November 18, 2023 • 13 mins
The kidnapping of Jayme Closs. Horrific family tragedy.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
Hey guys, welcome back my truecrime junkies. This is Aida your host.
I am back with a new episodetoday. I know it's been a
while. I've been out sick andlife happened, but I am back hopefully.
I will be posting a new episodeeach week, So make sure that
you subscribe to any of your favoritepodcast platforms. I will be posting every
(00:28):
week on a new episode. Ifnot, follow me on my Instagram or
TikTok page. I would definitely letyou know with notifications. Now let's get
started. Today. We are goingto be talking about a very sad tragedy
that happened to a thirteen year oldgirl and her family. This is going
(00:49):
to be about the kidnapping of JamieKlaus. Jamie Klaus, she, like
I said, was thirteen when thishappened. She was born in two thousand
and five. She is the onlychild of James and Denise Class. They
lived in a small town called Baron, Wisconsin. They were a normal American
(01:11):
family in their home and this tragedyhappened. Now let's begin. October fifth
of twenty eighteen. Jake Patterson,remember this name. He drove by the
Classes home and with the intent ofkidnapping Jamie, but the activities around the
(01:33):
house teared him from doing that,so he was afraid that he would leave
witnesses. So Patterson made a secondattempt two days later, but again he
aborted the plans for the same reasons. Now October fifteenth, he made a
third visit drove by this time hewent armed with a shotgun. This was
(01:56):
shortly around twelve fifty three am.Patterson went ahead and parked his car at
the end of the driveway. Hewas wearing a black coat a ski mask,
and he approached the front door ofthe home carrying the shotgun. Now
James Class the dad, he wasfifty six. He aimed a flashlight through
(02:17):
the glass pane in the front doorand asked Patterson to show his badge,
but Patterson responded back and called outand said, just opened the fucking door.
Patterson fired once and he fatally shotmister Class. Now he's forcing his
way into the house. Patterson checkedevery single room in the house because he
(02:40):
wanted no witnesses left behind. Sohe came upon a bathroom door that was
locked, and he began to shootthe door. Inside this bathroom were Denise
Class, Jamie's mom. She wasforty six and Jamie. Denise was comforting
Jamie because she was screaming, crying, loud, panicked. No was around
(03:01):
twelve fifty three am. Denise callsnine one one. While Denise clause did
not speak to the operator, theoperator heard the disturbance the yelling before the
phone call just got disconnected. Whenthe dispatcher called the number back, they
reached Denise's voicemail. Patterson bound JamesJamie's risk and ankles using duct taped and
(03:28):
then fatally shot Denise her mom.He dragged Jamie outside, almost literally slipping
on the blood everywhere around the house, placed her in the trunk of his
car, and drove away. Thepolice arrived four minutes after the nine one
one call. Patterson later told investigatorinvestigators that he pulled over twenty seconds down
(03:49):
the road from the house and deputiessped by with emergency lights and sirens on.
He saw the police driving up tothe house as he was leaving.
Neighbors said they heard two gunshots butdismissed them since hunting season was around was
coming to hear that around their homes, and after arriving at his cabin,
(04:12):
Patterson made claws, change into adifferent pair of pajamas, then forced her
under his mattress and sealed off allexits before going to sleep. Less than
two weeks after Jamie's abduction, aman he burglarized, So sorry, double
(04:33):
stuttered there a little. He burglarizedthe class home, stealing some of Jamie's
clothing. He was arrested, butnot considered a suspect in the abduction or
the double murdered. Patterson took classto a house about seventy miles away in
a rural area there in Gordon,Wisconsin, and held her in captivity for
(04:58):
eighty eight days until she escaped onJanuary tenth of twenty nineteen. Now let
me tell you a little bit aboutthis murderer. Jake Thomas Patterson. He
was born June seventeenth, nineteen ninetyseven. Patterson's parents divorced in two thousand
and seven. He graduated from NorthwoodHigh School in the nearby Minan, Wisconsin,
(05:27):
in twenty fifteen. Then he enlistedin the US Marine Corps, but
was discharged after one month at MCRDin San Diego. Patterson Grant's father stated,
something went terribly wrong. Nobody hadany clues. We are absolutely heartbreaking,
its wrenching to deal with. Hewas a shy and quiet He backed
(05:49):
off from any crowds, but anice boy, polite. Computer games were
more of his priority than social interaction. End quote. This is a statement
that James Patterson's grandfather gave reporters.At that time. Police did not believe
Patterson had any social media contact withClaus or the family relatives of Jamie.
