Murder suspect caught in Missouri after 9-day escape from Tennessee prison

Jacob Morley, a 28-year-old convicted murderer, is back in custody after spending nine days on the run from a Tennessee prison. Missouri State Highway Patrol officers apprehended him before midday Tuesday outside of Kansas City. Authorities confirmed the arrest on Tuesday, ending a search that stretched across state lines.

Morley was serving a life sentence for the 2022 killing of his co-worker, Cody Birchfield. The two lived in Carter County in eastern Tennessee. Birchfield’s body was discovered in a box under Morley’s home after a several-week disappearance. When Morley saw deputies at his residence, he led officers on a chase that ended in North Carolina. He was later convicted of first-degree murder, aggravated burglary, tampering with evidence, vandalism, and evading arrest.

The escape began on Oct. 25 at the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, Tennessee. Located in the state’s far northwestern corner, the facility sits about 90 miles north of Memphis in flat farmland near the Mississippi River. Surveillance video shows Morley slipping through a fence while wearing his prison clothes. He then stole a truck from a nearby farm to begin his flight.

Officials stated that automated license plate readers tracked Morley’s movement through Missouri. He abandoned the stolen vehicle last week in Marion, Illinois, which is approximately 120 miles north of the prison. State and county officials did not release specific details on how the highway patrol located him in Missouri, citing only the license plate data.

Prison authorities had offered a reward of up to $17,500 for information leading to Morley’s arrest. Agencies searched buildings and structures in the area surrounding the complex during the week-long manhunt.

This incident follows a series of issues for the Tennessee Department of Correction. A grand jury returned dozens of indictments in July regarding five inmate killings and other violent acts at the Northwest Correctional Complex. In September, Commissioner Frank Strada resigned after less than three years in the role, a departure that followed the failed execution of Christa Pike.