BARRON, Wisconsin -- The Wisconsin man who admitted kidnapping a 13-year-old girl after killing her parent has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.Patterson was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for each count of first-degree murder of James and Denise Closs, and received the maximum sentence of 40-years for the kidnapping of Jayme Closs.Several family member made impact statements in memory of their loved ones, as well as a written statement from Jayme Closs."For 88 days he tried to steal me and he didn't care who he hurt or who he killed to do that. he should stay locked up forever," Jayme said in her impact statement.Twenty-one-year-old Jake Patterson is facing life in prison when he's sentenced Friday in Barron County Circuit Court for kidnapping Jayme Closs and killing her parents, James and Denise Closs, on Oct. 15 at the family's home near Barron, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) northeast of Minneapolis."There's some things that Jake Patterson can never take from me. He can't take my freedom," Jayme said "I was smarter. I watched his routine and i took back my freedom. I will always have my freedom and he will not. Jake Patterson can never take my courage. he thought he could control me but he couldn't."Jayme escaped in January, after 88 days in Patterson's cabin near the small, isolated town of Gordon, some 60 miles (97 kilometers) from her home. Patterson 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.Patterson earlier pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree intentional homicide and kidnapping."I would do absolutely anything to bring them back. I don't care about me. I'm so sorry," Patterson told the court. </s> Wisconsin Man Sentenced To 2 Life Terms For Kidnapping Teen, Murdering Her Parents

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Updated at 6:43 p.m. ET

A judge in Wisconsin has ruled that 21-year-old Jake Patterson will spend the rest of his life behind bars by sentencing him to two life terms in prison without the possibility of release for kidnapping a teenager and murdering her parents last year.

Patterson pleaded guilty in March to two counts of intentional homicide in the deaths of James and Denise Closs, who were killed at their home in Barron, a town in northern Wisconsin. He also admitted kidnapping 13-year-old Jayme Closs and keeping her captive for 88 days.

Patterson was also sentenced to 25 years in prison for abducting the girl.

The case drew national attention as an intense search for the teenager ended with her escaping captivity and leading authorities to her captor in January.

Jayme Closs did not appear in court for the sentencing, but her guardian read a statement on her behalf, saying Patterson "thought that he could own me, but he's wrong. I was smarter." She said she wanted to see Patterson "locked up forever," as quoted by the Associated Press.

Describing Patterson as "the embodiment of evil," Barron County Circuit Court Judge James Babler said the defendant's crime was "the most heinous and dangerous" he had seen.

As NPR reported in January, authorities disclosed the gruesome details of the Closs killings in a criminal complaint covering their murders; the discovery of their bodies; the conditions under which Patterson kept Jayme Closs hidden under his bed; and her eventual escape.

According to the complaint, Patterson, a cheese factory worker, told investigators that he had "put quite a bit of thought into the details of how he was going to abduct" Closs after seeing her for the first time getting on a school bus. The teenager escaped when Patterson left her alone for several hours, making it possible for her to find help. Authorities took her into custody and launched a search for Patterson. When he was pulled over shortly thereafter by police, he volunteered, "I did it."

According to the complaint, Patterson told investigators that, after seeing media reports, he had believed that he had escaped detection for the murders of Closs's parents. It was through those reports that he had learned the names of his victims. "The defendant stated he never would have been caught if he would have planned everything perfectly," it stated.

Wisconsin Public Radio reported that:

"Barron County District Attorney Brian Wright told a judge during Jake Patterson's sentencing hearing Friday that Patterson would never stop trying to find and possibly kill Jayme if he gets out of prison. "He said Patterson can never get another opportunity to kidnap another girl and kill her or anyone with her. "Patterson wrote that he had fantasized 'about keeping a young girl, torturing her and controlling her.' "

Prosecutors did not charge Patterson with any other behavior toward Jayme during her captivity as a way of sparing her more pain and scrutiny. </s> BARRON, Wis. — The man who pleaded guilty to kidnapping Wisconsin 13-year-old Jayme Closs and murdering her parents has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The judge handed down the sentence after hearing statements from the Closs family, the prosecution, the defense, Jake Patterson, and Jayme Closs herself. There was no question that Patterson would receive life in prison, but the judge had to decide Friday in Barron County court whether he would ever be eligible for parole, after hearing from the people affected by his crimes.

