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Father of kidnap suspect has a letter for Jayme Closs' family

Posted at 7:12 AM, Jan 16, 2019
and last updated 2019-01-16 07:12:27-05

As more details emerge on Jayme Closs' nearly three months in captivity, the father of the man who allegedly abducted her says he has a letter for her family.

Jake Patterson, 21, has confessed to kidnapping Jayme after fatally shooting her parents on October 15 in their home near Barron, Wisconsin, according to a criminal complaint.

He was arrested Thursday, minutes after Jayme escaped from the home where he'd allegedly kept her hidden for 88 days.

A judge ordered him held on $5 million bail, and he is scheduled back in court next month. He is charged with intentional homicide, kidnapping and armed burglary.

'I'm sorry, I can't talk'

His father, Patrick Patterson, spoke to CNN's Jean Casarez at the Barron County Justice Center on Tuesday. He said he was there to pass along a note to the Closs family.

"All I care about right now is Jayme's family. I want to get them a note," he said, declining to provide more details on the letter and apologizing for not being able to say more.

"I'm sorry, I can't talk," he said several times, shaking with emotion before a deputy escorted him from the public area.

Patrick Patterson was in the courtroom for his son's arraignment Monday. He was initially seated on the prosecution side, but a deputy asked him to leave and sit on the defense side.

When a judge read the charges and Jake Patterson appeared via video conference, his father sobbed and buried his head into the shoulder of a relative seated next to him. On the prosecution's side, Jayme's family remained calm with arms around each other.

Jim Moyer, the grandfather of the alleged kidnapper, told ABC News that the family was unaware of his actions.

"Something went terribly wrong, nobody had any clues ... We are absolutely heartbroken. It's wrenching to deal with," he said. "He was shy and quiet, he backed off from crowds, but a nice boy, polite. Computer games were more of priority than social interaction."

Three months in captivity

More details have emerged on the 88 days Jayme spent in captivity hidden in a home in the rural community of Gordon, Wisconsin, about 70 miles from her house.

Jayme told detectives that Patterson would make her hide under his twin-sized bed in his bedroom when he had people over, including repeated visits from his father. The suspect told her that if anyone found out she was there, bad things would happen to her, the complaint states.

When she was under his bed, he stacked totes and laundry bins around it with weights stacked against them so he'd notice if she moved them, the complaint states.

After three months in captivity, on January 10, he told Jayme he was leaving for six hours and made her go under the bed. When he left, she pushed the weights away, put on a pair of his shoes and walked out of the house. She ran toward a woman walking her dog, who took her to a nearby home and called the police.

Patterson told investigators that he had been to the Closs house twice before the October 15 encounter, the complaint states.

A week prior, he drove to the home but was scared off after he saw cars in the driveway, he told investigators in the complaint. A day or two later, he returned to the Closs home but saw people walking around, and decided not to go through with the plan, he told investigators.

When he returned on October 15, he allegedly kidnapped Jayme after killing her parents, the complaint states.

Public Defenders Richard Jones and Charles Glynn, who represent Patterson, spoke with CNN affiliate WCCO before Monday's court appearance but did not share specifics about the case or confirm that Patterson had confessed.