BARRON, WI (WSAU) -- We are expecting to learn more in the coming days about 21-year-old Jake Patterson, the man suspected of killing Jim and Denise Closs before taking their 13-year-old daughter under cover of darkness in Mid-October.
Patterson will make his initial court appearance Monday in Barron County, where he will be charged with two counts of first-degree homicide and one count of kidnapping. Following that appearance, the formal criminal complaint against him will be released.
Very little is known about Patterson. Sheriff's officials say he has no criminal record, and it's believed that he was unemployed. Officials with Jennie-O Turkey, where Jim and Denise worked, said he worked at the Barron facility for all of one day before quitting, saying he was moving out of the area.
It's not believed that Patterson had any contact with the Closs' during that time, and so far there is no known evidence that connects him to the family. Despite that, it's still believed that he was targeting Jayme. Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald said until he received the call that she was found in Douglas County, the thought of looking for her there "wasn't on our radar."
Investigators continue to call Closs the hero of the case. After she managed to escape the home where it's believed she was being hidden for most of the 88-day ordeal, her description of Patterson and his vehicle led to his arrest in a matter of minutes.
Sheriff's officials believe Patterson may have been driving around the neighborhood looking for her after she escaped before he was pulled over.
Comments