Tennessee murder convict escapes prison, steals white work truck

Jacob Allen Morley is on the loose after escaping from a Tennessee prison on Sunday night and stealing a heavy-duty pickup truck. The 28-year-old inmate is serving a life sentence for the 2022 murder of Cody Birchfield.

Staff at the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville realized Morley was missing around 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The Tennessee Department of Correction conducted an emergency count and searched the facility immediately. Security footage showed Morley cutting through a fence while wearing his prison uniform.

At roughly 1 a.m. Monday, video captured Morley taking a white 2008 Ford F-350 on the 400 block of Keystone Drive. This location is about two miles south of the prison. The truck bears the Tennessee plate 138BBQV and displays the name Lindamood Planting Company on the side. Officials noted that the vehicle contains an air compressor in the bed.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation placed Morley on the state's most wanted list and advises that he be considered dangerous. He stands 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs 240 pounds. He has brown hair and green eyes. Federal and state law enforcement agencies are assisting in the search.

Morley was convicted in 2025 of first-degree murder, burglary, vandalism, tampering with evidence, and evading arrest. Birchfield disappeared in early February 2022 after being last seen in Elizabethton. Investigators from the Carter County Sheriff's Office found signs of a violent crime in Birchfield's home. On March 2, 2022, police stopped Morley after a chase that crossed into North Carolina. Authorities later found Birchfield's body beneath Morley's house.

Landree Sheperd, Morley's former girlfriend, testified at the trial that Morley told her he killed Birchfield. People with information about Morley's location can call 844-832-3463.