Criminology - Jayme Closs

Episode Date: January 26, 2019

On October 15, 2018, in Barron Wisconsin, the unthinkable happened. An armed intruder entered the home of James and Denise Closs. He murdered James and Denise and kidnapped their daughter, 13-year-old Jayme. The story made headlines around the world. Police led an all-out search for Jayme and the person that abducted her and killed her parents. But, they came up empty. On January 10, 2019, Jayme escaped from her captor, a man she identified as 21-year-old Jake Patterson. Police caught Patterson quickly and he told them the details of what happened in the proceeding three months, beginning with the murder of James and Denise. He also told them his motivations and how he became infatuated with Jayme Closs. The details will both shock and scare you. You can support the show at patreon.com/criminology An Emash Digital production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Criminology is a true crime podcast that may contain discussion about violent or disturbing topics. Listener discretion is advised. I'd like to welcome everyone to episode 45 of criminology. More if we're just humming along, man. This new weekly format is working out well. We've gotten some great feedback on the cases that we're picking. And to me, that's really the key, right?

I mentioned it last week, a mix of unsolved cases, solve cases, multi-parters. I like that format. And I hope everybody else does too. And then you talk about the age of some of the cases, right? Some cases are old. The case that we're doing today, it's in the news right now. So, you know, there's a mix there as well. But Morf, before we get into that, we're going to do our Patreon shoutouts.

But first, I want to ask you how you're doing, man. You've been under the weather a little bit. What's going on? This has been a bad week. The kids have been sick. They've gotten my wife and I sick, and it's just been one of those weeks. And then I had some computer glitches on top of everything. So knock on wood, I feel like I'm back on my feet and excited about this episode.

Those daggone kids, man, they will get you sick. Wash your hands. Wash your hands kids. That's all I could say. Exactly. All right. Let's do our Patreon shoutouts. We had Janina Headberg, Acid Man, Susan J.B.

Carrie, Katie O'Connor, Ryan Williamson, and Shannon Hay. So some great support. We really appreciate that. I recognize a lot of those names as being supporters of true crime all time and True Crime All Time Unsolved. So I have to, you know, give an extra special shout out to those folks. It's amazing that they choose to support, you know, multiple podcasts financially. It really goes a long way.

You and I have said it more. If it goes a long way towards allowing us to put out weekly episodes of this podcast. Yeah. Every week, I'm amazed by how many people take the time and, and just send what they can. It really helps us out. and it's appreciated. We say it all the time, but it's true. And if you'd like to help support us as a patron on Patreon,

go to patreon.com slash criminology. So we have a couple of big announcements. The first of which is that we will officially be on podcast row at CrimeCon in New Orleans this June. So more if you and I will be there, Gibby's going to be there. It'll be just like it's been at the last couple of crime cons. We'll all sit together, criminology, true crime all time, and true crime all time, and salt.

But I will say this. If you are a true crime fan, you do not want to miss crime con. It is a blast. And if you are already set to go, that's awesome. We hope you'll stop by. We'd love to meet you. Stop by. Say hi.

If you haven't signed up yet, please use our promo code, Criminology 19 at Check out when buying your standard badges at crimecon.com because you'll save 10% off your badge. Again, our code is Criminology 19. Yeah, the first two crime cons, Mike, have been really fun. I know you had a good time and I'm excited to go again. And just a month later in July, we'll be at the True Crime Podcast Festival in Chicago. I think that's going to be a lot of fun. There'll be some great podcasts there and we're looking forward to meeting people there too.

the best part of CrimeCon for me, because I didn't go to a lot of the panels, I didn't go to a lot of the discussions because what I really wanted to do was meet fans. And that's what I did. And I loved it, right? Getting to talk to some of these people that you interact with on social media, you know their names, you've talked to them, but getting to meet them in person, put a face to the name and just kind of hang out for a bit. And I hope that this one in Chicago will be similar. And I know it's going to be much, much smaller, but I'm hoping that I get that similar vibe from it because I really enjoy it. Right. Now that we've got all that out of the way, let's jump into this case. On January 10th, 2019, social worker Gene Nutter was out walking her dog in Gordon, Wisconsin. A disheveled young

girl approached her wearing few clothes and a men's pair of shoes in what was freezing temperatures. The girl walked up to Jean and said, I need help. Gene instantly recognized this young girl. She was none other than 13 year old Jamie Claus, a girl who had vanished without a trace three months before, on the same night, her parents were brutally murdered. And this was a case morph that made national headlines. A massive search was launched for Jamie. A huge investigation was started after 88 long days of wondering what happened to Jamie. And on top of that, who was responsible for her parents' murders? We were going to get answers finally to what happened that fateful night in October 2018.

