Murderer who escaped Tennessee prison caught in Missouri after 10-day run

Jacob Morley spent more than ten days on the run after escaping a Tennessee prison, covering a distance of over 350 miles before being captured near Kansas City, Missouri.

The 28-year-old man, who was serving a life sentence for the 2022 murder of a co-worker, was apprehended on Tuesday morning. Authorities confirmed that Morley was located after state troopers utilized roadside cameras and a helicopter to track his vehicle. His escape ended when his truck became stuck in the mud.

Investigators recovered two rifles and a shotgun from the vehicle. Williamson County Sheriff Jeff Diederich stated that Morley also stole clothing from the property. The sheriff noted that Morley left behind a handwritten note apologizing for taking the truck.

Evidence suggests Morley spent time at a farm near Marion, Illinois, which is approximately 127 miles from his point of escape. He used a shed on the property, where investigators found signs that he had prepared garlic bread and consumed beer. Diederich believes the prisoner walked about three miles to this location after abandoning a different truck he had stolen shortly after leaving the prison.

Security cameras captured Morley walking away from the initial vehicle and appearing at several locations along Route 13. However, the terrain between the prison and the farm, which included fields and woods, made it difficult for the public to spot him. Diederich described the specific reason Morley traveled to Marion as a mystery and said there is no evidence he received help from others.

Morley escaped from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tennessee on October 25. Surveillance video showed him slipping through a fence while wearing his prison clothes. He then stole a truck from a farm near the facility, which he eventually abandoned in downstate Illinois.

Kim Wheeler-Elder, a spokesperson for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, stated via text message that all available information regarding Morley's whereabouts had been released. The Missouri State Highway Patrol was informed on Tuesday that Morley was traveling west on Interstate 70 in the Kansas City area. Officers reported that he was compliant during the arrest.

Morley was transported to the Lafayette County jail in Lexington, Missouri. No charges had been filed against him in Missouri courts as of Tuesday, according to online records. However, he was charged in federal court in Tennessee with one count of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. A separate federal charge in Missouri accuses him of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

A deputy U.S. marshal interviewed Morley at the jail on Tuesday. The prisoner admitted to escaping the Tennessee prison and stealing the truck and three firearms in Marion, according to a probable cause affidavit. Danny Goodman Jr., the District Attorney General in Tennessee, said he plans to file additional charges. It is unclear when Morley will be returned to Tennessee.

Morley was convicted of first-degree murder, aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, vandalism, and evading arrest. The body of his victim, Cody Birchfield, was found in a box under Morley's home after Birchfield had been missing for several weeks. When deputies first arrived at Morley's home, he led officers on a chase that ended in North Carolina.