Jayme Closs: search continues one month later

LADYSMITH, Wisc. (KARE/NBC News) – The siblings of Jim Closs, who was murdered in his home with his wife Denise on October 15, have given their first interview since the incident.

“Whoever did this cannot get away with it. They can’t,” said Kelly Engelhardt.

Jeff Closs and Kelly Engelhardt were devastated by the loss of their oldest brother Jim and sister-in-law Denise. And they are unable to move forward because their niece, Jayme, is still missing.

“We’re trying to grieve our brother and sister-in-law. But then when you grieve, you feel guilty, because you’re grieving. Because we still have a niece we want to come home,” Engelhardt said.

When they learned what happened, Jim’s siblings’ minds raced, trying to grasp what could have led to such an unthinkable crime.

“My first instinct was it has to be somebody who knew him from work. Because that’s where he spent 60, 70, 80 hours a week at,” Engelhardt said, adding Jim was not heavily involved in the community and did not come into contact with a lot of people outside of work.

They also wondered whether Jim had gotten into trouble somehow, such as racking up debt.

“I don’t know if he would have said anything to me if he was in trouble. I think he would have. He would have confided in my mother and said, ‘I need help,'” Jeff Closs said.

But as the investigation progressed, no evidence of an enemy at work or trouble with money surfaced.

And a question lingered, if someone wanted to kill Jim, why would they also kill Denise and take Jayme?

“That’s why our gut feeling is, they wanted Jayme,” Engelhardt said.

Read more: https://kare11.tv/2K3OvUY

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