Barron, Wisconsin is a quiet town of 3,400 residents in the northwest part of the state. It's the county seat of Barron County and lies about 53 miles north of O'Clear and 91 miles northeast of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Barron is home to the Genio Turkey Company, the single largest employer in the county. Barron is considered safe and a good place to raise a family. The crime rate is very low. Over the last decade, most of the crime in Barron was burglaries or theft. There were a few rapes and assaults, but no murders. Barron residents had no reason to fear for their safety.

People sometimes let their doors unlocked, and kids walk to school by themselves. But one night would change all of that, and the community would never be the same again. James Klaus was born on September 25th, 1962 in Lady Smith, Wisconsin. To James and Lynn Klaus. He was a high school basketball star for the Lady Smith Lumberjacks, leading them to a second place finish in the Wisconsin State basketball tournament in 1981. And that's a big deal, morph. Basketball in Wisconsin is huge.

Now, it might not be Indiana. It might not be Kentucky. But basketball is very big in the state of Wisconsin. In the 1990s, James got a job at the Genio Turkey plant. in Barron, and this is where he met his future wife, Denise. James was fond of conversing about the glory days, you know, where he starred in high school sports. He had a really good career. And he was just a sports fan in general.

He loved the Green Bay Packers and the Wisconsin Badgers. Denise Claus was born on July 21st, 1972 in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. to Robert and Rebecca Nyberg, she grew up in the town of Cornell. In the 1990s, she started a job at the Jenny O. Turkey Plant and Barron. And this is where she met James. She was a member of St. Peter's Catholic Church in Cameron and even taught religious education classes at Catholic churches in the area. Denise was shy. She was described as a gentle soul who loved working with her flowers.

She loved feeding the birds. But Denise was a person that helped everyone in any way that she possibly could. She was extremely well-liked and she had a group of really good friends. James and Denise Kloss were married on June 9, 2003 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Two years later on July 13, 2005, Denise gave me. Baird to the couple's only child, a girl they named Jamie. Life for the Kloss family was good. The couple adored their little girl.

They were a close-knit family who loved one another deeply. Jamie Kloss is a sweet girl who loves to dance, is loyal to her friends and thinks of others in need. On one of her homework assignments, she had to answer the question, what would you do if you were given a million dollars? Jamie answered, feed the hungry, and give the rest to the poor. The Kloss family lived in Barron where Jamie attended Riverview Middle School. Their life together was idealic and full of love. They were good people who never bothered anyone.

No one could have predicted the absolute horror that would tear the Kloss family apart. At 1256 a.m. on October 15, 2018, a 9-1-1 call came into the Barron County Sheriff's Office. When the dispatcher answered the call, no one spoke on the other. in. The dispatcher reported that she could hear a lot of yelling in the background before the connection was lost. The dispatcher figured out that this call came from a cell phone and tried several times to call the number back, but was never able to make contact with the caller. What she did get was a voicemail greeting that indicated the cell phone belonged to 46-year-old Denise Claus. So the

The dispatcher tried calling the landline, but it had been disconnected. Then she dispatched three deputies to the residents of James and Denise Klaus at 1268 U.S. Highway 8 in Barron. The deputies arrived at the Kloss home at about 1 a.m. Only four minutes after the 911 call was placed. There were no outside lights on at the home, but there was a light on upstairs in a northwest corner window. But police didn't see or hear any signs of distress coming from the home like the dispatcher had heard on the 911 call.

When deputies approached the front door, the door itself was open and they could tell someone had kicked it in. Lying inside on the floor was James Klaus. He had been shot to death. As they made their way through the home, they found Denise Klaus dead in the bathtub in the bathroom. She too had been shot to death. Lying between the bathroom and hallway, away from the two bodies, was to be dead. Denise's cell phone. Police didn't discover any weapons as they kill them the scene for clues. Deputies quickly learned that the Kloss's had a 13-year-old daughter named Jamie, but she was not in the home. So at 357 a.m., dispatch entered Jamie Klaus into the system as a missing juvenile. Later that

morning, a Wisconsin crime alert, as well as an Amber alert, was issued for the teenager. Between 4 and 5 a.m., the sheriff's office contacted an FBI field agent from O'Clair and deputies notified one of Denise's sisters about the murders and Jamie's disappearance. At 5.13 a.m., an alert was sent to agency statewide about missing endangered juvenile Jamie Clause. And it stated that she was likely abducted by a stranger. Jamie was also added to the FBI's missing persons list. The Kloss family dog was still in the home when police arrived. Police took it to Denise Kloss's sister's home in Barron later that afternoon. Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald held a press conference to inform the public in media

