Jayme Closs' Family Home Torn Down Months After Her Kidnapping and Parents' Murder
It has only been 10 months since 13-year-old Jayme Closs was kidnapped following the tragic murder of both her parents in their Wisconsin home in October 2018. When she was found alive three months later, a sigh of relief was heard across the country.
Closs has since been named a Hometown Hero and given a statement at her abductor’s trial that showed just how much wisdom she has gained after going through such traumatic events.
#FBI Milwaukee salutes Wisconsin teenager Jayme Closs today, surrounded by family and friends after being honored as a Hometown Hero before the WI State Assembly. Jayme was abducted from Barron County for 88 days before escaping her captor and found help. #JaymeClossStrong pic.twitter.com/guoNDZrBcr
— FBI Milwaukee (@FBIMilwaukee) May 15, 2019
While Closs and her family have begun the healing process, the house that was once the teen’s home still reminded the family and the community of the horrific acts of evil that were committed there.
Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald told the Star Tribune that his department released the property back to the estate several months ago.
The bank that owned the property spoke to the family and demolished the house on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2019.
“Whatever the Closs family wants is what I want,” Fitzgerald said. “I knew they didn’t want to go back there, so it’s probably the right thing to do.”
Even neighbors told KARE that the Closs home has stood as a devastating reminder, saying that they could take “a deep breath” now that the property has been cleared.
Jake Patterson has since been sentenced to life in prison for his actions, but during his trial, Closs stressed how her abductor robbed her not only of her parents but also of her home. She even said she couldn’t see her home because of the memories that happened there.
“My parents and my home are the most important things in my life,” Closs wrote in a statement, which was read by her family’s lawyer.
“He took them away from me in a way that will always leave me with a horrifying memory.”
Jayme Closs: ‘Jake Patterson can never take away my courage’ https://t.co/sBhotdeMFL pic.twitter.com/6MgZRVbrBi
— KARE 11 (@kare11) May 24, 2019
Instead of solely focusing on the things that were unfairly taken from her, however, Closs also recognized the things that Patterson could never take away, like her freedom and courage.
Hopefully the demolition of the house that was once a home will be another step in securing closure for Closs, her family and the surrounding community.
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