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Jayme Closs Kidnapping Suspect Jake Patterson Was ‘Quiet,’ Says Former Middle School Teacher
It was the news that everyone had been hoping for. Earlier this week, missing Wisconsin teenager Jayme Closs was found alive three months after she disappeared from her home where her parents had been murdered. Since then, Jayme has been able to cooperate with local police and a suspect has been arrested in the kidnapping of the 13-year-old. Now, in an exclusive interview with In Touch, Kristin Kasinskas — the woman who answered the door to Jayme’s fateful knock — revealed some details about the teen’s alleged kidnapper, Jake Patterson.
Even though Kristin lives an hour away from Barron County, where Jayme lived with her late parents, she actually knew Jake because he was in one of her classes in Northwood School in Minong, WI.
“Jake was a former student of mine. I had him as a student. I don’t even know how to explain how weird this is,” Kristin exclusively revealed to In Touch. Jake was about 12 years old when Kristin had him as one of her students in her middle school science class. When asked to describe what Jake was like as a student, Kristin said he was “quiet, smart, pretty shy.”
“I wouldn’t say he had a ton of friends. He seemed like a decent kid,” she added. “I don’t think he was an athlete. I guess I don’t remember but I know he was in the Quiz Bowl team in high school but I don’t recall if he was an athlete or any of that.”
She also said that the Gordon, WI native was an A student in middle school and he was good at science. “Yeah, he was a very smart kid, very smart,” Kristin said.
Jake, 21, was arrested on Thursday, January 10, on homicide and kidnapping charges, according to Fox News. An investigation into Jake’s alleged involvement in the kidnapping of Jayme and the murder of her parents, James Closs, 56, and Denise Closs, 46, is now underway.
With reporting by Diana Cooper.
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