46, were found shot dead inside their family home in October
The teenager begged the woman for help, saying Patterson had been hiding her in a nearby cabin and that she had escaped when he left her alone.
Neighbors called 911 and officers arrested Patterson within minutes. He has no criminal history in Wisconsin.
It is not yet clear how Patterson became aware of Jayme, especially since he lived an hour away.
Investigators say there’s no evidence of any online interactions between him and Jayme. Her family insists they don’t know the man.
Her grandfather, Robert Naiberg, told The Associated Press that Jayme told FBI agents she doesn’t know Patterson at all.
Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald said the suspect went to great lengths to alter his physical appearance and hide evidence of the alleged murder, including shaving his head.
The image above shows the filthy den where authorities believe Jayme was held prisoner
Stuffed toys and other items on a mattress were found inside the den in Gordon, Wisconsin
Pictured is the cabin in rural Wisconsin where Jayme was kept prisoner for nearly three months
Police said he was unemployed at the time of his arrest and the family did not know him.
Yesterday Patterson’s defense attorneys, Charlie Glynn and Richard Jones, refused to go into detail about his condition only saying ‘his feelings are consistent with what you would believe for someone who was involved with these allegations.’
Mr Jones added: ‘There’s been a lot of emotion. But we have a job to do in protecting our client,’ reports Fox 9.
Pictures obtained by DailyMail.com from inside the basement where cops believe Jayme could have been kept prisoner for 88 days reveal the squalid conditions.
Photos show the space beneath alleged abductor Patterson’s tumbledown forest cabin in rural Gordon, Wisconsin, strewn with soft toys, filthy bedding and women’s clothes.
Investigators are also understood to have examined an adjacent basement compartment, a former wine cellar, which was the only room to have its curtains drawn when officers arrived to search the property on Thursday.
Baron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald holds up a photo of the suspect, Jake Thomas Patterson, as he announces that Jayme Closs was found alive, during a news conference on Friday
This aerial photo shows the cabin, where 13-year-old Jayme is thought to have been held by Patterson, surrounded by law enforcement vehicles, on Saturday
Jayme was found at Eau Claire Acres, a development located about 70 miles away from her home in Barron
Charging documents in Wisconsin typically contain at least a partial narrative of what happened at a crime scene, as prosecutors try to prove there’s probable cause to support the allegations.
Details of Jayme’s three-month captivity have not been released, and Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald has not said whether Jayme was sexually assaulted.
But Patterson’s attorneys, public defenders Charles Glynn and Richard Jones, have been lauded for taking high-profile cases with a special emphasis on sexually violent people, according to a state public defender office news release from February 2018.
Glynn and Jones issued a statement Saturday saying they are relying on the court system to treat Patterson fairly.
The attorneys said they believe Patterson can get a fair trial, but aren’t sure where.
They say it has been an emotional time for the community of Barron, and that they understand the pain the case has generated.
TIMELINE OF JAYME CLOSS’ DISAPPEARANCE
Jayme Closs was missing for three months
Oct. 15, 2018 – Jayme’s parents, James and Denise Closs, found dead at their home in Barron and the teen is reported missing
Oct. 16, 2018 – Investigators say they don’t consider Jayme a suspect in her parents’ deaths
Oct. 17, 2018 – Authorities announce that investigators believe Jayme was in her family’s home when he parents were fatally shot
Oct. 18, 2018 – About 100 people join a ground search for Jayme after Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald requests the help of volunteers
Oct. 23, 2018 – About 2,000 volunteers from as far as Minneapolis help with another ground search . Several items are found and taken for assessment
Oct. 24, 2018 – The FBI offers a $25,000 reward for information leading to Jayme’s location. The amount is later doubled to $50,000 by the Jennie-O Turkey Store, where James and Denise Closs worked
Oct. 27, 2018 – Funeral held for James and Denise Closs
Oct. 29, 2018 – Prosecutors announce they have charged a man with burglarizing the Closs home but say he’s not a suspect in the case.
Dec. 12, 2018 – Tree of Hope lit as community prays for her safe return
Jan. 10, 2019 – After three months Jayme is found alive in Gordon, Wisconsin. A suspect is taken into custody.
Jan. 11, 2019 – Police named the man accused of kidnapping her as Jake Thomas Patterson, 21