(06:14):
Any of the relatives of Jamie didnot recognize him Patterson's name. They no
one had heard of his name orrecognize his picture or anything, so they've
never come across him. Patterson toldauthorities he saw Claus, you know,
Jamie, getting off the school busoutside the family resident in September while he
was driving home from work, andthat's how he knew she was the girl
(06:38):
he wanted to take. Patterson believedthat Claus was too afraid of him to
make an escaped attempts. He neverput special locks on doors because she wouldn't
escape. He assumed they also slepton the same bed. Patterson would rarely
let Jamie Klaus out of a cabin, only for brief walks on the lawn
(07:00):
after checking for bystanders. On theafternoon of January tenth of twenty nineteen,
Patterson told Jamie he was leaving fora couple of hours. He put her
under his bed before boxing her insidewith his belongings, per his usual routine,
and after he departed, Jamie pushedout all the objects around the bed.
(07:25):
She ran from the house wearing alight shirt, leggings, and a
pair of patterson sneakers. Jamie cameacross a local woman, Jenny Nutter,
walking her dog. Jamie Nutter recognizedJamie Claus from the news reports and immediately
took her to a neighbor's house,and after police were called, Jamie Claus
(07:48):
told him Jake Patterson had killed herparents, taken her, and kept a
prisoner just a few houses away fromher current location in the neighborhood. The
neighborhood describes Jimi Claus as calm,quiet, dazed, and surprised that they
recognized her from the news coverage.The police arrived around four forty five pm
(08:09):
and removed Jamie Claus from the areafor her safety, of course, and
the description Jamie Claus provided them aboutPatterson and his vehicle enabled the deputies to
spot his car just minutes after whenJamie, you know, when James Patterson
drove by the house and after adeputy stopped and Patterson exited his vehicle and
(08:31):
said, I did it end quote. A hospital admitted Jamie Claus underguard.
The next morning, they released herto the custody of her aunt, Jennifer
Smith. She she basically was veryclose to her. She worked at the
(08:52):
Hermeil factory with the parents with Jamie'sparents the company that owns Jenio, So
they worked there together. And thiscompany where they worked announced on January twenty
fourth that they would grant twenty fivethousand dollars reward money to Jamie class for
rescuing herself. That is amazing.And James Patterson confessed to the police that
(09:18):
he had kidnapped Jamie and killed herparents. He had no previous criminal history
in Wisconsin. He was charged withtwo counts of first degree intentional homicide and
one count of kidnapping and one countof arm burglary on January fourteen of twenty
nineteen. His bell was set atthat time for five million. On March
(09:41):
later that year, he pleaded guiltyto two counts of intentional first degree homicide
and one count of kidnapping. OnMay twenty fourth, James Patterson was sentenced
to a maximum of two consecutive lifesentences in prison without the possibility of parole
for the murders, plus an additionof forty years for the kidnapping. Douglas
(10:03):
County authorities did not pursue charges againstPatterson related to classes eighty eight days captivity
because they did not want to bringJamie in for questioning and believed there were
enough sufficient evidence to pursue a lifesentence without parole without needing additional charges.