about the tragic events, as well as a couple of cars seen in the area of the Klaus home that were of interest to them. I want to thank the community for their continued support and prayers for the safe return of Jamie. We'd like to brief you on our investigative efforts to, date. Based on our investigation thus far, we believe Jamie was in the home at the time of the homicides. We believe she is still in danger. This remains an active investigation. We're following up on every tip. We've received over 1,300 tips in our community and from across the nation. We have closed 1,100 of those. Additionally, through the examination of video camera footage, both from businesses and homes, we have determined two vehicles that were in the, in the Clause home,

near the Klaus home at the time of the incident. You'll see three photos up here. The first vehicle is likely a 2008 to 2014 Dodge Challenger, red or orange in color. The second vehicle is likely either a 2006-2010-Fort Edge Black or a 2004-2010 Accura MDX black in color. About 11 p.m. that same night, the Miami, Florida Police Department posted on their Twitter page about a tip they received earlier in the afternoon. The person who gave the tip believed they had seen Jamie at a gas station that afternoon

in the back of a Black Ford Explorer with a Wisconsin license plate. And police checked out this tip. They went to the gas station. They pulled the surveillance video. And what they saw on the video was a teenage girl sitting in the front passenger. seat as the driver pulled up to a gas pump. She didn't appear to be restrained. The video also shows the driver of the vehicle exiting,

walking up to an SUV and a truck and talking with the passengers of those vehicles. The Barron County Sheriff's Department reviewed this footage as well, and they would later come out and say that the tip was not credible. They did not believe that this was Jamie or had anything to do with Jamie. On October 24th, Jamie's aunt Jennifer Nyberg-Smith spoke on camera in a plea for Jamie's safe return. To whoever may know where Jamie is, please contact the Barron County Sheriff Department. Jamie, we need you here with us to fill that hole we have in our hearts. We all love you to the moon and back, and we will never stop looking.

for you. Eleven days after the murders and Jamie's abduction, Barron County police said more than 200 law enforcement officers were on the ground daily. Authorities had cleared more than 1,400 leads and continued to pursue others. Authorities recruited 2,000 volunteers for a massive ground search. Volunteers searched the area around the Klaus' home, but found no evidence of any kind proving what might have happened to Jamie. The last time she was seen was a few hours before the murders at a family gathering.

Police at the time had no idea if this was a random or targeted attack on the Klaus family. A new evidence team went through the Klaus home to make sure nothing was overlooked in the original search. And authorities reviewed the 911 call made from Denise's cell phone. The FBI initially collected 80 videos from various locations around Barron and beyond. A month after the murders, police had processed over 2,300 tips, but all of them led nowhere. On October 27, 2018, a man wearing... wearing a puffy jacket and skull cap broke into the cloth's home through a patio door. The man stole some of Jamie's underwear and other clothing.

But he was spotted by agents of the Wisconsin Department of Criminal Investigations who were watching the home via motion-activated cameras. 32-year-old Kyle Janke-Anis was charged with burglary and felony bail jumping. In August 2018, he was released on bond on another burglary charge with the condition that he commit no other crimes. At his initial court appearance on January 9th, 2019, he waived further reading of the complaint against him. The complaint alleged that during an interview with FBI and DCI agents, he said he left work that evening and rode his bicycle to a line. Andromat and Barron. From there, he said he walked to the Kloss residence.

And when he arrived, he noticed the patio door was unlocked and he just walked right in. He said he took items from the house that he believed people wouldn't miss. But he also said he was curious about what size clothing Jamie Klaus wore. He was eventually cleared of any involvement in the Kloss case. But Morf, this is very very. very strange. Obviously, this man, Kyle, knew about the Jamie Claw subduction, had probably seen it on the news, read about it in the papers, and he's just going to go to their house, walk in and steal a bunch of her clothing. You talk about suspicious behavior and putting yourself on the

radar for a high profile case. Man, that does not see. seem smart at all. I mean, first of all, it's not smart to break into somebody's house, but to do it in a case like this where it's all over the media, you have to think people are watching the house. It just seems very strange to me. It was bizarre to see him go into that house like that. And number one, it's a crime scene, but number two, he's in there taking, uh, missing young girls underwear that's not going to look good to police or anyone else. but in the end he was cleared of being involved in her abduction or the murders. After the attack on the Kloss family, Barron County residents set out to raise money for the Kloss family.

