BARRON, Wis. (AP) – The Latest on the kidnapping of Wisconsin teenager Jayme Closs and the killing of her parents (all times local):
1:25 p.m.
A Wisconsin sheriff says his deputies did everything they could on the night a 13-year-old girl was abducted and her parents slain.
A criminal complaint says Jake Patterson told investigators he had left Jayme Closs’ home with the teenager locked in his trunk Oct. 15 just 20 seconds before he paused to yield to three oncoming squad cars with emergency lights flashing.
Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald said Wednesday that deputies “didn’t know what kind of call” they were responding to that night.
Jayme told investigators that her mother called 911 after Patterson fired shots in their home, but that the intruder ordered her to hang up.
Fitzgerald said the Closs home is on a major highway with cars on the road at all hours. He says his department has “excelled” in handling the Closs case and that he plans no changes in how his deputies respond to emergency calls.
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12:55 p.m.
Defense attorneys for a man accused of kidnapping a Wisconsin teen and fatally shooting her parents say his motivations will become clear as the case progresses.
Investigators believe Jake Thomas Patterson broke into 13-year-old Jayme Closs’ home near Barron in October, killed her parents and abducted the girl. He’s accused of holding her in a remote cabin for nearly three months before she escaped last week.
According to court documents, he told detectives he spotted Jayme getting on a school bus one day and decided he would take her.
Richard Jones and Charlie Glynn are Patterson’s public defenders. They told The Associated Press Wednesday that they know everyone wants to know why Jayme was abducted. Jones says “there will come a time in this proceeding when that question will be answered.”
They declined to comment on Patterson’s mental health.
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11:35 a.m.
Attorneys for a man accused of kidnapping a Wisconsin teenager and killing her parents are acknowledging his confession could present a problem in his defense.
According to a criminal complaint, Jake Thomas Patterson told investigators he broke into 13-year-old Jayme Closs’ home near Barron in October, gunned down her parents and abducted her. He said he took her to a remote cabin, sometimes keeping her under his bed for hours on end, until she escaped last week.
Public defender Charlie Glynn tells The Associated Press it appears Patterson is starting the case “behind the eight-ball.” Patterson’s other public defender, Richard Jones, says investigators have compiled 30 banker’s boxes of evidence for the defense team to review, and that he’s not sure Patterson will get a fair trial in Wisconsin.
Glynn says he doesn’t know how Patterson will plead.
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8:50 a.m.
The father of a Wisconsin man accused of kidnapping a 13-year-old girl and killing her parents says he cares about the girl’s family.
CNN reports that 21-year-old Jake Patterson’s father, Patrick Patterson, visited the Barron County Justice Center on Tuesday saying he wanted to pass a note to Jayme Closs’ family.
Patterson’s son, Jake, is charged with abducting the girl after killing her parents in October, just days after he first spotted her getting on a school bus near her home.
CNN reports Patrick Patterson was on the verge of tears and said he couldn’t talk. He did say: “All I care about right now is Jayme’s family.”
Jayme’s grandfather, Robert Naiberg, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he appreciates the gesture. Naiberg says “you can’t blame the parents” for what their children do.