"There are some things that Jake Patterson can never take from me," Jayme said in a statement that was read to the court. "He can't take my freedom. He thought that he could own me but he was wrong. I was smarter. I watched his routine and I took back my freedom. I will always have my freedom and he will not."

Patterson pleaded guilty on March 27 to the murders of James and Denise Closs and the kidnapping of Jayme.

Ahead of handing down the sentence, Judge James Babler said to the families, "I wish that the justice system could make you whole again. I wish we could go back in time to make sure that James and Denise Closs were never murdered nor Ms. Closs kidnapped. But I and the system can't do that for you. At best it is my hope that today's hearing will bring you a bit of closure to this awful nightmare and perhaps some return to a sense of safety and security."

He said the overriding factor in his decision was the safety of the public. "You are the embodiment of evil," he said to Jake Patterson. "You are one of the most dangerous men to ever walk on this planet."

The judge sentenced Patterson to two life sentences in prison without the possibility of parole for the murders of James and Denise Closs, and the maximum of 40 years for the kidnapping of Jayme Closs, all to be served consecutively.

Five months after escaping from her 88 days in captivity, Jayme had some words for the man who kidnapped her and killed her parents.

"Last October Jake Patterson took a lot of things that I love away from me," the statement read. "It makes me the most sad that he took away my mom and my dad. I loved my mom and dad very much and they loved me very much. They did all they could to make me happy and protect me."

Jayme described how she has to have an alarm on the house now, just to go to sleep. She said Patterson took away her love for dance, school, and going out with her friends. But he didn't take everything.

"Jake Patterson can never take away my courage," she said. "He thought he could control me, but he couldn't. I feel like what he did was what a coward would do. I was brave and he was not. He can never take away my spirit."

"I will go on to do great things in my life, but he will not," Jayme's statement continued. "Jake Patterson will never have power over me."

She said she thinks Patterson needs to stay locked up "forever."

RELATED: From missing to found alive: A timeline of the Jayme Closs case

Jayme's family members spoke at the hearing as well.

"Jayme no longer has her parents, which were her whole world, and she was their whole world. She no longer has her home," said Jennifer Smith, Jayme's aunt, addressing Patterson. "She lives in fear, doesn't have a normal 13-year-old life, and that's all from what you did."

"You took so much from Jayme. You took her parents, her home, her childhood and her happiness," said Lindsey Smith, Jayme's cousin.

"Thank God, after 88 days, we got answers," said Kelly Closs Engelhardt, James Closs' sister, after describing the ordeal. She credited Jayme for those answers.

"She saved our family, she put the pieces together. And now we need to move on," she said. "We have to go to sleep at night knowing that our niece is finally safe and that nobody else can be hurt."

Mike Closs, James' brother, said that James and Denise died trying to protect Jayme.

"Because of this monster Jayme won't have her mom and dad at her dance recitals, won't have her mom and dad at her prom," he said. "My brother won't be able to walk down the aisle at her wedding day."

After the family statements, Barron County District Attorney Brian Wright gave a graphic description of Patterson's crime in court, going step by step through the murders and kidnapping. He painted a picture of Jake Patterson's character, using Patterson's responses to a letter KARE 11's Lou Raguse sent him while he was in prison. In that letter, Patterson called his reasons for doing what he did "complicated." Wright said the letter shows no signs of remorse.

"Nowhere in the defendant's answers to Mr. Raguse's questions will you find him expressing any remorse for murdering James and Denise," he said.

"Jake Patterson is a cold blooded killer," Wright said. Patterson shook his head no.

