Patterson to Make Plea in Closs Case
Patterson is Expected to Plead Guilty
(Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune via AP, Pool, File)
BARRON, Wis. – The Wisconsin man charged with kidnapping 13-year-old Jayme Closs is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday to enter a formal plea on charges of first-degree intentional homicide, kidnapping and armed burglary.
Jake Patterson, 21, wrote a letter to Minnesota television station earlier this month stating his plans to plead guilty to the charges.
According to KARE-TV, Patterson wrote that he planned to plead guilty because he didn’t want Jayme’s family “to worry about a trial,” the station said.
Patterson is charged with killing Jayme’s parents in an Oct. 15 attack at the family’s home near Barron in western Wisconsin. Prosecutors say Patterson spotted Jayme getting off a school bus near her home and made up his mind to take her.
He’s accused of holding Jayme for 88 days in a cabin about an hour north of Barron before she escaped in January.
