Tennessee killer recaptured after nine-day escape across three states

Jacob Allen Morley was taken into custody by Missouri State Highway Patrol officers near Kansas City on Tuesday, ending a nine-day manhunt for the Tennessee inmate who escaped in late October. The 28-year-old was serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole for the 2022 murder of his coworker, Cody Birchfield, in Carter County.

Morley fled the Northwest Correctional Complex in Lake County on October 25. An inmate falsely covered for him during a 9:30 p.m. headcount, and a guard noticed he was missing by 10:00 p.m. Investigators later found that Morley had hidden behind the prison’s main kitchen among pallets and a trash cart before cutting through perimeter fences.

He stole a 2008 Ford F-350 utility truck around 1:00 a.m. on October 26 and drove to Illinois. Surveillance footage showed him abandoning that vehicle in Marion, Illinois, around 4:40 a.m. He evaded heavy law enforcement searches in the area for more than a week.

The case broke open early Tuesday when Williamson County deputies in Illinois responded to a report of a stolen white 2005 Ford pickup truck used for farming at approximately 7:34 a.m. Investigators confirmed Morley stole the second vehicle to continue his flight westward. The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office coordinated with the Illinois State Police, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and Missouri authorities to track his route.

Morley had been placed on the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Most Wanted list with a reward of up to $17,500 for his arrest. Friends and family of Birchfield issued public warnings after the escape, describing Morley as a dangerous killer who would not hesitate to strike again. Authorities also investigated whether he was linked to an armed bank robbery in Dane County, Wisconsin, during his time on the run.

The arrest by Missouri troopers was made without further incident as he traveled through the Kansas City area. No extradition details or formal charges regarding the escape and vehicle thefts have been announced yet.