Homemade lanterns were made that symbolized the hope that Jamie would return home. But the people of Barron were on edge. After all, the killer was still out there somewhere, possibly with Jamie. Who was it? Was it one of their own? Or could it have been a stranger? Residents began locking their doors at night and being extra cautious when taking their kids to school. Life and Barron had changed forever. In November 2018, Barron native Chris Crozy was a runner-up in the 15th season of the singing competition, The Voice.

He performed the Beatles hit Let It Be and dedicated it to Jamie. He told his coach, Blake Shelton, This dedication song has a good message of hope. My hometown has been through a lot lately. there was an abduction of a 13-year-old girl from Barron. Her name is Jamie Claus. She still hasn't been found. It's just unsettling, you know.

It doesn't happen there. This is for Barron. His performance advanced him to the next round of the show. Crozy had sung the classic Beatles hit a vigil for Jamie, not too long after she disappeared. The vigil dubbed The Gathering of Hope was held for Jamie at the Barron High School football stadium. By December, police were still at a loss as to who killed the crime.

clauses and abducted Jamie. And not just at a loss for who had done this, but why? What they did know was that their killer was intelligent. He didn't leave behind any fingerprints, shoe prints, or DNA. Police were unable to recover any physical evidence leading them to the killer's identity. A neighbor did come forward and say that she heard two gunshots at 1231. or 1232 a.m. On December 12th, about 200 barren residents gathered at Riverview Middle School to light a tree of hope for Jamie. The ceremony was organized by the Barron School District and the Jenny O Company where James and Denise worked for 27 years. The tree was decorated by the staff and students of the school. And later that month, other trees of hope were decorated

in several places, in and around baron. One was put up in Ladysmith, where James Clause grew up, and another in Walmart. And Genie O was as a company instrumental in organizing a lot of these ceremonies. And when you talk about the one that occurred in Wilmar, over 5,000 lights were strung on a 35-foot tree located in a courtyard at the Walmart campus, there were blue lights in honor of Jamie Claus. Her favorite color is blue. There were green lights for all the missing and exploited children. And even the parent company of Jenny O, which is Hormel, they got involved as well. And they decorated a tree at their Austin World headquarters. This was a big deal, right? These are companies that James

and Denise worked at for almost 30 years, and they really went all out in not only celebrating their lives, but also championing the search for Jamie. Jamie's case is considered unique by experts. In an email to USA Today, Kenneth Mainz, a detective and cold case consultant, wrote that what stood out about this case is the death of Jamie's parents. He said, if the ultimate goal was kidnapping and sex trafficking, it wouldn't be necessary to kill the parents. You may kill them because they know who you are or because the purpose is to kill them and not the kidnapping. It is an extra extraordinary step, and it's done for specific purpose not related to the kidnapping. Robert Lowry, Vice President of the Missing Children Division at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children,

also agreed that the case was unique, because there were no real sightings of Jamie after her, Lorry also said that as time passed, it became less likely that authorities would find Jamie. But he did point out the case of Elizabeth Smart, who was found nine months after she was kidnapped at age 14, by Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barsey. And let's not forget J.C. Dugard, who was found alive 18 years after she was abducted in 1991, while walking to the school bus stop from her home. Her captors, Philip and Nancy Garito, are currently serving life sentence. in prison. Their stories are the reason families should never give up hope on finding their

missing loved one, because sometimes they do come home. In the suburbs of D.C., a woman fails to show up for work and is found brutally murdered. I wonder which emergency? We just walked in the door and there's blood in the foyer. For the next two decades, the case remained unsolved until new technology allowed investigators to do what had once been impossible. A new series from ABC Audio in 2020. Blood and water. Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts. But now we go back to January 10th, 2019. We talked about this in the beginning of the episode. Gene Nutter was walking her dog Henry in Gordon, Wisconsin, a small town about 65 miles north of Barron. She saw a young girl walking towards her. I was at the end of my driveway, and then I saw, saw,

a young woman who appeared to be in distress. She was probably about 10 or 12 feet from me saying, I need help. All I knew is whoever this child is, she's in trouble. It was 19 or 20 degrees outside, and she only had a sweatshirt on and maybe some black leggings, and I thought she was in her slippers. So I figured she left wherever she had been in a hurry. You know, a lot of things went through my head. So I quickened my pace and got to her and she just sort of fell into me and said, I'm Jamie. And I said, I know. Gene recognized Jamie right away. Because keep in mind, Jamie's picture was everywhere.

