NBC 7 San Diego confirmed Tuesday that Jake Thomas Patterson, the man suspected of kidnapping 13-year-old Jayme Closs from her Wisconsin home after killing her parents last October, was discharged from the United States Marine Corps after a little more than a month of service at Marine Recruit Depot (MCRD) San Diego.
According to the Marine Corps, Patterson, 21, was stationed at the base from Sept. 14, 2015, to Oct. 20, 2015.
A statement from the USMC said that Patterson's "premature discharge and rank are indicative of the fact that the character of his service was incongruent with Marine Corps' expectations and standards."
No other information was released by the Marines.
Investigators say Patterson shot open the doors of the Closs home in Barron, Wisconsin, shot the teenager's parents dead and kidnapped her.
Jayme had been missing for nearly three months when she escaped captivity in Gordon, Wisconsin, and pleaded for help from a stranger she happened upon. Officers arrested Patterson minutes later based on Jayme's description of his vehicle. He was jailed on suspicion of kidnapping and homicide.
Investigators have said Patterson's goal was to kidnap Jayme, but he appears to have no connection to the family. Jayme's grandfather Robert Naiberg said in a telephone interview Saturday that the only thing the family knows for sure is that no one knew Patterson. He said Jayme told FBI agents she didn't know him at all.
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Attorneys for Patterson called the affair "a very tragic situation" and said they were relying on the court system to treat him fairly. Patterson is being held on $5 million bail.
Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald said Patterson had no criminal record. He said Patterson worked for one day in 2016 at the same Jennie-O turkey plant in Barron as Jayme's parents. But the sheriff said it did not appear Patterson interacted with the couple during his brief time there.
