Jake Patterson, the suspect accused of kidnapping Wisconsin teen Jayme Closs and murdering her parents, showed up to court on Wednesday for what turned out to be a short appearance. Patterson was there for a preliminary examination, where prosecutors would have to show that they had enough evidence to go to trial, but the 21-year-old waived the hearing, agreeing to let the case move forward.
Patterson didn’t say much during the hearing on Wednesday, opting for “yes” or “no” responses to Judge James Babler‘s questions.
“Mr. Patterson, do you understand that you are charged with felonies and you are entitled to a preliminary examination if you want one?” the judge asked.
“Uh, yes,” Patterson said.
“Do you want a preliminary examination?” Babler asked.
“No.”
The hearing was done in under four minutes.
While the audio in the clip above didn’t pick it up, local ABC6 reported that as Patterson was escorted out of the courtroom and back to jail, he turned to his father and said, “I love you,” while smiling. His father responded in kind.
With a preliminary examination not happening, Judge Babler set an arraignment date of March 27 at 1:00 p.m. local time.
The criminal complaint against Patterson said that he admitted to the crimes with a detailed account of how he first saw Closs boarding a school bus and decided at that point that he wanted to kidnap her. He allegedly ordered her to hide under a bed so that no one else would know he had her in his home.
Closs disappeared on Oct. 15, 2018, and surfaced on Jan. 10, 2019, when she escaped and flagged down Jeanne Nutter, who was walking her dog at the time. Nutter brought Closs to a neighbor’s home, where they called 911 and alerted police.
[Image via Law & Crime screengrab]