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A man who has been sentenced to life for killing his colleague four years ago has escaped from a prison in northwest Tennessee. Jacob Morley slipped through a fence. After fleeing, Morley apparently stole a truck from a nearby farm and apparently made it to southern Illinois before fleeing, authorities said in an update Tuesday. Officers noticed he escaped from the Northwest Correctional Center late Sunday (October 25).
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How did Jacob Morley escape from a Tennessee prison?
Authorities said Morley, 28, slipped through a fence in his prison clothes. However, they have not released additional details, including whether they believe anyone helped him. Morley is white, 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs 240 pounds. He has brown hair and green eyes.
Additionally, Jacob Morley is serving a life sentence for killing his colleague Cody Birchfield in 2022. Birchfield’s body was found in a box under Morley’s home after he had been missing for a few weeks. Both lived in Carter County, in eastern Tennessee. Along with first degree murder, Morley was convicted of aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, vandalism and evading arrest. When Jacob Morley saw deputies at his home, he led officers on a chase that ended in North Carolina, authorities said.
How did the stolen truck get to Tennessee?
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation released surveillance video from the farm Jacob Morley broke into. It is near Tiptonville and about a 2 mile walk through fields from the prison. The photo shows Morley opening the unlocked driver’s side door of the truck and driving off at around 1am on Monday. Firefighters in Hornbeak said on social media that investigators confirmed that their cameras captured images of the truck driving by their station about 15 minutes later. The station is about 12 miles east of the farm.
Someone found the truck abandoned Tuesday in Marion, Illinois, about 120 miles north of the prison and about 90 miles southeast of St. Louis. Morag Police CEO David Fitts said the truck appeared to have been left neatly behind a shopping center at 4 a.m. Tuesday, according to surveillance video.
Someone called the police around 11am
Prison officers offer reward to Jacob Morley
Tennessee detectives said they still haven’t found Jacob Morley.
“It’s gone,” Fitts said. “We haven’t had any reports of stolen vehicles or anything suspicious around here.”
Prison officials have offered a reward of up to $2,500 for Morley’s arrest. They said law enforcement agencies have searched buildings and other structures near the prison, which is about 90 miles (145 kilometers) north of Memphis in flat farmland near a bend in the Mississippi River.
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Associated Press Writer Jeffrey Collins contributed to this report via AP Newsroom.
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