"The impact of what he did will never go away for Jayme and for the families of James and Denise, some of whom you have heard from today," Wright continued.

Wright wrapped up his argument by saying, "Jayme should not have to spend one second of the rest of her life having to worry about the defendant being free."

RELATED: 'I can’t believe I did this' | Accused Jayme Closs kidnapper writes letter from jail

Jake Patterson's attorney Charles Glynn spoke to the judge saying, "Mr. Patterson severely over reacted to his loneliness."

"Mr. Patterson knows and has accepted that he is going to die in prison," Glynn continued. "And hasn’t asked us to argue for anything else.”

Glynn said that Patterson's isolation led to his crimes, and that he has rehabilitative needs. He said Patterson saved the families the "agony" of a trial, thanks to his guilty plea.

Jake Patterson did speak briefly in court, saying tearfully, "I would do absolutely anything to take back what I did. I would die. I would do absolutely anything to bring them back. I don't care about me, I just, I'm just so sorry. That's all."

RELATED: Complaint: Patterson chose Jayme Closs at random after seeing her get on bus

Ahead of his guilty plea, Patterson said in the letter to KARE 11's Lou Raguse that he planned to plead guilty. “I can’t believe I did this,” he wrote at that time.

Patterson took a plea deal in Barron County that included an agreement that additional charges would not be filed in Douglas County, where Jayme was held. An additional charge of armed burglary was also dropped as part of the deal.

The crimes to which Patterson confessed began early the morning of Oct. 15, 2018, when deputies arrived at the Closs home in Barron, Wisconsin, to find Jayme missing and her parents fatally shot. A nationwide effort to bring Jayme home commenced over the next three months, but after 88 days in captivity, it was Jayme herself who found a way out.

On the afternoon of Jan. 10, 2019, she escaped from the cabin where Patterson was holding her, found a woman walking her dog, and asked for help. The woman took her to a nearby home and asked the owners to call 911.

Patterson was arrested shortly after, driving around the area. He told deputies at that point, “I did it,” according to the criminal complaint.

He was charged in Barron County days later. The criminal complaint states that he told investigators he chose Jayme at random after seeing her get on a school bus in Barron. "He knew that was the girl he was going to take," the complaint said.

According to the complaint, Jayme told investigators that Patterson held her at a cabin in Gordon, Wisconsin for 88 days. She was kept underneath his bed, blocked in by plastic totes and weights, and threatened that bad things would happen if she tried to get away. She described Patterson striking her with an object once when he became angry.

One day, though, on Jan. 10, Patterson told Jayme he would be gone for five or six hours. She pushed her way out from under the bed, found a pair of Patterson’s shoes, and left the house to find help.

Jayme was recently honored as a “Hometown Hero” by the Wisconsin Assembly. She also received the reward money designated for her “rescuer” from Jennie-O, where her parents had been employed.

At a news conference after the sentencing, Jayme Closs' aunt, Jennifer Smith, said: "I can tell you she has made a great deal of progress… Jayme will likely have more to say in the future." </s> After vanishing for nearly three months, 13-year-old Jayme Closs was found safe and sound. Jake Thomas Patterson admitted to kidnapping her after killing her parents. Get all the facts we know about this case.

Update March 27, 2019: Jake Patterson, 21, pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree intentional homicide and one count of kidnapping on March 27, per The Daily Beast, bringing an end to a heartbreaking tragedy. Jake admitted to fatally shooting James Closs and his wife, Denise Closs, in their Barron, Wisconsin home on Oct. 15, 2018, before kidnapping their young daughter, Jayme Closs, 13. Barron County prosecutors said they will drop the burglary charge against him, and will not file charges for any crimes in Douglas County, which occurred while Jayme was in captivity.

He now faces life in prison, as he waived his right to a trial with a guilty plea. “We represent him, we work for him, and this is what he wants,” his attorney, Richard Jones, said in Barron County Court Wednesday. “[Patterson] has wanted to enter a plea since we met him.”

