Jayme Closs' mother's 911 call on the day she was kidnapped gives horrifying glimpse of the killings and abduction
The unimaginable horror of Jayme Closs' abduction and the murder of her parents can be heard for the first time in an eerie audio recording of the 911 call that was made from her mother's cellphone.
The call was made just a little before 1 am on Monday, October 15, last year, from inside the family home in Barron, Wisconsin. The authorities arrived at the scene only four minutes later and found both James and Denise Closs shot dead at the bloody crime scene.
Their teenage daughter Jayme had been dragged away by their killer Jake Patterson. There is very little that can be made out aside from the dispatcher's desperate attempts to make contact with the caller. A muffled scream and sounds of movement can be heard at one point followed by shouting before the call stops abruptly.
A judge on Friday, May 24, described Patterson as "the embodiment of evil" and sentenced him to life without parole for the violent double homicide and the teen's abduction. Patterson held Jayme as his hostage for three whole months in his rural cabin.
Pictures of Jayme's home and Patterson's weapon were entered as evidence by the prosecution at Friday's hearing.
The small cramped space that the teen was made to spend hours without food and water under Patterson's bed was also shown. A pillowcase in a leopard cover and a thin sleeping bag were the only items that Patterson provided for Jayme, The shotgun that he used to kill Jayme's parents as well as the front door which was blasted open with the weapon are also shown in the grisly images.
Patterson also told detectives that he chose the particular shotgun, which he stole from his father, because it was present everywhere and would be almost impossible to trace. The bathroom in which Jayme and her mother had tried to barricade themselves when Patterson killed her father downstairs was pictured with its door kicked in and the curtain ripped away. Bloodstains could also be seen on the floor and Patterson told detectives that he almost slipped on the blood when he shot Denise in the head.
A glimpse into the killer's mind can be found in the answers he wrote to a local reporter who sent him questions while he was awaiting his trial. In a strange confession, he admitted to investigators that he abducted Jayme after murdering her parents so that she would not have to go through a police interview.
In the note, he wrote: "I tried to give in everything…so they didn't have to interview Jayme. They did anyways and hurt her more for no reason."
Patterson then claimed that in spite of the assertion by the authorities that his crime was meticulously planned, he had acted "mostly on impulse" and confessed, "I can't believe I did this". He said: "I don't think like a serial killer" and that looking back at the events of the day, he was "really stupid".
According to the killer: "No one will believe or can even imagine how sorry I am for hurting Jayme this much. Can't express it." Jayme's relatives, however, are unconvinced that he feels any remorse. The teen's powerful victim impact statement was read out in court but the impact on Patterson's crimes on the wider family could also be heard in other statements.
In a statement read in court, Jayme said Patterson "thought that he could own me, but he's wrong. I was smarter." She said she wanted to see Patterson "locked up forever." She did not appear in court, and her guardian read the statement.
Patterson was sentenced to life in prison without possibility for release on each homicide count and 25 years in prison on the kidnapping count. The sentences will be served consecutively. Those were the maximum sentences the judge could impose. Wisconsin does not have the death penalty.
He told authorities he decided Jayme "was the girl he was going to take" after he saw her getting on a school bus near her home, according to a criminal complaint. He told investigators he plotted carefully, including wearing all-black clothing, putting stolen license plates on his car and taking care to leave no fingerprints on his shotgun.
Prosecutors in the county where Jayme was held decided not to bring charges related to anything that might have happened in the cabin, a move that was widely seen as aiming to spare Jayme further pain and keep details private.
Authorities searched for Jayme for months and collected more than 3,500 tips. Jayme escaped on Jan. 10 while Patterson was away and flagged down a woman who was walking a dog. Patterson was arrested minutes later.
With AP inputs.
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