You have probably heard the horrific story by now of the young Wisconsin girl who made headlines after a massive search ensued following her kidnapping.
What Jayme Closs went through is no doubt a trial that she will work to overcome for years down the road, but what a mother endures when a child is confronted with so much pain is near unbearable.
Tragically, Closs’ mother can’t be questioned on how the scenario felt in her role, but an aunt sheds light on what she must have thought in her last moments.
On October 15th, 2018 in Barrow Wisconsin an intruder broke into the Closs home and killed Thomas and Denise Closs, before kidnapping their 13-year-old daughter, Jayme.
Nearly three months after Jayme was taken, she was able to escape the cabin where she was being held under the kidnapper’s twin bed, reported Fox News.
Jeanne Nutter was walking her dog when she was approached by the frantic young girl who appeared “disheveled, dirty and thin,” according to Fox News.
Wearing shoes that were too big for her feet, Jayme was yelling to Nutter, “‘Please help me, I don’t know where I am. I’m lost..”
Feeling frightened for the girl who “was terrified”, Nutter took her “to a safe place”, she reported to Fox News.
Denise Closs’ cousin, Jodie Arnold was relieved to hear that Jayme was safe. Finding her also meant that the relatives could get some answers on what happened that horrifying night in October.
People reported:
“For several months, Jodie Arnold wondered what exactly happened the night her sweet, fun cousin Denise Closs died. She knew she had been fatally shot, but she knew few details, and her imagination filled in the horrifying blanks.”
When the criminal complaint was released against suspect Jake Thomas Patterson, 21, the details exceeded her nightmares. Arnold told People, “I was not prepared.”
As with any loved one who passes you hope that it is quick and painless, not wanting them to suffer, and this is what Arnold had hoped happened with her cousin.
Upon reading the complaint, she found out it sadly wasn’t like that. Jayme, who was asleep at the time of the initial break-in, heard the gunshot that had killed James.
Jayme and her mom, who called 911, then ran to the restroom to hide in the bathtub, with Denise covering her scared daughter “in a protective bear hug”, according to People.
Patterson soon found the two huddled together, and then forced Denise to put duck tape on her daughters mouth.
After the tape was on, Jayme had to watch her mother be shot to death right in front her, leaving her last memories of her loving mother that of fear.
Arnold told People that “Denise’s last thoughts were probably, ‘My daughter is next.’”
She added:
“It makes me so heartbroken. It just wrecks me…When somebody dies, it just feels a million times worse when their last thoughts are of utter despair and terror. I had been hoping it had happened so fast that it wasn’t time for her understand.”
Feeling helpless while your children need you is one of the worst feelings as a mother. It is exacerbated by thoughts that your child’s condition may get more intense.
Jayme’s mom did what she could to protect her daughter from threats in the home, but died thinking that her daughter would have a grim demise as well.
It was thought that knowing details of the event would give Arnold closure reports People, but instead it carried with it “a whole new level of terror for me as a mom,” she says.
A mom would die for her children instinctively, feeling that the primary role of a mother is to protect our children so they can grow to have their own kids one day.
Circumstances are unforeseeable. Denise carried out her role as a mother, protecting her child. It is deeply regrettable that she will not yet know that her daughter is safe.
Knowing that the Closs’ had done everything right, but still had a violent intruder scares Arnold, who says, “I lock my doors at night, but that’s not good enough if somebody wants in.”
Continuing, she reported to People, “She did everything she could. They were barricaded in the bathroom hiding.”
Stories like this make you want to take extra measures in keeping your family safe. There is a sense of security in the home that should not be taken for granted.
Patterson is currently in custody in the Barron County Jail. He is charged with 2 counts of first-degree homicide, 1 count of burglary, and 1 count of kidnapping, according to Fox News.
Keep an eye for suspicious behavior in and around your home, lock your doors and windows at night, and have a plan for the unlikely event that there is a break in.
Children should know exactly where to hide when there is a threat, and as a parent, you should have some plan of protection.
Some events are foreseen or preventable. Hold your children tight daily, truly taking in the precious moments you have together.
Please let us know in the comments section what you think about Denise Closs’ last moments from a mother’s perspective.