Original Jan. 11, 2019: Jayme Closs, 13, went missing October 2018, the same month after police discovered her parents murdered in their Barron, Wisconsin home. Nearly three months after she vanished, Jayme was found alive on Jan. 10. Shortly after she was found, the Barron County’s Sheriff’s Office said a suspect was taken into custody, according to NBC News, and on Jan. 11, the authorities released his name: Jake Thomas Patterson, 21. As the details surrounding this horrible murder and this young girl’s disappearance come to light, here are the details we know about her suspected abductor.

1. He was first held on numerous charges. Jake Thomas Patterson, of Gordon, Wisconsin, is being held in jail on two charges of first-degree intentional homicide of Jayme’s parents, James Closs, 56, and Denise Closs, 46, according to NBC News. He was also charged with one count of abduction. Jake, according to the Carron County’s sheriff, does not have a criminal history locally or in the state of Wisconsin.

2. The authorities weren’t looking for additional suspects. During the Jan. 11 press conference, the authorities said they are not looking for any additional suspects involved in this case. “Jayme was the only target,” the authorities said during the press conference, adding that he didn’t know her parents.

3. The officer revealed Jake’s identity for the first time during the press conference. The world got its first major look at Jake when the sheriff showed his mug shot, revealing a 5’11, balding white male with glasses.

4. He allegedly kept her hidden from the public for months. “Jayme was taken against her will and escaped from a residence in which she was being held,” said Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald at a press conference, according to the New York Post. “The subject planned his actions and took many proactive steps to hide his identity from law enforcement and the general public.”

5. Jayme helped the authorities catch him. After three months, Jayme suddenly turned up at the doorstep of Peter and Kristin Kasinskas in Gordon, WI, along with one of the couple’s neighbors. Jayme reportedly approached a resident who was walking their dog and provided a description of the car she fled from, leading to Jake Thomas Patterson’s arrest.

“She kind of flung the door open and said, ‘Call 911, this is Jayme Closs!” Kristin recalled. “I knew it was her the second she walked in the door.”

We’ll continue to update this post with any new information about her alleged kidnapper. </s> Wisconsin Man Gets Life for Kidnapping Jayme Closs, Killing Her Parents

BARRON, Wis. (AP) – A Wisconsin man will spend the rest of his life in prison for kidnapping 13-year-old Jayme Closs and killing her parents.

Twenty-one-year-old Jake Patterson was sentenced Friday in Barron County. He pleaded guilty in March to two counts of intentional homicide and one count of kidnapping. He admitted to abducting Jayme in October and killing her parents, James and Denise Closs.

The teen was held captive in a remote cabin for 88 days before she escaped.

Patterson was sentenced to life in prison without release on each homicide count and 25 years in prison on the kidnapping count. The sentences will be served consecutively. </s> Wisconsin police gave details about the discovery of 13-year-old Jayme Closs, who went missing in October when her parents were found shot to death.

 Jayme was found alive yesterday in the town of Gordon, which is in the northwestern part of the state about 40 miles southeast of Duluth, Minnesota.

 A short time after she was found, police arrested a suspect based on the description Jayme gave officers of his vehicle.

 Officers spotted the suspect, pulled him over and took him into custody.

 The suspect, 21-year-old Jake Thomas Patterson from Wisconsin is being held on two counts of first degree homicide for the murder of Closs’ parents and one count of kidnapping.

 The Barron County Sheriff says Patterson planned his actions and held Jayme captive in a residence from which she escaped.

 Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald believes Jayme was the “only target” in the murder and kidnapping. He adds that she is safe and recovering with family members.

According to the sheriff, Patterson had zero criminal history. Also, officers do not know yet what happened to Closs during her three months in captivity.

 The sheriff also says that Jayme was inside the house when her parents were killed and it is still a mystery how Jayme became the suspect’s target. </s> March 27 (UPI) -- The 21-year-old man charged with killing two Wisconsin parents and kidnapping their 13-year-old daughter pleaded guilty to the crimes Wednesday.