It was on television. There were flyers posted. It was all over social media. Gene knew she had to get Jamie to a safe place. But before she did that, Jamie pointed out to Gene. the cabin where she was held captive and named her captor right away. His name was Jake Patterson. Jamie told Gene that she had escaped from that cabin.

So Gene had to make a decision on where to take Jamie. She didn't want to take her to her own cabin because it was very close to Patterson's. His property actually butted up to. to the back of Jean's land. And keep in mind, she had no idea where Patterson was. But Jamie told her he was not at the cabin and that he was out in a red car. So Gene and Jamie needed to get somewhere safe. And Gene headed to her neighbor's house.

This is a guy named Peter Kaczynskas. She pounded on his front door and he opened. And you have to imagine this scene, Morve. This guy, Peter, opens his door. He sees his neighbor, Gene Nutter. And she has a young girl with her. And Gene says to Peter, this is Jamie Clause. Call 911.

And Peter would later say, Jamie looked tired. She was dirty. It looked like she had not had a bath in quite a while, if at all. But it was really her demeanor that struck this guy. Jamie was emotionless. It looked to Peter as if she was in shock. It was actually Peter's wife, Kristen Kaczynskis, that called 911. Connie 911.

Hi. I have a young lady at my house right now, and she says her name is Jamie Klaus. Okay, what's your address? One for Gordon, Wisconsin. Okay, have you seen her photo, ma'am? Yes. It is her. I 100% think it is her. Okay.

100%. Does it look like she's going to run? No, she's sitting down and she's relaxing. Okay, hang on just a second. What's your name? Yep. What's your name, ma'am? Kristen Kaczynski.

Kristen, how do you spell your last name? Okay, did she show up walking? Yeah, a neighbor just walked up with her to our house and asked us to call 9-1-1. Jean told the Kaczynskas to get a weapon in case Patterson showed up. The couple retrieved the gun. kept inside their home and then brought Jamie into the living room. They offered her food and water, but she declined. Jamie sat on her blanket on the couch while Peter stood at the front door with the gun in his hand, waiting for police to arrive. The Kacenskas put their two children in the

basement with their dogs and told them to watch TV until they said it was okay to come back upstairs. Jean and Kristen stood near Jamie until police showed up. Jamie was asked if she knew her kidnapper, and she said, no, I did not know him before he came to the house. Peter and Kristen didn't want to ask Jamie too many questions because they were afraid to retramatize her. But Jamie did tell them his name and that she had no idea where she was. The couple told her that she was in Gordon, Wisconsin. Once Kristen heard the name of Jamie's abductor, she was pretty sure she had taught Patterson in middle school. She recognized the name right away. Later on, she was, she told CNN, in my mind, I said, oh, that can't be the same person. But Jamie told her that

Patterson was 21. And Kristen pretty quickly realized that the ages matched up. 20 to 30 minutes after Kristen called 911, police arrived at the Kaczynskas home. They instructed Gene, Kristen, and Jamie to get away from the windows. And they, they, they actually put them downstairs. An officer sent Peter to the back door and told him to stand guard with his gun in case Patterson tried to enter the home that way. Police started asking Jamie Clause questions. They asked about Patterson's car and she described it to them.

And it was just 10 minutes later that someone came on to the police radio and said that Jake Thomas Patterson had been apprehended without incident. And not only that, but that when officers arrested him, he said, I did it. He wasn't very far away when police found him. Patterson was charged with two counts of intentional homicide, one count of kidnapping, and one count of armed robbery. Jamie was hospitalized overnight and reunited with her surviving family and dog, Molly, on January 11th. That same day, police held a press conference regarding the previous day's events and update the public on Jamie's escape and Patterson's capture. My agency received a 911 call about 430 yesterday afternoon from the individual who was out walking her dog,

said she was approached by a young female claiming to be Jamie Klaus. This lady immediately went to a nearby house, notified that neighbor of the, claim and this neighbor called 911 and my deputies responded in mass immediately and identified Jamie as the person that approached the neighbor took control of her and possession of her and put her in safekeeping and a short time later one of my patrol sergeants happened to find a vehicle that matched the description that Jamie gave my deputies of the suspect and pulled the vehicle over her and took the suspect in custody at that time. Beyond that, Jamie was taken to a local hospital up in the Duluth Superior area where she was looked over and examined and she

was held overnight for observation and the suspect was interviewed and subsequently brought back down here to Barron County. That's all I have right now. Thank you Sheriff Dahlbeck and thank your deputies for the work that they helped in this case. The suspect arrested, was arrested and is currently being held in the Barron County Jail. That suspect is Jake Thomas Patterson, P-A-T-T-E-R-S-O-N. He is 21 years old from Gordon, Wisconsin. He is currently being held on two counts of first-degree intentional homicide for the murder of Jamie's parents and one count of kidnapping.