While in jail and March, Pattersonwrote a letter in response to questions sent
(10:26):
to him by some reporters from atelevision station in Minneapolis. Quote he stated
he apologized for his crimes and statedthey were committed mostly on impulse, contrasting
with reports from the police that hehad taken various measures in preparation for this
(10:48):
crime. End quote. He addedthat his intentions from the beginning was to
plead guilty in order to spare JamieClaus and her family the trauma of the
case going to try But later thatmonth, a television reporter in Minneapolis received
a cell phone quote from James Pattersonin which he briefly answered questions sent to
(11:11):
him in a letter, and regardingthe time Jamie Claus spent in captivity,
Patterson said, we were just watchingTV, playing board games, talking about
stuff. We cooked a lot.Everything we made was homemade, you know.
End quote. And at Patterson's arraignment, his father had told a reporter
(11:33):
that he had a note of apologythat he was trying to get to Jamie
Claus. He was transferred from DodgeCorrectional Institution to an out of state prison
in New Mexico. After her recoveryand good news and good notes, Jamie
Klaus now lives with her aunt andher own golf course and they're living.
(11:56):
She's trying to get back to normal. She has to become an advocate for
other missing and exploited children. Herstory has been widely reported on and has
raised awareness about issues of child abductionand the need for greater support for victims
and their families. So she hasturned this sad, devastating tragedy into something
(12:18):
positive to help other families and victims. So I do hope you guys share
this, spread awareness and just loveyour family, take care of your families,
and just try, you know,make the best to stay safe out
there. So this is it,guys. Let's hope you guys listen,
(12:43):
share, subscribe. Please make sureto like this or just support me with
a small review on any platforms you'reon Spotify, Apple Podcasts, whichever one
you like, but a review ora nice you know, just hit the
like button that'll support my podcast.And I truly appreciate everyone that's listening,
(13:07):
and just keep an eye out.More to come in the upcoming weeks.
Make sure to check me out inYouTube as well, and if you have
any comments case suggestions, send mea message and I will get back to
you. All right, this wasawesome guys, have a great weekend,
(13:28):
holidays, and just be safe.Talk to you all later. Bye,
Hey guys, welcome back my truecrime junkies. This is Aida your host.
I am back with a new episodetoday. I know it's been a
while. I've been out sick andlife happened, but I am back hopefully.
I will be posting a new episodeeach week, So make sure that
you subscribe to any of your favoritepodcast platforms. I will be posting every
(00:28):
week on a new episode. Ifnot, follow me on my Instagram or
TikTok page. I would definitely letyou know with notifications. Now let's get
started. Today. We are goingto be talking about a very sad tragedy
that happened to a thirteen year oldgirl and her family. This is going
(00:49):
to be about the kidnapping of JamieKlaus. Jamie Klaus, she, like
I said, was thirteen when thishappened. She was born in two thousand
and five. She is the onlychild of James and Denise Class. They
lived in a small town called Baron, Wisconsin. They were a normal American
(01:11):
family in their home and this tragedyhappened. Now let's begin. October fifth
of twenty eighteen. Jake Patterson,remember this name. He drove by the
Classes home and with the intent ofkidnapping Jamie, but the activities around the
(01:33):
house teared him from doing that,so he was afraid that he would leave
witnesses. So Patterson made a secondattempt two days later, but again he
aborted the plans for the same reasons. Now October fifteenth, he made a
third visit drove by this time hewent armed with a shotgun. This was
(01:56):
shortly around twelve fifty three am.Patterson went ahead and parked his car at
the end of the driveway. Hewas wearing a black coat a ski mask,
and he approached the front door ofthe home carrying the shotgun. Now
James Class the dad, he wasfifty six. He aimed a flashlight through
(02:17):
the glass pane in the front doorand asked Patterson to show his badge,
but Patterson responded back and called outand said, just opened the fucking door.