Jake Patterson, of Gordon, Wis., appeared in a Barron County courtroom and entered a guilty plea on two counts of first-degree intentional homicide and a third count of kidnapping, Wisconsin online court records indicate.

A fourth felony, burglary while armed with a dangerous weapon, was dismissed, the court records show.

Patterson was charged in mid-January in the killing of James M. Closs, 56, and Denise J. Closs, 46, the parents of 13-year-old Jayme Closs.

They were found dead in their Barron, Wis., home in mid-October. Jayme was missing until January, when she escaped Patterson's captivity and was found some 65 miles north of Barron in Douglas County, Wis.

A criminal complaint said Patterson targeted Jayme for kidnapping when he spotted her boarding a school bus. He raided her home and shot her parents to death before kidnapping the girl.

Jayme was held under a bed for hours on end during her captivity, according to the complaint.

As part of his guilty plea, Patterson will not face charges related to potential crimes committed in Douglas County, court records show.

Patterson is scheduled to be sentenced on May 24, according to the court records, and faces the possibility of life in prison without parole. His cash bond, set in January at $5 million, was revoked Wednesday. </s> BARRON, Wis. – The man who kidnapped 13-year-old Jayme Closs and murdered her parents will spend the rest of his days in prison without a chance for parole.

Jake Patterson, who turns 22 on June 17, was sentenced in Barron County Circuit Court on Friday for abducting the Barron teenager and gunning down James and Denise Closs. His sentencing hearing comes two months after he pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree intentional homicide and one count of kidnapping.

Patterson didn't know the Closs family, nor did he have a prior criminal record in Wisconsin. But in the early hours of Oct. 15, he fatally shot James Closs, 56, through a glass pane on the front door of their home and murdered Denise Closs, 46, in front of her only child. He then dragged Jayme to his car and drove her to the rural Douglas County town of Gordon, where he held her for 88 days.

In an emotional hearing Friday, Jayme's relatives spoke through tears as they told Judge James Babler of the fear and heartache Patterson caused them. For months, they didn't sleep as they wondered what happened to Jayme.

Meanwhile, loved ones grieved the unexpected loss of James and Denise.

"I still think I’m going to wake up someday and this is going to be a bad dream," said Kelly Engelhardt, James Closs' sister.

Jayme Closs case: As kidnapper awaits prison, a Wisconsin town reflects on the bewildering tragedy

Relatives also recounted how Denise Closs spent her final moments, barricaded in a bathroom to protect her daughter after hearing the gunshot that killed her husband.

“I have terrible nightmares," said Jennifer Smith, Jayme's aunt and guardian. "Jayme was my sister Denise’s whole world. I can’t imagine how scared she was."

Jayme was not in the courtroom Friday, but an attorney read a statement on her behalf. She told the judge she felt safe in her home until Patterson took that and her parents away from her. Now she can't see her home or belongings without remembering that dark night. She struggles with anxiety when she's out in public.

"I love my mom and dad very much, and they love me very much," she said. "They did all they could to make me happy and protect me. He took them away from me forever."

Throughout the hearing, Patterson occasionally shifted in his chair and hung his head but showed little emotion, even as District Attorney Brian Wright recounted his grisly crimes in detail. His first emphatic reaction to the proceedings was a vigorous head shake "no" when Wright said Patterson would find Jayme if he gets out of prison.

Before the judge brought down his sentence, Patterson spoke briefly, choking up and saying he would do anything to take back what happened.

"I don’t care about me," he said. "I’m just so sorry."

During Jayme's captivity, Patterson forced her to hide under a twin bed when he had company or left the house. He threatened and yelled at her. He once hosted a Christmas gathering for his relatives, who were unaware a scared girl was hiding in the other room.