Patterson's first brief court appearance was January 14, 2019. He was ordered held on $5 million bail. and labeled a flight risk and a danger to the public. He was ordered to have no contact with Jamie or members of the public who helped her after she escaped if he were opposed bail. He did not enter a plea during court. Patterson appeared calm and answered clearly when asked legal questions relating to the proceedings by the judge, James Babler.

In that first court appearance, prosecutors said that Patterson carefully planned this attack on the Kloss family. They said he shaved his head and his face, and he took a shower beforehand so he wouldn't leave DNA at the crime scene. He disabled the dome lights inside his car, and he also rigged the trunk of his car so it could not be open from the inside. He even stole some license plates and attached them to his Ford Taurus. The prosecution's 12-page complaint filed against Patterson, which included details from Jamie and Patterson's interviews with authorities provided some answers to questions about the events over the previous three months, beginning with October 15.

As laid out by the prosecution on October 15th, 2018, Jamie Clause was asleep in her bedroom when she woke up because her dog Molly was barking. She got up out of bed to investigate and saw a car coming up to driveway. She woke up her parents and her father James went to investigate. When he approached the front door, he encountered a man with a gun. This would turn out to be Jake Patterson, but no one in the family knew who this was. Jamie and Denise hid in the bathroom sitting in the bathtub. Their arms wrapped around one another in a bear hug.

all of a sudden, Jamie and Denise heard a gunshot. And this was when Denise dialed 911 from her cell phone. But as she did, Patterson broke down the bathroom door and told Denise to hang up the phone. He then ordered Denise to put tape over Jamie's mouth. And then Jake Patterson shot Denise in the head, killing her instantly. Patterson wrapped Jamie's hands and ankles together behind her. with black tape. He dragged her to his car and put her in the trunk. Just moments after Patterson drove from the Kloss home, Jamie could hear the sirens of passing patrol cars. Patterson later

said he was aware of the close encounter with police. Patterson later relayed to police that as he drove off in his Red Ford Taurus, he took off the black mask he had been wearing. He had only driven about 20 seconds from the house when he yielded to three passing squad cars, traveling towards the cloth's home, with their emergency lights and sirens on. He also said that if there had been an encounter with police, it would have been violent, and that he most likely would have shot at the police with the loaded shotgun he had in the front seat. Jamie told police that it felt like she had been in the trunk of Patterson's car for about two hours before they arrived at his cabin.

Once they were inside, Patterson told her to go to the bedroom and take off her clothes. He put them in a bag and mentioned something about not having any evidence. Jamie didn't see what he did with their bag of clothes. Patterson ordered Jamie to hide under the bed. He stacked totes and laundry bins around with weights stacked against them so that she couldn't move them without Patterson detecting the noise. On one occasion, Patterson believed she had moved the bins. Jamie said he struck her real hard in the back

and told her bad things would happen or if she tried anything like that again. Jamie also told police that sometimes Patterson would have his friends over. He would turn on the music so that they couldn't hear any noises that Jamie made. On the day she escaped, Patterson informed Jamie he was leaving the house for a few hours and made her get under the bed before he left. Once he was gone, she managed to push the bins and weights away and crawl out from under the bed. She put on a pair of Patterson's shoes and walked out of the house. That's when she saw Jean Nutter walking her dog.

When police questioned Patterson, they asked him why he targeted Jamie and her family. He told them that he first spotted Jamie while he was on his way to work one day. He was stopped behind a school bus and saw her boarding it. He had no idea who she was, but he made the decision right then and there that he was going to kidnap her. He actually made two failed attempts to abduct Jamie Clause prior to. prior to the night of October 15. Patterson told police that he killed Jamie's parents because they were barriers to Jamie and he was not going to let anyone or anything get between him and

her. He said he would have even killed children if he had to. So, Morph, I think we have to talk about Patterson's actions here. Number one, he was very calculating. He had to, he had, thought this out, but he was hell-bent on carrying this plan out. And it's so scary to think about how this played out. This is a young man driving his car who one day happens to see a young girl. And from that point forward, he is so obsessed with this young girl. And he even says it that he would basically have done anything, killed anyone he had to, to get to her. It really is disturbing, and I think it will be interesting to see if Patterson has any underlying psychological or mental illness, because to see a young girl walking randomly

