Prosecutors are expected to charge Jake Thomas Patterson with 2 counts of homicide and a count of kidnapping in a Wisconsin courtroom Monday.
BARRON, Wis. — A young man suspected of killing a Wisconsin couple, kidnapping their teenage daughter and holding her captive for three months is expected to make his first court appearance Monday, and charging documents could shed light on why he targeted the girl.
Prosecutors are expected to formally charge 21-year-old Jake Thomas Patterson with two counts of intentional homicide and one count of kidnapping before his afternoon court hearing in Barron County Circuit Court.
Investigators believe Patterson broke into James and Denise Closs’ home near Barron on Oct. 15 by blowing the front door open with a shotgun blast. Investigators allege he fatally shot the couple and abducted their 13-year-old daughter, Jayme. She escaped her captor late last week in a rural, heavily wooded area in northwest Wisconsin.
Authorities have said Patterson’s goal was to kidnap Jayme, but it’s unclear how he became aware of the girl, especially because he lived an hour away.
Patterson’s defense attorneys, Charles Glynn and Richard Jones, said they believe Patterson can get a fair trial, but they’re not sure where.