Jayme escaped on Jan. 10, pushing away weighted bins around the bed and putting on a pair of Patterson's ill-fitting tennis shoes. She stumbled upon a social worker out walking her dog, who took Jayme to another neighbor's house to call 911.

According to Wright, Patterson realized Jayme wasn't under the bed and "knew he was f---ed." He was arrested a short time later.

Patterson told investigators with painstaking detail the lengths he went to abduct Jayme. He decided to kidnap the teen after watching her board a school bus less than two weeks before he'd kill James and Denise Closs to get to her.

Under a plea agreement, prosecutors agreed to drop his armed-burglary charge, and to not charge Patterson with any crimes related to Jayme's captivity in Douglas County. That means some details of what Jayme endured in those 88 days may never be released.

The motivation for Patterson's crimes has remained a mystery since his arrest.

Jayme is living with her aunt and uncle. She quietly made her first public appearance in Barron earlier this month and visited Madison last week to be honored by the state Assembly as a "Hometown Hero." She did not speak at either event.

For Jayme's family, Friday's sentencing is an opportunity to move forward, knowing Patterson will be behind bars for the rest of his life.

“We can be happy again," Smith said. "Smile more. Move forward with life."

And despite what Jayme endured, Patterson can never take away her courage or spirit, she told the judge. She will go on to do great things, she said – and he will not.

"He thought that he could own me, but he was wrong," Jayme said. "I was smarter. I watched his routine and I took back my freedom." </s> The man who pleaded guilty to kidnapping Wisconsin teen Jayme Closs after killing her parents last fall is due to be sentenced at a hearing Friday, May 24.

Jake Patterson faces life in prison. Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald said Closs' family is expected to give a statement at the sentencing.

The sentencing and statements will be streaming here live at 1:35 p.m. courtesy of Minnesota Public Radio. </s> Judge James Babler called Jake Patterson the "embodiment of evil" during his Friday sentencing.

Jayme Closs is the courageous 13-year-old girl who shocked the world when she managed to escape her kidnapper, 21-year-old Jake Patterson. On October 15, 2018, Patterson entered the Closs family home in Wisconsin and murdered Jayme’s parents, James and Denise Closs, who died trying to protect their daughter. He then bound the young girl’s wrists and ankles with duct tape, carried her out to his truck, and took her away to a remote cabin owned by his family in Gordon, Wisconsin. It was there she was held captive for 88 days. She was kept under a bed that was barricaded with boxes, often given no food, water or bathroom breaks for hours at a time. On Friday, Patterson finally faced justice for the lives he took and the hell on earth he put Jayme through, according to Fox News.

While law enforcement tirelessly looked for her and members of the community formed their own search teams, in the end it was Jayme who rescued herself. After her abductor told her he’d be out of the house for an extended amount of time, she saw her opportunity and took it. She ran out the door of the cabin and was later discovered by a woman walking her dog.

Although Jayme is now free, nothing can bring back her parents who were tragically taken from her. During Patterson’s sentencing in court, a family attorney read her official statement aloud. She speaks about her ability to outsmart him and achieve her own freedom. She also said she believes he should remain behind bars.

“He thought that he could own me but he was wrong. I was smarter. I was brave and he was not. He thought he could make me like him, but he was wrong. For 88 days he tried to steal me and he didn’t care who he hurt or who he killed to do that. He should be locked up forever.”

Jayme got her wish. Wisconsin judge James Babler, sentenced Patterson to life in prison and didn’t hold back from condemning him for his heartless actions.

“There’s no doubt in my mind you’re one of the most dangerous men to ever walk on this planet,” he told him, also calling him the “embodiment of evil.”

Patterson kept his head down throughout most of the sentencing and when he was given the opportunity to speak, he took it. He told those gathered in court that he would do anything to bring back the lives of Jayme’s parents and undo the harm he caused the young girl.
In the U.S. state of Wisconsin, Jake Thomas Patterson is sentenced to life in prison for the kidnapping of Jayme Closs and the murders of her parents.