Abduction survivor and victims advocate Elizabeth Smart is the host of the Lifetime special Smart Justice: The Jayme Closs Case. On October 15, 2018, the 13-year-old Wisconsin teen was abducted from her home after her parents, James and Denise Closs, were murdered in front of her. She was held captive in a house about 60 miles from her home for 88 days. On January 10, Closs was able to escape. Her captor, Jake Patterson, was arrested minutes later.
[Related: Courageous Elizabeth Smart Shares Her Gruesome Story, and Hope]
In March 2019, 21-year-old Patterson pleaded guilty to the Closs kidnapping and double homicide. His plea means Jayme Closs won’t have to testify. He faces up to life in prison (Wisconsin does not have the death penalty) when sentenced on May 24. After Patterson pleaded guilty to his crimes, as he was leaving the courtroom he made what the Associated Press describes as a bizarre remark. In the video clip below, Patterson turned to the courtroom gallery and says, “Bye, Jayme.” Jayme Closs was not in the courtroom.
On Smart Justice: The Jayme Closs Case, after visiting with Closs’s family and friends and even stopping to see the house where she was held captive, Smart brings together six fellow abduction survivors — Katie Beers, Kara Robinson Chamberlin, Gina DeJesus, Denise Huskins, Alicia Kozakiewicz, and Sarah Maynard — to talk about the case and to share advice to Closs as she tries to reclaim her life. Smart Justice: The Jayme Closs Case premieres on Lifetime on Saturday, April 27 at 8 pm on Lifetime.
Elizabeth Smart on the set of Smart Justice: The Jayme Closs Case