and suddenly decide, I'm going to kidnap that girl and nothing will stop me, that just seems like a case of someone who may not have a full grasp on reality. Police haven't mentioned to media or in court filings that Jamie Claus was sexually assaulted during her captivity. But Patterson's defense attorneys, Charles Glynn and Richard Jones, are known for taking high-profile cases with a special emphasis on sexually violent people. Authorities said that Patterson acted completely alone and there were no accomplices. And more if you said, police haven't mentioned anything yet about Jamie being sexually. assaulted. And I think they would know, right, from interviews with Jamie, it just seems strange to me. When we're talking about this young man fixated on this girl, held her captive for close to

three months, but yet didn't try in any way to sexually assault her. Again, that just seems strange to me with all of the different types of cases that I've researched that he's so fixated, yet there's no sexual component to it. I hope for Jamie's sake that that is true and there is no sexual component to it. But I agree with you that in most of these cases, it seems as if there's some kind of sexual motivation or plan involved. It'll be interesting to see if any more details come out. maybe out of privacy for Jamie, they won't come forward with those details. After Patterson's arrest, police searched and processed his cabin as a crime scene. They released photos of the cabin to the press.

Above the Holmes front door hung a damage sign that read Patterson's retreat and another one that read Welcome. There were junk cars, old bikes, and a whole bunch of garbage on the ground. on the grounds around the home. Inside, the cabin looked as if it was being renovated. There was ceiling insulation, visible in a second-story den. This home was very cluttered.

The floor was covered with some green shag carpeting. There were some linoleum. There was a lot going on in this house. Jake Patterson used to live at the cabin with his father and brother, but a few days after Jamie's abduction, on October 23rd, his father transferred ownership of the cabin to Superior Choice Credit Union. The timing of this ownership switch has led to some additional questions, which are being looked into by police.

And I do think this is interesting, Morf, and I'll be looking for additional information to come out, in my mind, when I hear something like that, that makes me think that they weren't making the payments, the credit union was possibly about ready to foreclose on the cabin. So in lieu of that, he signed it back over to the credit union. That's what it makes me think, but I haven't seen those details yet. Classmates of Patterson were shocked when they found out that he was the Kloss family killer and Jamie's abductor. He graduated from the Northwood K-12 school in 2015, where he was a member of the Quiz Bowl team. he was quiet and withdrawn and lacked social skills.

But he was very intelligent and could crack a joke that would send his classmates into fits of laughter. He definitely didn't come across as someone capable of the horrible acts committed on the Klaus family. And Morph, I know you can't judge a book by its cover, but when you see pictures of this young man, Jake Patterson, he doesn't look like someone that you would be frightened by. If you saw him walking down the street, you wouldn't think, oh, got to watch this guy. He looks small. He looks meek. At least that's what I took from the pictures that I've seen.

After Jamie Clause escaped her captor, her family celebrated her return. And as you can imagine, the reunion between Jamie and her family was extremely emotional. Her family members couldn't stop hugging her. It was as if they just. didn't want to let her go. Her grandfather, Robert Nyberg, was quote to saying, it was so good to just hug her. It's wonderful that she's back and that I can hug her again. And obviously more if the family's not letting Jamie out of their sight, they want to see her. They're seeing her every day. Jamie's family bought her new bed, pillows, new clothes. They decorated

her room with butterflies because Jamie's mother, Denise, loved butterflies. And the other thing that the family did, and obviously more, this is before they knew that Jamie was coming home. They recorded her parents funeral on video so that she could watch it when she came home and when she's ready, right? That's a big step to take. This poor girl has gone through a, lot. Now she's free. She's home with her family. I don't know that she even had time to grieve her parents' deaths. On January 12, 2019, Jamie's Aunt Jennifer Nyberg-Smith posted on Facebook about Jamie's first night home. She wrote, Jamie had a pretty good night's sleep. It was great to know she was next to me all night. What a great feeling to have her home. As a family, we will get through

all of the healing process Jamie has. It will be a long road, but we're a family strong, and we love this little girl, so much. We will do anything and everything. My beloved sister Denise and brother-in-law Jim can rest at peace, and I keep assuring them Jamie is safe, and we will make sure forever. We all miss them both dearly now. They know their Jamie, which was their whole world, is home with family. God is good. Bless you all. Jamie's aunt, Susie also posted on her Facebook page. She said, I have absolutely no way of knowing how to thank so many people. I would love to give each and every one of you a huge hug.

