Suspect in Wisconsin double-murder, kidnapping case due in court Monday

BARRON, Wis. -- (KTLA) -- A man suspected of kidnapping a Wisconsin teenager and killing her parents is expected to be formally charged Monday, and the charging documents could shed light on what investigators believe the young man knew about his victims, his motives and tactics.

Jake Thomas Patterson , 21, is set to make his initial appearance Monday afternoon in Barron County Circuit Court. Prosecutors are set to formally charge him with two counts of intentional homicide and one count of kidnapping before court begins.

Investigators believe Patterson broke into James and Denise Closs' home near Barron on Oct. 15, blowing the front door open with a shotgun blast. They say he then gunned the couple down and made off with their 13-year-old daughter, Jayme.

The girl was missing for nearly three months. Police collected more than 3,500 tips but no hard leads emerged.

Then, on Thursday, a woman walking her dog in the town of Gordon, about an hour north of Barron, spotted Jayme on the street. She begged the woman for help, saying Patterson had been hiding her in a nearby cabin and that she had escaped when he left her alone.

Neighbors called 911 and officers arrested Peterson within minutes. He has no criminal history in Wisconsin.