Patterson fired once and he fatally shotmister Class. Now he's forcing his
way into the house. Patterson checkedevery single room in the house because he
(02:40):
wanted no witnesses left behind. Sohe came upon a bathroom door that was
locked, and he began to shootthe door. Inside this bathroom were Denise
Class, Jamie's mom. She wasforty six and Jamie. Denise was comforting
Jamie because she was screaming, crying, loud, panicked. No was around
(03:01):
twelve fifty three am. Denise callsnine one one. While Denise clause did
not speak to the operator, theoperator heard the disturbance the yelling before the
phone call just got disconnected. Whenthe dispatcher called the number back, they
reached Denise's voicemail. Patterson bound JamesJamie's risk and ankles using duct taped and
(03:28):
then fatally shot Denise her mom.He dragged Jamie outside, almost literally slipping
on the blood everywhere around the house, placed her in the trunk of his
car, and drove away. Thepolice arrived four minutes after the nine one
one call. Patterson later told investigatorinvestigators that he pulled over twenty seconds down
(03:49):
the road from the house and deputiessped by with emergency lights and sirens on.
He saw the police driving up tothe house as he was leaving.
Neighbors said they heard two gunshots butdismissed them since hunting season was around was
coming to hear that around their homes, and after arriving at his cabin,
(04:12):
Patterson made claws, change into adifferent pair of pajamas, then forced her
under his mattress and sealed off allexits before going to sleep. Less than
two weeks after Jamie's abduction, aman he burglarized, So sorry, double
(04:33):
stuttered there a little. He burglarizedthe class home, stealing some of Jamie's
clothing. He was arrested, butnot considered a suspect in the abduction or
the double murdered. Patterson took classto a house about seventy miles away in
a rural area there in Gordon,Wisconsin, and held her in captivity for
(04:58):
eighty eight days until she escaped onJanuary tenth of twenty nineteen. Now let
me tell you a little bit aboutthis murderer. Jake Thomas Patterson. He
was born June seventeenth, nineteen ninetyseven. Patterson's parents divorced in two thousand
and seven. He graduated from NorthwoodHigh School in the nearby Minan, Wisconsin,
(05:27):
in twenty fifteen. Then he enlistedin the US Marine Corps, but
was discharged after one month at MCRDin San Diego. Patterson Grant's father stated,
something went terribly wrong. Nobody hadany clues. We are absolutely heartbreaking,
its wrenching to deal with. Hewas a shy and quiet He backed
(05:49):
off from any crowds, but anice boy, polite. Computer games were
more of his priority than social interaction. End quote. This is a statement
that James Patterson's grandfather gave reporters.At that time. Police did not believe
Patterson had any social media contact withClaus or the family relatives of Jamie.
(06:14):
Any of the relatives of Jamie didnot recognize him Patterson's name. They no
one had heard of his name orrecognize his picture or anything, so they've
never come across him. Patterson toldauthorities he saw Claus, you know,
Jamie, getting off the school busoutside the family resident in September while he
was driving home from work, andthat's how he knew she was the girl
(06:38):
he wanted to take. Patterson believedthat Claus was too afraid of him to
make an escaped attempts. He neverput special locks on doors because she wouldn't
escape. He assumed they also slepton the same bed. Patterson would rarely
let Jamie Klaus out of a cabin, only for brief walks on the lawn
(07:00):
after checking for bystanders. On theafternoon of January tenth of twenty nineteen,
Patterson told Jamie he was leaving fora couple of hours. He put her
under his bed before boxing her insidewith his belongings, per his usual routine,
and after he departed, Jamie pushedout all the objects around the bed.