Together we brought Jamie home. I am so very proud of you, Jamie Claus. You saved your strength at the utmost opportunity. I believe all the thoughts and prayer behind you, God and your mom and dad led. This is a day of happiness I will never forget, getting to hug you and tell you that I love you. You will now be surrounded by love and we will always be there for you. My sister, Denise Poo and Jim, we have your baby girl in our arms and may you both now rest in peace. We will never forget you.

So again, more if you take a look at these Facebook posts and you can just feel the emotion, right, coming out in them. And there's a lot of emotion to go around. On one hand, the family is dealing with the death of two family members. And then on the other end of the spectrum, they have Jamie back. Very tough, right? To deal with both of those at the same time. Very, very high and a very, very low. While many people have been excited to hear the news that Jamie is home with her family,

many people have been equally as curious to know more about Patterson's family. Patterson's father stated that he and his wife were devastated, but thinking of Jamie and her family. He also said that he wanted to write a note to Jamie's family. Jake Patterson was unemployed and had no criminal history at the time that the attack occurred on the Kloss family. But he does have a brother with a criminal history of a sexual nature. Patterson's brother was tied to multiple instances of attempting to have sexual. with underage girls. In one instance, when he was 18, he drove three hours to meet a 15-year-old with the intention of having sex with her. Apparently, he had met this girl in an online chat

site. When police encountered him in that incident, he was found to have maps and a police scanner in his car. But once again, police say that he is not connected to the abduction of Jamie Klaus. But I do think it's interesting, Morph, to talk about, you know, we mentioned earlier. as of this point, it's not come out that there was any type of sexual assault on Jamie Claus. Now, that might change down the road, but then you find out that Jamie Capter's brother has a whole bunch of incidents involving underage girls. And the two brothers at a certain point lived in this cabin together after their parents had moved. So make of that what you will.

but to me it's interesting. It makes you wonder if Jake Patterson was somehow impressionable and some of his older brother's actions didn't rub off on him in some way. I think that's a great point. That very well could have happened. As news broke across the country about Jamie's brave escape, other kidnapping victims came forward and gave insight on how Jamie's road to recovery would be. One of those people was Elizabeth Smart. In an interview, Smart said, right now is a very sensitive, very important time for her to sort of rebuild those connections with her family.

Her family's been torn apart in such a brutal way. Now it's just vital that she has that time with her family to reconnect, to rebuild that foundation, to have that support that she can move forward. So she can move on with her life. she will not be able to go back to who she was before she was kidnapped. She will never be able to just return to her life as it was before. But that doesn't mean that what has happened needs to destroy her future or needs to define her future. And I think more of this is very, very intelligent words coming from Elizabeth Smart. And let's be honest, if anybody knows what Jamie Claw. is feeling or, you know, what type of issues she's going to encounter in the future,

it's Elizabeth Smart. And more, if we mentioned it right up front, this case is in the news right now, right? It's playing out. Just a few days ago, January 20th, St. Peter Catholic Church hosted a service for residents of Barron and Cameron to celebrate Jamie's return home. The Neese Klaus was a member of St. Peter Catholic Church. It's also where both the nieces and James funeral was held last year. And then we have Jake Patterson. He's going to have a number of court dates coming up in the future. All of this is going to play out in the media.

We're going to get additional details coming out. There's no doubt about that. He's next due in court for a preliminary hearing February 6th. which is just a couple of weeks away. But I know that you and I will be following this case. I mean, I want to see, I want to hear what the additional details are that come out. But that's it for the case of Jamie Claus. It's a tough story because two people were murdered. Jamie was kidnapped, but she found her way home. So in that respect, it's, like I said, it has its highs and its lows.

You know, her mom and dad were murdered, but she got out. She got out alive. She's back with her family. A lot of emotions to try to reconcile. And I don't think it's going to be an easy road for her going forward. And we just wanted to thank Debbie at TruecrimeDiva.com for help with writing and research for this episode. Be sure to check out her site, which actually was featured in episode two of True Detective

this week. As always, if you haven't done so yet, please take a minute. If you love the show, go out, give us a five-star rating. We really appreciate that. Find us on Twitter with the handle Criminology Pod. We're also on Facebook. And if you want to leave us a voicemail, you can do so by calling 661-77 crime. And we may play your voicemail on the air. Right, Morph. So that's it for us this week. We'll be back next week with an all-new episode. So from Mike. And more. We'll talk to you next week. Take care, everybody.

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