(07:25):
She ran from the house wearing alight shirt, leggings, and a
pair of patterson sneakers. Jamie cameacross a local woman, Jenny Nutter,
walking her dog. Jamie Nutter recognizedJamie Claus from the news reports and immediately
took her to a neighbor's house,and after police were called, Jamie Claus
(07:48):
told him Jake Patterson had killed herparents, taken her, and kept a
prisoner just a few houses away fromher current location in the neighborhood. The
neighborhood describes Jimi Claus as calm,quiet, dazed, and surprised that they
recognized her from the news coverage.The police arrived around four forty five pm
(08:09):
and removed Jamie Claus from the areafor her safety, of course, and
the description Jamie Claus provided them aboutPatterson and his vehicle enabled the deputies to
spot his car just minutes after whenJamie, you know, when James Patterson
drove by the house and after adeputy stopped and Patterson exited his vehicle and
(08:31):
said, I did it end quote. A hospital admitted Jamie Claus underguard.
The next morning, they released herto the custody of her aunt, Jennifer
Smith. She she basically was veryclose to her. She worked at the
(08:52):
Hermeil factory with the parents with Jamie'sparents the company that owns Jenio, So
they worked there together. And thiscompany where they worked announced on January twenty
fourth that they would grant twenty fivethousand dollars reward money to Jamie class for
rescuing herself. That is amazing.And James Patterson confessed to the police that
(09:18):
he had kidnapped Jamie and killed herparents. He had no previous criminal history
in Wisconsin. He was charged withtwo counts of first degree intentional homicide and
one count of kidnapping and one countof arm burglary on January fourteen of twenty
nineteen. His bell was set atthat time for five million. On March
(09:41):
later that year, he pleaded guiltyto two counts of intentional first degree homicide
and one count of kidnapping. OnMay twenty fourth, James Patterson was sentenced
to a maximum of two consecutive lifesentences in prison without the possibility of parole
for the murders, plus an additionof forty years for the kidnapping. Douglas
(10:03):
County authorities did not pursue charges againstPatterson related to classes eighty eight days captivity
because they did not want to bringJamie in for questioning and believed there were
enough sufficient evidence to pursue a lifesentence without parole without needing additional charges.
While in jail and March, Pattersonwrote a letter in response to questions sent
(10:26):
to him by some reporters from atelevision station in Minneapolis. Quote he stated
he apologized for his crimes and statedthey were committed mostly on impulse, contrasting
with reports from the police that hehad taken various measures in preparation for this
(10:48):
crime. End quote. He addedthat his intentions from the beginning was to
plead guilty in order to spare JamieClaus and her family the trauma of the
case going to try But later thatmonth, a television reporter in Minneapolis received
a cell phone quote from James Pattersonin which he briefly answered questions sent to
(11:11):
him in a letter, and regardingthe time Jamie Claus spent in captivity,
Patterson said, we were just watchingTV, playing board games, talking about
stuff. We cooked a lot.Everything we made was homemade, you know.
End quote. And at Patterson's arraignment, his father had told a reporter
(11:33):
that he had a note of apologythat he was trying to get to Jamie
Claus. He was transferred from DodgeCorrectional Institution to an out of state prison
in New Mexico. After her recoveryand good news and good notes, Jamie
Klaus now lives with her aunt andher own golf course and they're living.
(11:56):
She's trying to get back to normal. She has to become an advocate for
other missing and exploited children. Herstory has been widely reported on and has
raised awareness about issues of child abductionand the need for greater support for victims
and their families. So she hasturned this sad, devastating tragedy into something
(12:18):
positive to help other families and victims. So I do hope you guys share
this, spread awareness and just loveyour family, take care of your families,
and just try, you know,make the best to stay safe out
there. So this is it,guys. Let's hope you guys listen,
(12:43):
share, subscribe. Please make sureto like this or just support me with
a small review on any platforms you'reon Spotify, Apple Podcasts, whichever one
you like, but a review ora nice you know, just hit the
like button that'll support my podcast.And I truly appreciate everyone that's listening,
(13:07):
and just keep an eye out.More to come in the upcoming weeks.
Make sure to check me out inYouTube as well, and if you have
any comments case suggestions, send mea message and I will get back to
you. All right, this wasawesome guys, have a great weekend,
(13:28):
holidays, and just be safe.Talk to you all later. Bye,
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